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Ecopetrol uses AI to improve oil exploration and production

Colombian oil company Ecopetrol will use AI to improve exploration and increase existing crude production. This initiative is part of the company's transition to greener energy sources.

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Colombia’s majority state-owned oil company, Ecopetrol, has announced that it will use new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), to improve exploration success rates and increase production from existing oil fields.

Advanced technology and artificial intelligence for oil production at Ecopetrol

The company’s new CEO, Ricardo Roa, who officially took office on Monday, said the goal was to make Ecopetrol’s oil fields “a little bit smarter” and increase crude production in different wells. He added that the use of “new technologies, with artificial intelligence, combined with data intelligence,” could increase daily production to about 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d). Currently, Ecopetrol produces 709,500 boe/d.

Roa also said the company would increase the recovery factor in its oil fields by at least 2%. The current recovery factor in Ecopetrol’s oil fields is about 19%, he said. In addition, the company will work to increase its exploration success rate, which is currently between 18% and 20%, although Roa did not give a specific target.

Acquisition of ISA: a responsible decision for Ecopetrol in the energy transition

This announcement comes in the context of the desire of the government of left-wing President Gustavo Petro to reduce Colombia’s dependence on oil and gas. Ecopetrol’s acquisition of a 51.4% stake in the energy conglomerate ISA was the first “responsible decision” the company made in the transition to greener, renewable energy sources, Roa said. The stake was purchased from the Colombian government for 14.2 trillion pesos ($3.1 billion) in 2021.

“When Ecopetrol acquired ISA, it acquired a different business than oil and gas,” Roa said. “This diversifies the portfolio, it decouples wealth generation from what is today Ecopetrol’s primary source, gas and oil, to generate cost-effective and profitable revenue options for the future,” he added.

The use of AI and other technologies in the petroleum industry is not new, but the growing demand for energy efficiency and the transition to greener energy sources have made it a necessity.

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