Uche Cecil Izuora
The African Energy Week (AEW) 2026, working with key technology partners to create visibility opportunities for upstream operators to understand how AI is rapidly redefining upstream oil and gas operations.
Currently, the AI is shifting the sector toward automated data-driven production systems that reduce downtime and improve recovery rates.
This transformation is set to take center stage at this year’s African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 in Cape Town, where a new AI and Data Center Track is bringing together global technology providers and African upstream operators around digitalization and upstream efficiency.
Halliburton and ExxonMobil’s AI-driven system continuously interprets formation data, adjusts drilling trajectories and optimizes hydraulics in real time – and the results are tangible, boasting a 15 per cent faster reservoir section, 33 per cent reductions in tripping time and consistently precise well placement within hydrocarbon-rich zines.
Guyana’s closed-loop automation model is now shaping upstream strategies across Africa, where operators are deploying AI to improve exploration success and reduce production costs.
The success of Guyana’s AI-driven model is now offering a blueprint for African producers seeking to strengthen upstream economics, improve operational efficiency and remain competitive in an increasingly technology-driven global oil market.
In Nigeria, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL) is digitizing decades of seismic and well data using machine learning to support its 3 million barrel-per-day (bpd) target and lower operational expenses.
In Angola, service company SLB and Azule Energy – a joint venture between majors bp and Eni – are scaling enterprise digital operations through the Delfi platform, cutting well planning cycles from days to hours. The system integrates reservoir modeling and drilling workflows across assets.
SLB’s Africa Performance Center in Luanda has been inaugurated as a digital and AI hub designed to enhance offshore performance and local capacity building. The facility connects real-time data cloud systems and digital workflows to improve operational efficiency and support Angola’s goal of sustaining production above 1 million bpd.
Meanwhile, consulting group EY is deploying AI-driven digital tools to enhance efficiency across oil, gas, LNG and transportation operations, with real-time monitoring systems already helping operators predict failures and prevent flaring events before they occur.
These solutions improve uptime and sustainability while also supporting broader transaction advisory services that connect projects such as the Cabinda and Lobito refineries with financing and investment partners.
ExxonMobil is embedding AI and high-performance computing across its upstream portfolio using systems like the Discovery 6 supercomputer to accelerate seismic processing and improve reservoir modeling.
In Guyana, these tools have already contributed to over $1 billion in value creation while the company’s $2.32 billion acquisition of FPSO One Guyana expands production capacity.
In this evolving landscape, AEW 2026 is positioning itself as the key convergence platform linking global technology providers with African upstream operators. Aligning AI data infrastructure and energy investment strategies, the AI and Data Center Track underscores how digital transformation is becoming central to Africa’s upstream competitiveness and future production growth.