We could soon see more robotics and other artificial intelligence technology performing tasks and jobs in the energy sector.

KPMG’s recent 2018 U.S. Energy Survey, which polled 92 energy executives, revealed that the majority of them are in favor of utilizing emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and intelligent automation to improve business operations without a reduction in human workforce.

Regina Mayor, KPMG’s global and U.S. energy sector leader, said the survey revealed this is an exciting time in the industry as it moves toward streamlining and making production more efficient.

“One of things I find really exciting and what our survey and report recently validated is our energy industry is embracing technology and what it can do for it in every facet of their business,” Mayor said. “If you are in upstream, you are using it for everything from oil dynamics to drilling efficiencies to lease obligation management and all the various onshore challenges you have from an administrative perspective.”

The survey showed that 51% of the executives envision technology replacing tasks so employees can focus on more strategic jobs, and 32% of the decision-makers plan to use the technology to improve products and services.

Mayor said this emerging technology will mean that robotics would take on mundane tasks such as extracting data and putting it into letter form or mailing or emailing a letter to a particular person.

That will allow the workers to focus on the more critical jobs.

“It has lots of implications for the workforce,” Mayor said. “The biggest one being that most companies are hoping that they can use the technologies to make their workforce more efficient and effective. Leverage the human for the more exciting and analytical requirements and get them out the mundane.”

But naturally there will be concerns about robotics and artificial intelligence taking jobs from people. University of Houston professor Ramanan Krishnamoorti, who referenced the survey during an offshore safety presentation at UH’s Second Inter-American Hydrocarbons Regulators Dialogue Conference on April 26, said the turn to A.I. is not about removing the human element at all.

“You ask the common person why they don’t want A.I. and they will tell you because it will eliminate people,” he said. “That is the least important aspect of why people want to bring in A.I. The main focus is can I improve productivity? Can I optimize my business practices so that we can make better decisions? That is the front-and-center aspect.”

Mayor says the use of robotics and A.I. will improve efficiency and drive down costs. She points to a recent story she heard from a rig worker who was discussing how data and analytics had allowed his company to take 50 out of offshore rigs without eliminating those people. They were simply allocated to other areas.

“They reduce costs because it cost on average a million dollars a year to put somebody on a rig,” Mayor said. “If you can do more on a rig with fewer people and still have the same environmental protection, safety and the same or better production at a reduced cost then it’s a win-win-win.”

While some robotic and artificial intelligence is already being used in the energy sector, Mayor said it will be full blown in three to five years.

“You are already seeing a lot of it in place today,” Mayor said. “Most of the ushering clients for example have expensive rigs, offshore well production, big data, analytics, performance dashboards. You might be looking at data that is coming from an App that might be in Africa and there are people in Houston who are analyzing how that is operating.

“A lot of that is being used today and in three to five years we won’t even be talking about it anymore because it will just be `Yeah, that’s how work gets done.’”

Terrance Harris can be reached at tharris@hartenergy.com