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SUNYA RESEARCH / OCTOBER 2026

What’s actually working
in oil & gas AI?

Look at what changes in the work. Then ask what the results actually prove.

Research updated 26 October 2026

Initial screen: 26 September 2024–26 September 2026. Broad register review: 8 October 2026. Selected updates through 26 October 2026; individual sources retain their own dates.

A CLOSER LOOK / SLB IN THE PERMIAN

Fewer wells received too much chemical.

Across nearly 1,400 wells, SLB reports overtreatment falling from 17% to 3% over a 20-month program.

Each square = 1% of wells · performance over 20 months

Sensors feed ML detection. Weekly team reviews support remote adjustments.

Better chemical dosing reduced waste across an existing well fleet.

THREE PROJECTS / THREE KINDS OF ACTION

The software recommends. Who acts?

Changing a setting, prioritizing a visit and planning a development are different jobs.

Devon Energy
Adjusting operating wellsReported at scale
What goes in

Changing well conditions

What the software does

Adjusts lift settings in real time

Who acts next

Software changes settings

Read the source

1,000 live wells · August 2026

The pilot gain is not a result for the later fleet. Full costs, eligible-well population and detailed control limits are not disclosed.

Read the project
Occidental
Choosing which wells to visitReported at scale
What goes in

Field sensors and operating data

What the software does

Helps prioritize lease-operator visits

Who acts next

People carry out field work

Read the source

~40% of onshore production · August 2025

No route-level time or savings result is given. AI’s contribution is not separated from sensors and automation; dispatch and overrides are unspecified.

Read the project
QB Energy / Quantum
Planning pads and wellsReported in use
What goes in

Terrain and engineering constraints

What the software does

A solver proposes plans; an assistant explains

Who acts next

Engineers review the plans

Read the source

12 areas over nine months · sponsor report

Vendor- and sponsor-reported. Faster planning does not establish better capital returns. The solver’s results cannot be attributed to the language model.

Read the project

Selected examples, not a ranking. More autonomy does not establish more value. Open a project for scope, reported results and limits.

01 / THE INDUSTRY IN THREE FINDINGS

Here’s what the evidence tells us.

Start with these patterns. Then look at the companies and the work behind them.

01

AI is already changing operating work.

Two routes from data to field action

Devon describes software that changes lift settings. Oxy uses it to help decide where field crews should focus. These examples change what happens next. sources

Ask who can make the change, what the software is allowed to do and how people check the result.

02

The operating foundations matter, too.

Two foundations to investigate
EOGBuilds internal software
EQTShares work and communication

EOG builds its own software. EQT brings important processes and communication into a shared digital workspace. That may make it easier to put new tools into everyday use. sources

An existing foundation could help. It does not prove that a company gets better AI results.

03

We can see what’s running. Returns are harder to judge.

Out of 220 company-use profiles
Overlapping groups. A numerical result is not a measure of net return.

We have 220 profiles of company AI projects. Sources describe 151 as in operation; 55 of those also report a numerical result. The figures cover different measures and periods.

To know whether a system pays off, we need a fair comparison, all its costs and evidence that the benefit lasts.

Our reading of selected public sources, across 104 named companies or groups. These counts describe profiles in this collection, not industry adoption. Some profiles cover parts of the same program. Select an exhibit or a source to inspect the evidence.

EXPLORE THE CHARTS

See the patterns for yourself.

Browse all charts
02 / EXAMPLES WORTH STUDYING

Some of the most ambitious work we found.

These stand out for what they change: equipment settings, fleet oversight, field work or major planning decisions. Ambition doesn’t tell us which earns the best return.

Our selection from the reviewed cases, with no rank order. The examples below have reported operating use. Reach, decision authority and results are different measures.

Devon Energy

Letting software adjust operating wells

Read the project and its sources

It moves from recommending a setting to changing it, around the clock.

Reported reach
1,000 live lift wells
Who acts
Closed-loop control

Devon reports real-time autonomous lift optimization across 1,000 wells in August 2026. sources

What we still don’t know

The earlier 2–3% pilot uplift is not a measured result for this whole fleet. Full costs are missing.

