Digital drillers
Automation, machine learning, artificial intelligence and other new technologies could transform the oil industry
The digital oilfield has been a buzzword bouncing around the industry for at least a decade but its time might finally be arriving in the oil patch. Technological advances are coinciding with one of the most severe disruptions the oil industry has seen in generations, which has left companies looking for new answers to a seminal question: how to cope with what may be years of lower prices. The renewed enthusiasm for all things tech was on display at this year's CERAWeek conference in Houston, the US' biggest industry confab. Views on prices and policies from executives and ministers drew the usual headlines, but the more lasting and transformational story may have been taking place in the ha
Also in this section
18 February 2026
With Texas LNG approaching financial close, Alaska LNG advancing towards a phased buildout and Magnolia LNG positioned for future optionality, Glenfarne CEO Brendan Duval says the coming year will demonstrate how the company’s more focused, owner-operator approach is reshaping LNG infrastructure development in the North America
18 February 2026
The global gas industry is no longer on the backfoot, hesitantly justifying the value of its product, but has greater confidence in gas remaining a core part of the global energy mix for decades
18 February 2026
With marketable supply unlikely to grow significantly and limited scope for pipeline imports, Brazil is expected to continue relying on LNG to cover supply shortfalls, Ieda Gomes, senior adviser of Brazilian thinktank FGV Energia,
tells Petroleum Economist
17 February 2026
The 25th WPC Energy Congress, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 26–30 April 2026, will bring together leaders from the political, industrial, financial and technology sectors under the unifying theme “Pathways to an Energy Future for All”
