Are we ever likely to see an AI CEO at an oil and gas company?
That’s the question Rigzone posed to Toni Fadnes, the Chief Transformation Officer (CTO) of eDrilling, which describes itself on its website as a technology company with an AI and software portfolio designed to drive the sustainable transformation of the energy industry.
Responding to the question, Fadnes told Rigzone, “no, I do not think so, and I surely hope not”.
“But we will sooner than we think see humans and AI agents working together hand in hand in exploration and production of hydrocarbons,” he added.
When Rigzone asked Fadnes if AI could manage an oil and gas company now or in the future, the eDrilling CTO said, “manage, I think yes”, adding “lead, I think no”.
Fadnes has previously served as eDrilling’s executive chairman and CEO, and joined the company, which is based in Norway, back in 2015.
On its site, eDrilling describes AI as a “megatrend” and highlights that it has built two “energy AI agents”. These comprise Ida, which is described on the company’s site as an AI drilling agent, and Nora, which is described on the site as a well design and engineering AI agent.
“I am tailored to address the unique challenges and requirements of drilling,” an explainer page on Ida, hosted on eDrilling’s site, states.
“I find the most effective and safe way to TD, and automate… complex and repetitive tasks, freeing up drilling teams and crews to focus on more strategic activities,” the page adds.
An explainer page on Nora states, “I help to design a well by pursuing design objectives and using the tools/software autonomously”.
“I automate the well design and engineering process, freeing up engineering teams and well planners to focus on more strategic activities,” it adds.
Ida and Nora are described as “a learning machine, not a database” and “a user of apps”, and are touted to know “data and physics”, in separate reports on Ida and Nora, which were sent to Rigzone by Fadnes.
“Think of Ida as like a teacher, who, through extensive study, is enabled to advise and explain, without having all the data memorized,” the eDrilling report on Ida notes.
“Ida pursue[s] complex goals autonomously with limited supervision. This can involve making long-term plans, using ‘tools’ and ‘apps’ (say, wellAhead, our Predictive AI software), and dynamically trying new approaches in response to new information,” it adds.
“Ida is accurate and contextual because she understands the logic and physics of the process of drilling a well,” the report goes on to state.
A statement sent to Rigzone by eDrilling in August last year revealed that , adding that “Ida … will graduate this winter, and immediately start getting experience in the real world”.
When Rigzone asked eDrilling at the time where Ida will be used, and who will use it, a company representative said the first version of Ida will primarily be a companion to drilling engineers and drillers in real-time drilling operations.
“Hence used on drilling sites, and on PCs, phones … wherever drilling engineers may roam,” the spokesperson added in August 2024.
When Rigzone asked if Ida will lead to job losses in the oil and gas sector back in August last year, the eDrilling company spokesperson said “no”. .
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