AI-Powered Digital Twins Reduce the Time Needed to Identify Optimal Drilling Locations
In Russia’s oil and gas sector, AI‑powered digital twins are dramatically accelerating the process of identifying optimal drilling locations—cutting workflows that once took years down to mere months.
AI Accelerates Exploration and Drilling Decisions
In an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV channel, Aleksey Vashkevich, Director of Technological Development at Gazprom Neft, explained how artificial intelligence is transforming decision‑making in the oil and gas industry.
According to him, AI‑driven digital twins are applied at every stage of operations—from identifying new fields to guiding the drilling process itself. One of the most important effects is a dramatic reduction in the time required to determine the best drilling sites.
Boosting Field Development Efficiency
Digital twins of various systems and processes analyze data in real time and generate recommendations. Gazprom Neft’s scientific and technical center receives around 500 terabytes of field data every single day.
One example is the ERA:Optima intelligent system. Using three‑dimensional modeling, it automatically arranges well placements, determines operating parameters, runs production forecasts, calculates economic indicators, and presents specialists with a set of the most efficient development scenarios.
