journal article·2025-07-16Open access

Artificial Intelligence in the Oil and Gas Industry: Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions

Marcelo dos Santos Póvoas, Jéssica Freire Moreira, Severino Virgínio Martins Neto, Carlos Antonio da Silva Carvalho, Bruno Santos Cezario, André Luís Azevedo Guedes, Gilson Brito Alves Lima

Applied Sciences· Volume 15· Issue 14

Abstract

This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the application of artificial intelligence (AI) methods to solve real-world problems in the oil and gas sector. The methodology involved a two-step process for analyzing AI applications. In the first step, an initial exploration of scientific articles in the Scopus database was conducted using keywords related to AI and computational intelligence, resulting in a total of 11,296 articles. The bibliometric analysis conducted using VOS Viewer version 1.6.15 software revealed an average annual growth of approximately 15% in the number of publications related to AI in the sector between 2015 and 2024, indicating the growing importance of this technology. In the second step, the research focused on the OnePetro database, widely used by the oil industry, selecting articles with terms associated with production and drilling, such as “production system”, “hydrate formation”, “machine learning”, “real-time”, and “neural network”. The results highlight the transformative impact of AI on production operations, with key applications including optimizing operations through real-time data analysis, predictive maintenance to anticipate failures, advanced reservoir management through improved modeling, image and video analysis for continuous equipment monitoring, and enhanced safety through immediate risk detection. The bibliometric analysis identified a significant concentration of publications at Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) events, which accounted for approximately 40% of the selected articles. Overall, the integration of AI into production operations has driven significant improvements in efficiency and safety, and its continued evolution is expected to advance industry practices further and address emerging challenges.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Reservoir Engineering and Simulation Methods · Oil and Gas Production Techniques · Drilling and Well Engineering

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Engineering Department, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Campus Praia Vermelha, R. Passo da Pátria, 152-470—São Domingos, Niterói 24210-240, RJ, Brazil

Engineering Department, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, R. Antônio Barros de Castro, 119—Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro 21941-853, RJ, Brazil

Engineering Department, Centro Universitário de Valença, R. Srg. Vitor Hugo, 161—Fatima, Valença 27600-000, RJ, Brazil

Engineering Department, Centro Universitário Augusto Motta, Av. Paris, 84—Bonsucesso, Rio de Janeiro 21041-020, RJ, Brazil

Funding

Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) · Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)

References (41)

