The energy industry, which has prided itself on innovation since the days of kerosene lamps, has a flashy new technology to be bullish about:Â artificial intelligence.
During on-stage discussions and one-on-one interviews, energy executives from around the world gushed about AI’s potential on Tuesday at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston. It has the promise, they say, to revamp exploration, drilling and pumping, and — most importantly — create a potent new source of demand.
“It is going to be transformational,” ConocoPhillips Chief Executive Officer Ryan Lance said from the main stage. “It is going to be huge. It is going to impact every one of your businesses here.”
While AI has potential to reshape nearly every industry, it offers a unique benefit to energy.
The technology itself will require a breathtaking amount of electricity. Not only will that be a boon for companies that generate power, but it will add customers for those that drill for gas.
The forecasts are staggering.
John Ketchum, chief executive officer of US utility giant NextEra Energy Inc., told attendees that while power demand has been flat for the past decade, the growth rate forecast for the next five years has increased 81%. Toby Rice, chief of the largest US natural gas driller, EQT Corp., cited a forecast predicting AI could gobble up more power than households by 2030.
It’s hard to escape the buzz about the technology at the premier North American energy gathering.
Chevron Corp. CEO Mike Wirth talked about sending employees back to school to study AI. Olivier Le Peuch, who leads SLB, said the technology is being used for robotic drilling and to prolong the productive life of aging wells. BP Plc CEO Murray Auchincloss discussed its potential to enhance trading.
ConocoPhillips’ Lance even used AI to prepare for his CERAWeek panel with S&P Global Vice Chairman Dan Yergin. He entered key words for the conversation into machine-learning software, which pulled relevant data, including any presentations the company had on hand.
“It went and grabbed all the pertinent facts to that and wrote me an email that I could send to Dan Yergin,” Lance said in an interview.
Lance did, however, need to make a few edits before sending.
–Joe Ryan, Bloomberg News
Key takeaways from day two
Chevron’s discussions with Exxon Mobil Corp. and China’s Cnooc Ltd. over a prolific oil field off the shores of Guyana ended “abruptly” a few weeks ago, CEO Wirth said.
Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s Stratos project — the world’s biggest plan to capture carbon dioxide directly from the air — is 70% complete and on track for start-up in 2025, CEO Vicki Hollub said.
Dow Inc. CEO Jim Fitterling told Bloomberg Television that electricity prices in Europe are so high there are doubts about the long-term future of some of the chemical company’s industrial customers there.
Nigerian national oil company boss Mele Kyari said the cheapest way to make affordable energy widely available in the domestic market is to develop the country’s vast natural gas reserves.
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