Woodside's offshore projects and AI technologies driving efficiency and expansion
Woodside Energy is considering a Phase 2 development of the deepwater Sangomar oil field offshore Senegal, acting CEO Liz Westcott told analysts during a results briefing on Feb. 24.
For much of 2025, the FPSO was operating with its nameplate production of 100,000 bbl/d and almost 99% reliability.
Based on the strong performance to date, the company is considering expanding the subsea infrastructure under a potential Phase 2 development, Westcott said.
Another highlight for Woodside last year was the commissioning of the Integrated Remote Operations Centre at the company’s Perth headquarters, which will allow remote control of the Pluto and Scarborough offshore/onshore developments from more than 1,500 km away.
As for the deepwater Trion project offshore Mexico, this was 50% complete at the end of last year, with first oil targeted in 2028, according to the company's full-year 2025 report.
Major field activity is due to take place this year, with the deepwater drillship expected to start development drilling shortly.
AI technology launched at North West Shelf project
In the latest issue of Woodside’s in-house publication Living Energy, the company reported on a new maintenance technology that has been introduced at the North West Shelf (NWS) project in Western Australia.
Maint Intel is an AI-enabled tool that is said to help optimize the frequency of equipment maintenance, so preventative work can be scheduled when actually needed.
The system recommends optimal maintenance schedules by analyzing large volumes of data and comparing maintenance plans and historical performance against reliability targets.
Woodside’s Digital team developed Maint Intel with Amazon Web Services (AWS) in India. It was first tested and proven on the offshore Angel platform, with rollout planned for multiple other facilities globally this year.
At Angel, various AI technologies were used to analyze maintenance records, identify equipment failure modes and to supply information for statistical models that recommended optimal maintenance intervals.
“By working with the Digital team and AWS AI experts in India, we cut model processing time from five days to under two hours," said Inci Hawke, NWS Offshore Technical Lead. “This has resulted in a considerable reduction in unnecessary activities, leaving the teams time for other important work.”
Andrew Melouney, VP Digital, added, “By combining AI and analytics, we’re optimizing asset management and building a global digital foundation that we can expand across our sites driving efficiency, safety and long-term value."
About the Author
Jeremy Beckman
Editor, Europe
Jeremy Beckman has been Editor Europe, Offshore since 1992. Prior to joining Offshore he was a freelance journalist for eight years, working for a variety of electronics, computing and scientific journals in the UK. He regularly writes news columns on trends and events both in the NW Europe offshore region and globally. He also writes features on developments and technology in exploration and production.