Last month in Austin, Texas, Enverus, a leading generative AI and energy-dedicated SaaS company, hosted its Evolve 2024 conference, releasing free access to its new Instant Analyst technology to customers in attendance, adding 750 users that will be able to find concise answers quickly across tens of thousands of documents with the push of a button. Below, Manuj Nikhanj, president of Enverus, and the company’s chief innovation officer, Colin Westmoreland, are joined by Mary Frances Deibert of Ironwood Midstream Energy Partners and Tenaris’s Thomas Greene, both Enverus customers, to discuss the growing possibilities of AI in the energy sector.
MPT: How can AI become a tool for oil and gas or energy transition research?
Manuj Nikhanj: The total demand for energy is only increasing through time and a strong network of connections and support is needed to maintain a resilient and reliable energy systems. If one piece of that network fails, it’s not just a ripple effect; it can be felt like a tsunami. That’s why we engage in dialogue with our customers to meet their needs before their challenges arrive.
Mary Frances Deibert: Enverus provides valuable tools, especially for our business development group. Enverus does a great job of pulling together information about producers, and producers are our customer base. We gain a competitive edge when our team can access data and parse it in a way that makes sense for our company. The data is the data, but the way Enverus provides access lets us pull data together so that fits into our business like a little puzzle piece. We employ the data to create opportunities, adding real value to our business.
MPT: What differentiates Instant Analyst from other AI platforms available?
Colin Westmoreland: High quality data and intelligence is core to our DNA, but we need to move beyond “just” better, faster decisions. Searching, sourcing, and citing the research behind an answer is now available to these users in a matter of seconds.
Thomas Greene: I think AI is going to be revolutionary. As an early user, I think Instant Analyst is set apart from other generative AI because of the source material that is behind it. With Enverus, you’ve got thirty-plus years of market intelligence that you’re pulling from, which is not something you’re going to be getting when you’re referencing ChatGPT or Copilot.
MPT: How are events like your Evolve conference paving the way for greater adoption of AI in the energy sector?
Colin Westmoreland: Learning and development training courses were also offered during Evolve. The L&D program is aimed at helping energy professionals enhance their skillsets around data-focused job functions that improve career growth opportunities.
Manuj Nikhanj: As an industry, we all have an inspiring mission to power the global quality of life for the eight billion people on our planet. Energy—an already complex connected ecosystem—is only getting more challenging to navigate. Together with them, we are creating the future of energy together.