Show source-provided references
1. Enhancing Fluid Identification via an Innovative Transformer Model with Bidirectional Recurrent Units Network Leveraging Well Logging Data10.1063/5.0206645 ↗
2. Li, S. (2024). Application of Machine Learning Algorithm in Predicting Estimated Ultimate Reserves of Shale Gas. Computational and Experimental Simulations in Engineering, Springer Nature.
3. Morovat, K., and Panda, B. (2020, January 16–18). A Survey of Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity. Proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on Computational Science and Computational Intelligence (CSCI), Las Vegas, NV, USA.10.1109/CSCI51800.2020.00026 ↗
4. Ahmad, S.F., Rahmat, M.K., Mubarik, M.S., Alam, M.M., and Hyder, S.I. (2021). Artificial Intelligence and Its Role in Education. Sustainability, 13.10.3390/su132212902 ↗
5. Deep Learning-Driven Optimization Design for the Configuration of Lazy-Wave Umbilical Cables10.1016/j.apor.2024.104097 ↗
6. Taha, A., and Amani, M. (2019). Overview of Water Shutoff Operations in Oil and Gas Wells; Chemical and Mechanical Solutions. ChemEngineering, 3.10.3390/chemengineering3020051 ↗
7. Application of Machine Learning in Wellbore Stability Prediction: A Review10.1016/j.geoen.2023.212409 ↗
8. Ucar, A., Karakose, M., and Kırımça, N. (2024). Artificial Intelligence for Predictive Maintenance Applications: Key Components, Trustworthiness, and Future Trends. Appl. Sci., 14.10.3390/app14020898 ↗
9. Explainable Artificial Intelligence: A Comprehensive Review10.1007/s10462-021-10088-y ↗
10. Chen, Z. (2020, January 1–2). Deep Learning for Cybersecurity: A Review. Proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on Computing and Data Science (CDS), Stanford, CA, USA.10.1109/CDS49703.2020.00009 ↗
11. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Clinical Development: A Translational Perspective10.1038/s41746-019-0148-3 ↗
12. Application of Machine Learning in On-Line Calibration of Flow Measurement Errors10.1063/5.0226455 ↗
13. Artificial Intelligence for Sustainability: Challenges, Opportunities, and a Research Agenda
14. Artificial Intelligence for Detection, Estimation, and Compensation of Malicious Attacks in Nonlinear Cyber Physical Systems and Industrial IoT
15. Application of artificial intelligence in the oil and gas industry
16. Oil Sector and Technological Development: Effects of the Mandatory Research and Development (R&D) Investment Clause on Oil Companies in Brazil10.1016/j.resourpol.2018.04.006 ↗
17. Kumar, P., and Sonawane, A.K. (2004, January 23–28). Engineering Significance and Consequences of Gas Hydrates in Deep and Ultra Deep Water Development. Proceedings of the Fourteenth International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, Toulon, France.
18. Wang, H., Guo, Z., Kong, X., Zhang, X., Wang, P., and Shan, Y. (2024). Application of machine learning for shale oil and gas “sweet spots” prediction. Energies, 17.10.3390/en17092191 ↗
19. Visual Inspection and Characterization of External Corrosion in Pipelines Using Deep Neural Network10.1016/j.ndteint.2019.102134 ↗
20. Applications of supervised deep learning for seismic interpretation and inversion. Lead10.1190/tle38070526.1 ↗
21. Artificial Intelligence in Cyber Security: Research Advances, Challenges, and Opportunities10.1007/s10462-021-09976-0 ↗
22. A Review of Modern Approaches of Digitalization in Oil and Gas Industry10.1016/j.upstre.2023.100098 ↗
23. Artificial Intelligence in Information Systems Research: A Systematic Literature Review and Research Agenda
24. Non-Productive Time Reduction during Oil Wells Drilling Operations
25. Digital Transformation: A Review on Artificial Intelligence Techniques in Drilling and Production Applications10.1007/s00170-021-08631-w ↗
26. Machine Learning Methods Applied to Drilling Rate of Penetration Prediction and Optimization—A Review10.1016/j.petrol.2019.106332 ↗
27. Artificial Intelligence for Cybersecurity: Literature Review and Future Research Directions10.1016/j.inffus.2023.101804 ↗
28. Advancements in Predictive Maintenance in the Oil and Gas Industry: A Review of AI and Data Science Applications10.30574/wjarr.2023.20.3.2432 ↗
29. Roles of Artificial Intelligence in Construction Engineering and Management: A Critical Review and Future Trends10.1016/j.autcon.2020.103517 ↗
30. Machine Learning Techniques for the Analysis of Magnetic Flux Leakage Images in Pipeline Inspection10.1109/TMAG.2009.2020160 ↗
31. Fast Evaluation of Well Placements in Heterogeneous Reservoir Models Using Machine Learning10.1016/j.petrol.2018.01.019 ↗
32. Learning about Risk: Machine Learning for Risk Assessment10.1016/j.ssci.2019.06.001 ↗
33. Deep Learning Reservoir Porosity Prediction Based on Multilayer Long Short-Term Memory Network10.1190/geo2019-0261.1 ↗
34. Orrù, P.F., Zoccheddu, A., Sassu, L., Mattia, C., Cozza, R., and Arena, S. (2020). Machine Learning Approach Using MLP and SVM Algorithms for the Fault Prediction of a Centrifugal Pump in the Oil and Gas Industry. Sustainability, 12.10.3390/su12114776 ↗
35. Zhang, X., Zhang, J., Yuan, C., Liu, S., Chen, Z., and Li, W. (2020). Locating Induced Earthquakes with a Network of Seismic Stations in Oklahoma via a Deep Learning Method. Sci. Rep., 10.10.1038/s41598-020-58908-5 ↗
36. A New Hybrid Algorithm Model for Prediction of Internal Corrosion Rate of Multiphase Pipeline10.1016/j.jngse.2020.103716 ↗
37. Application of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Oil and Gas Industry
38. External Corrosion of Oil and Gas Pipelines: A Review of Failure Mechanisms and Predictive Preventions10.1016/j.jngse.2022.104467 ↗
39. Digital Transformation in Oil and Gas Production: Enhancing Efficiency and Reducing Costs10.51594/ijmer.v6i7.1263 ↗
40. De Souza, K.A., De Moraes, J.B., and Barbosa, L.C.M. (2022, January 26–29). Social responsibility in the context of the oil and gas industry: Lessons from offshore decommissioning. Proceedings of the Rio Oil & Gas Expo and Conference, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.10.48072/2525-7579.rog.2022.478 ↗
41. Vieira, G.V. (2025, June 30). Eficiência Energética Através da Implementação da Cultura ESG. Available online: http://hdl.handle.net/11449/238455.