ADNOC

Bringing a rig fleet into one operating view

Read the project and its sources

It changes how engineers oversee a large fleet, rather than adding another isolated model.

Reported reach
More than 120 rigs
Who acts
Engineers oversee and decide

ADNOC reports a deployed AI operations center connecting live rig data across its onshore and offshore fleet. sources

What we still don’t know

This is oversight, not autonomous rig control. The reported effort and downtime benefits lack detailed baselines.

QB Energy / Quantum

Rethinking where pads and wells should go

Read the project and its sources

A numerical solver selects pads and wells under engineering constraints. An assistant explains the plans.

Reported reach
12 areas over nine months
Who acts
Engineers review plans

Quantum identifies QB Energy as the operator. Microsoft reports a 20,000-acre scenario taking 20 minutes versus three weeks. sources

What we still don’t know

The scenario comparison is vendor-reported. The roughly $10bn development program informed is not savings; capital approval remains with people.

Three more examples worth studying
Vickery Energy / Quantum

Reading the land records behind a leasing decision

Read the project and its sources

It applies language models and document recognition to ownership, heirship and lease availability.

Reported reach
9,520 documents / 640 parcels
Who acts
Difficult records go to people

Quantum reports a West Virginia title-research run in about 40 hours, versus an estimated 40 business days. sources

What we still don’t know

The comparison is an estimate, not a controlled trial. Accuracy, full costs and replacement of legal title opinions are not established.

Occidental

Changing which wells field crews visit

Read the project and its sources

It changes a daily operating routine: crews focus on exceptions instead of following fixed routes.

Reported reach
~40% of onshore production
Who acts
People carry out field work

Management reported this production share had moved to routeless operations in August 2025, using sensors, automation and AI. sources

What we still don’t know

That is a share of production, not wells. The source does not isolate AI’s contribution or report route-level savings.

Aramco

Putting reinforcement learning into plant control

Read the project and its sources

It makes ongoing adjustments to a continuous industrial process, with permanent use after a pilot.

Reported reach
Fadhili Gas Plant
Who acts
Ongoing process adjustment

Aramco reports permanent adoption and 10–15% lower amine and steam use after the October 2024–April 2025 pilot. sources

What we still don’t know

These are company-reported results at one plant. Evaluation details, full costs and repeatability at other plants are not disclosed.

Find ideas for the work you do.

Look up a company or start with your team.

EXPLORE A COMPANY

What are your peers doing?

See their projects, reported results and original sources.

FIND IDEAS FOR YOUR TEAM

Where could your team start?

Find examples in production, drilling, maintenance, finance and other teams.

What should each leader do with AI? Briefs for the CEO, CFO, COO and 13 other roles—with peer examples and ideas to test next.

03 / WHERE NEW AI TOOLS COULD HELP

Where could ChatGPT-style AI help?

Tools like ChatGPT use large language models, or LLMs. They work well with text. But a model built for a well or a piece of equipment may create more operating value. This chart asks where the value could be, and how much of the work a language model could handle.

Reading information, looking into a problem and drafting a response.

Potential
economic impact
Role of a language model
We selected ten kinds of work. Their positions reflect our judgment, not measured ROI. Choose one to read why we placed it there and see the company examples and sources.

Want to go deeper?

Read the full research report for more charts and the detailed eight-company comparison. Compare companies side by side or work through an idea for your own team.

Selling to operators? Research potential customers or prepare a report with sources.

Who is building a company brain? Compare shared knowledge, executive assistants and agents that turn conversations into work.

Could your company repeat these results? Compare operating conditions, costs and remaining questions.

WHAT’S BEHIND THE REPORT

220 profiles cover company AI projects, across 104 named companies or groups. The full collection has 306 profiles, including products, investments and other related work.

Where this research comes from

We start with earnings materials, investor presentations, company reports and named customer examples. We also cover products, investments, company plans and energy infrastructure serving AI. We keep those separate from companies using AI in their own work.

We searched and reviewed public sources, but we cannot claim to have found every project worldwide. Some profiles overlap. A publication date may be later than the work it describes. We keep each result with its source, period and limitations. If we found no announcement, that does not mean a company is inactive or a project failed.