The revolution of artificial intelligence and the advancement of this technology in the future will also be very beneficial for well-known oil and gas companies. We will explain the reason for this in the following.
Some time ago, 180 thousand people in ADIPECparticipated in the largest annual meeting of the global oil and gas industry in Abu Dhabi. The main goal of this year’s gathering was to establish a connection between artificial intelligence and the field of energy, which could be predicted. On the eve of this event, “Sultan Al Jaber”, CEO of the Emirates National Oil Company, held a private meeting with senior managers in the field of technology and energy. At the same time as the ADIPEC event was held, a wide survey was published with the participation of about 400 prominent managers in the field of energy, technology and finance, the results of which showed that with the reduction of energy consumption and emission of greenhouse gases, Transform the energy industry.
Such a view about artificial intelligence Very ambitious, but many managers Energy industry Seeking to achieve profits faster, in the process of creation AI wave are; because Tech giants They are scrambling to find ways to power the data centers they are building.
Reasons why energy giants are eager to develop the AI revolution
“Large-scale companies are creating explosive demand for natural gas,” said Murray Auchincloss, CEO of British Petroleum, in late October. In September, Mike Wirth, CEO of Chevron, an American oil company, said about the role of artificial intelligence advancement in the energy industry:
“Artificial intelligence advances depend not only on the design labs of Silicon Valley, but also on the gas fields of the Permian Basin!”
Of course, the duration of cooperation between the technology giants and the oil and gas industry is not known.
The oil and gas industry has been under pressure lately. Contrary to the threats of the spread of conflicts in the Middle East, the increase in US production and the decrease in Chinese demand have reduced the price of oil. Recently, Western oil giants, including companies under the supervision of Mike Wirth and Murray Auchincloss, have reported weak quarterly earnings figures; The profits of these companies have decreased due to the 15% drop in oil prices compared to last year.
The boom in artificial intelligence may come as little relief to oil executives as demand for natural gas increases. According to the estimate of Goldman Sachs, the investment bank, the prosperity and growth of data centers in the United States by 2030 will require 47 gigawatts of electricity in excess of current production, 60% of which will come from gas and 40% from renewable sources such as wind and sun. will be provided This bank believes that the gas market can grow by 50% globally in the next 5 years.
Many of the leading technology giants in the field of artificial intelligence have announced ambitious commitments to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions, but if these companies supply the energy needed for their data centers with gas, they will face problems. When a local utility company in the American South tried to convince officials to approve the construction of new gas-fired power plants to meet the growing demand for electricity, a group of tech company executives threatened that if instead of generating electricity with gas, clean energy If not produced, they will build their data centers in another state.
Based on growing evidence, natural gas damage to the climate may be greater than what industry executives claim; These evidences have made the matter more complicated. Industrial managers claim that the greenhouse gases created due to the burning of natural gases are half the amount of gases released due to the burning of coal, but this claim is only true if the emission of greenhouse gases related to the field of gas production and transmission is not considered. Draining and burning methane, which is a stronger greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, is a special problem.
On the other hand, some of the largest oil and gas companies have pledged to drastically reduce their methane emissions, but so far they have not made much progress in fulfilling their commitment. According to World Bank estimates, methane burning in the oil and gas industry globally will increase by 7% from 2022 to 2023. Analyzes by the Environmental Protection Foundation, which is an environmental group, show that methane emissions from the US oil and gas sector have been 4 times higher than the estimates of the Environmental Protection Agency (a government agency).
This issue puts technology companies in a tight spot; These companies may have to agree on climate commitments or at least delay them to avoid falling behind in the AI race; Even if they don’t, they may create a situation where industries are forced to remain dependent on gas for a longer period of time by taking over existing clean energy capacity.
This helps to answer the question of why technology companies are investing in the development of clean energy sources. Microsoft, as a technology giant, has signed a $10 billion deal with Brookfield, an asset management company, to develop more than 10 gigawatts of renewable energy to power its data centers. More similar contracts are likely to follow; Therefore, oil managers will also benefit greatly from the prosperity and revolution of artificial intelligence.
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