At Shell, there are plenty of reasons to use AI and data to transform their business. 

From increased energy demands and unconnected environments to mounting pressure to fight climate change, the oil and gas industry is at a crossroads. Energy companies like Shell can either adhere to the status quo or embrace the idea of a low-carbon energy future.

The transition towards a more distributed, diverse and decentralized energy system means optimizing end-to-end processes and maintaining them at scale. That means solutions that can be deployed globally at a rapid pace are crucial. And it means Shell has had to become an AI-powered technology company.

For example, last November, Shell founded the Open AI Energy Initiative (OAI) alongside Baker Hughes, Microsoft, and enterprise AI company C3 AI to help accelerate the energy industry’s digital transformation.

According to Dan Jeavons, vice president of computational science and digital innovation at Shell, the OAI offers industry leaders the opportunity to collaborate openly, fairly and transparently. It allows them to create interoperable standards between AI applications and accelerate the adoption of digital technology and reach net-zero emissions in the future.

“We have committed to be net-zero by 2050 or sooner and to achieve a 50% reduction in scope one and two emissions by 2030,” he said. 

While digital technology may not be the silver bullet, it is one of the core levers Shell is using to accelerate the energy transition. Jeavons adds, “While we’re going to need to transform a lot of hardware to change the energy sector, we can also leverage the data we have today and use that to transform the system.”