ABU DHABI — Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has significantly expanded its digital transformation strategy by deploying an artificial intelligence-powered Real-Time Operations Center (RTOC) across more than 120 onshore and offshore drilling rigs, strengthening operational efficiency and reinforcing its ambition to become one of the world’s most AI-enabled energy companies.
Developed in partnership with global energy technology company SLB, the new platform provides engineers with a real-time view of drilling operations, enabling faster decision-making, predictive insights, and improved coordination across ADNOC’s drilling fleet.
The deployment marks one of the largest AI implementations in upstream oil and gas operations in the region and reflects the UAE’s broader commitment to integrating advanced technologies into critical industries
AI Brings Real-Time Intelligence to Drilling Operations
The AI-enabled Real-Time Operations Center consolidates live data from ADNOC’s drilling rigs into a single digital platform, allowing engineering and operational teams to monitor, analyze, and manage drilling activities more efficiently. Instead of relying on multiple disconnected systems, engineers now have access to automated dashboards and AI-powered analytics that transform large volumes of operational data into actionable insights.
According to ADNOC, the technology reduces engineering effort by 30% to 40%, allowing specialists to oversee two to three times more drilling rigs while maintaining operational visibility. The platform also accelerates reporting processes that previously took several days, enabling teams to generate operational reports within hours.
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Reducing Downtime and Improving Performance
One of the platform’s most significant advantages is its ability to identify operational issues before they develop into larger problems. By continuously analysing real-time drilling data, the AI system helps reduce incident response times by four to twelve hours while avoiding one to two days of potential rig downtime.
This predictive capability enables faster intervention, improves drilling performance, and reduces costly operational interruptions across ADNOC’s upstream assets. For a company operating one of the world’s largest drilling fleets, even small improvements in efficiency can translate into substantial operational and financial benefits.
Supporting ADNOC’s AI Strategy
Musabbeh Al Kaabi, ADNOC Upstream CEO, said the deployment demonstrates how artificial intelligence is moving beyond experimentation to create measurable business value.
“The Real-Time Operations Center creates value across ADNOC’s drilling operations every minute by embedding AI into the heart of our drilling operations, helping our teams make faster, smarter decisions at scale.”
He added that the platform, developed securely within the UAE, reflects ADNOC’s strategy of transforming AI ambitions into practical applications while advancing its goal of becoming the world’s most AI-enabled energy company.
The deployment forms part of ADNOC’s wider digital transformation programme, which increasingly integrates artificial intelligence, automation, and advanced analytics into core operational workflows.
SLB Provides the Digital Foundation
The platform is powered by SLB’s DrillOps™ intelligent well delivery and insights solutions, which integrate operational data from ADNOC’s drilling activities into a unified environment.
By combining live drilling information with AI-driven analytics, the system enables business, drilling, and asset management teams to identify operational risks earlier, improve collaboration, and make faster, more informed decisions.
According to Rakesh Jaggi, President of Digital at SLB, the technology provides the digital infrastructure needed to support AI-enabled workflows across one of the industry’s largest drilling operations.
“DrillOps transforms real-time drilling data into operational intelligence that helps teams make faster, more informed decisions.”
He noted that the platform’s deployment within ADNOC’s sovereign cloud environment also supports the industry’s long-term progression toward increasingly autonomous operations.
Built in the UAE, Secured in the UAE
A key feature of the Real-Time Operations Center is its sovereign cloud architecture. Developed in the UAE and hosted entirely within ADNOC’s domestic cloud infrastructure, the platform ensures that sensitive operational information remains securely stored under UAE jurisdiction.
Maintaining critical drilling data locally strengthens cybersecurity, operational resilience, and digital independence while supporting national priorities around secure data management.
As AI adoption expands across critical industries, sovereign digital infrastructure is becoming increasingly important for protecting strategic assets and maintaining regulatory compliance.
Driving the Future of Intelligent Energy
The deployment supports ADNOC Onshore and ADNOC Offshore by providing faster operational insights across their drilling activities while reducing manual analysis and improving consistency in decision-making.
It also reflects a broader transformation taking place across the global energy industry, where companies are investing heavily in artificial intelligence, automation, predictive maintenance, and data analytics to improve operational performance.
For ADNOC, the latest implementation builds on a growing portfolio of digital initiatives aimed at increasing productivity, improving safety, and supporting long-term sustainable growth.
As the UAE continues positioning itself as a global hub for AI innovation, the integration of intelligent technologies into the country’s energy sector demonstrates how digital transformation is becoming a strategic driver of competitiveness.
Why It Matters
The deployment of the AI-powered Real-Time Operations Center goes beyond operational improvements. It highlights ADNOC’s commitment to embedding artificial intelligence into its core business while supporting the UAE’s broader digital economy ambitions.
With more than 120 drilling rigs connected through a single intelligent platform, ADNOC is creating a more connected, data-driven operating environment capable of responding faster to challenges and improving overall efficiency.
The initiative also reinforces the growing role of AI in transforming traditional industries, demonstrating how advanced technologies can deliver measurable productivity gains while strengthening energy security and operational resilience.
