Microsoft has demonstrated the power of digital transformation to the region’s oil and gas industry, as the company participated in the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) 2018.
Hosted by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, ADIPEC 2018 expects to welcome 110,000 patrons at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) from 12th to 15th November.
ADIPEC has become a key event on the calendar of the global Oil and Gas industry, gathering stakeholders and specialists from multiple disciplines for the purposes of knowledge exchange and collaboration. Microsoft’s theme at this year’s event is “Empowering Oil & Gas with AI”. The company’s booth is dedicated to showcasing solutions around artificial intelligence and Internet of Things and highlight how they can enable digital transformation within the industry – the means to engage customers, empower employees, optimise operations and reinvent business processes and services.
Microsoft experts demonstrated Azure IoT Edge capabilities in action allowing energy companies to extend cloud intelligence and analytics, and bring these innovations to edge devices in the field. The platform allows the containerisation of cloud workloads such as Azure Cognitive Services, Machine Learning and Stream Analytics to run locally, on devices ranging from a Raspberry Pi to an industrial gateway.
“Microsoft’s mission is to empower every individual and organisation on the planet to achieve more,” said Omar Saleh, Director Manufacturing and Resources, Middle East and Africa.
“Artificial intelligence comes together with cloud and edge computing to allow real-time, agile, decision-making support regardless of location. Devices, software and communications technology act as participants in a single, intelligent, harmonious ecosystem that allows organisations to plan, react and optimise in smarter ways. We are proud to bring these capabilities exhibited in solutions and showcases to ADIPEC 2018.”
Microsoft is also demonstrating the cloud-based support functions of Azure’s IoT Edge platform, including predictive maintenance, which enables equipment to be repaired in advance of failures, leading to greater operational uptime and significantly reduced costs. Other AI and IoT support benefits on display at Microsoft’s ADIPEC 2018 booth are remote monitoring, asset management, connected field services, and health and safety solutions building on AI and IOT.
“AI, leveraging of the intelligent cloud and edge computing, empowers efficiencies that provide distinctive competitive advantage for operators; these manifest in better reservoir characterisation, optimised drilling, reduced downtime, and safer operations to mention a few,” added Saleh.
