Evolving Role of AI and Digital Technologies – Upstream and Industrial Operations
Explore how Jayanth Nair of Wood examines the evolving role of AI and digital technologies across upstream and industrial operations, from predictive analytics through to agentic workflows and autonomous optimisation.
The presentation highlights how organisations are already combining AI with engineering and operational expertise to deliver measurable outcomes, including predictive maintenance, gas lift optimisation, refinery scheduling, start-up control, and AI-assisted maintenance compliance. Across these applications, Wood demonstrates how AI is helping operators reduce downtime, improve profitability, optimise production, and streamline engineering workflows.
A major focus of the session is the progression of AI capabilities within heavy industry, moving beyond predictive and diagnostic workflows towards optimisation, process control, and agentic systems capable of automating complex engineering and operational tasks. The presentation also explores the growing role of Deep Reinforcement Learning and large language models in supporting industrial decision-making and workflow automation.
Nair also emphasises that successful AI deployment depends on strong data foundations. From governance and interoperability to IT/OT integration, data quality, simulation models, and digitised documentation, the session outlines the critical considerations organisations must address to scale AI responsibly and create long-term operational value.
