Oil and gas operators are grappling with an ageing workforce, a looming demand peak and the age-old, sector-defining four Ds: dull, distant, dirty and dangerous. It is a headache-inducing combination, but emerging technologies promise to reshape at least some of oil and gas’ aggravating factors.
A recent report by Offshore Technology’s parent company, GlobalData, notes: “Combining automation with Internet of Things or AI technologies enables the collection and analysis of data, facilitating predictive maintenance and uninterrupted production, and can aid exploration through seismic data analysis.
“Consequently, the skill set required in the oil and gas sector is changing. Proficiency in digital tools will become essential for workers, while the significance of manual labour skills will diminish as automated systems take on these tasks.”
Among the wealth of burgeoning technologies and their multitudinous use cases, a handful are already changing practices at every stage of oil and gas operations.
Drilling is reaching higher levels of accuracy, AI is supercharging pipeline management, while embedded sensors and augmented reality (AR) overlays are rewriting employee connectivity and offering improved communication between offshore teams.
AI in pipeline management: Oceanit
In pipeline management, AI analysis and improved sensors are making pigging ‘smart’. Multi-spectral imaging, inertial navigation systems (INS), ultrasonic and computer vision are among the technologies being incorporated to more accurately identify and pinpoint corrosion, build-up and integrity defects in pipelines.
One example is Oceanit’s AI PiggyBack solution, which collects, analyses and stores visual inspection data. AI analysis of this data can be used to create surface quality reports related to corrosion, surface cleanliness and quality control, particularly following the application of internal surface treatments and coatings.
PiggyBack was originally developed as a quality control tool for DragX, Oceanit’s nano composite surface treatment technology. Patrick Sullivan, CEO and founder of Oceanit, tells Offshore Technology: “We were seeking a low-cost and rapid way to inspect the quality of the internal nanocomposite application and periodically monitor the integrity of the surface treatment over time. The goal was to avoid using current smart pigs, which require significant cost and intervention to use.”
The result was an AI-driven pipeline inspection gauge system that incorporated multi-spectral imaging, on-board INS for precise geolocation data and predictive AI. The AI system flags any anomalies identified within pipelines and uses pattern recognition alongside progressive condition sensing to provide insights on asset health and life cycle stage, as well as any potential need for maintenance.
“As a part of our development process we successfully demonstrated that AI could be used to quantify the internal surface condition, including severity of corrosion, integrity of internal coating and projected time to intervention of pipelines using data from the visual spectrum only,” explains Sullivan.
Multispectral imaging captures images across the electromagnetic spectrum, including in bands such as near-infrared, short-wave infrared and ultraviolet. Applied within oil and gas pipelines, it can reveal additional details about the condition of materials, beyond the red, green and blue spectrum visible to the human eye. Pair this super-human vision with AI, and multispectral imaging provides insights beyond traditional visual analysis.
“As an example, non-visible tracers can be added to optically clear surface treatments and coatings to allow tools to simultaneously inspect the underlying metal substrate of the pipe, while also assessing coverage of the surface treatment,” says Sullivan.
Seeing and understanding are only two parts of a triad, however – identifying the problem is of little use unless you know where it is. INS provides this final piece of the puzzle, enabling operators to make precise interventions.
While the technology is still young, the interest is there. “In the US, many mid-stream operators have expressed interest in having the ability to conduct assessments of pipeline infrastructure while minimising impact to operations,” says Sullivan. “Internationally, we have seen a significant increases in demand from oil and gas operators that are managing aging fields with high water cut and the associated flow assurance issues that come with it.”
This story was written by Eve Thomas for Offshore Technologies and was published on March 2, 2026. Read the full story here.
