AIQ’s Agentic AI Boosts Production Capacity by 50%, Reduces Emissions Across All Levels – Penubarthi
In this interview, Ndubuisi Micheal Obineme, Managing Editor of The Energy Republic, talks to Saravan Penubarthi, Chief Technology Officer at AIQ, about how the company’s Agentic AI technologies are revolutionizing operations across the energy, oil, and gas industries.
From predictive optimization, seismic analysis and interpretation, and intelligent asset management, Penubarthi talks about AIQ’s impactful product portfolio, including ENERGYai, the company’s pioneering agentic AI platform that is currently in the deployment phase.
Excerpts:
TER: Could you provide a brief introduction about yourself?
Penubarthi: My name is Saravan Penubarthi. I am the Chief Technology Officer at AIQ and have been working for the company for the past three years.
We have done a great job on Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially in the energy and oil, and gas space. We have integrated AI across operations.
TER: How would you evaluate the current state of artificial intelligence?
Penubarthi: If you asked me this question three years ago, I would have said AI is still in the labs. Right now, from my personal experience, artificial intelligence is everywhere in the B2B space, not just in energy, but across major industries.
At AIQ, we have this line: AI all the way from the control room to the board room, and we have executed our vision. Today, AI is inculcated across the energy value chain from exploration to distribution.
TER: Why is AIQ involved in AI solutions?
Penubarthi: If you see what we have done in energy space in the last five years, it is tremendous; no one has done it.
We have created solutions across the energy value chain, with data science used for augmented solutions and autonomous operations. Our artificial intelligence solutions help humans become more efficient and run specific tasks autonomously, particularly in hazardous environments in the energy sector.
We have developed 14 AI-enabled products in the last five years. Today, these products are being used in the field.
I will share some metrics as well.
In the UAE, more than 20% of ADNOC wells are being run by AI, which has been developed by AIQ. These wells are running autonomously. It is the first time this has happened in the UAE. AIQ has made it a reality.
All ADNOC’s reservoir analysis is done by AIQ’s AI tools. We have also developed a program called Energy to the Power of AI (ENERGYai), which is the first agentic AI solution in the energy space, focused on the oil and gas industry. We also created an IP around it. These are some of the technological milestones that I’m very proud to be part of, along with my team.
We have also filed 21 patents in the last five years, and have begun looking at routes to export our technology.
TER: You mentioned AIQ developed 14 products on AI. Could you provide an overview of these products and their key functions?
Penubarthi: All our products fall into one of four categories.
- To improve production,
- Efficiency
- Sustainability
- Safety
Talking about production improvement, we have a product called RoboWell. RoboWell is the world’s first autonomous well control system. It intelligently controls the well in real-time, without any direct human intervention, and adjusts the choke point as well as the gaps to inject.
Prior to this solution, these tasks were done manually, leading to production loss. With our AI solution, we have seen an oil recovery improvement rate of 5%, which translates into improved production metrics.
We have another solution called AR360, an advanced reservoir AI solution. The manual reservoir analysis process can take weeks or months, even with multiple people working together.
Today, our AI solution makes the entire reservoir analysis process something that can be achieved in just a few minutes, involving a smaller team. What has this achieved? It has improved efficiencies, allowing the workforce of reservoir engineers to focus on other strategic decision-making tasks.
We have another product in the sustainability category called EMISSIONX, which helps to monitor emissions.
As we all know, emission reduction isn’t only at the company level, but at the country level. When you talk about abatement, someone must monitor it and forecast it.
EMISSIONX monitors emissions in real-time and informs staff of exactly what decisions need to be taken on the equipment utilization to reduce overall emissions.
We have another product called a SMARTi that focuses on safety. It converts the entire CCTV analytics into HSE alerts within seconds. These are the kinds of solutions we offer.
TER: What are the competitive advantages in terms of cost efficiency, and how does it boost a company’s operational excellence?
Penubarthi: There is a famous line that I always use. People look at AI like any other automation software. But it is not the case. AI is a technology that not only focuses on the bottom line but also focuses on the top line.
AI is not just about optimization, it’s about multiplication.
With our AI technology, unplanned shutdowns can be reduced by more than 50% in the energy sector. This means production capacity is increased by more than 50%.
In terms of efficiency, we have improved the efficiency by more than 70% for seismic analysis, meaning it can be done within a few days, not months. The efficiency gains are based on AI.
TER: Which specific AI technologies are reshaping AIQ’s business model and strategic partnerships?
Penubarthi: At AIQ, we believe there is no one winner in the space of AI. We always believe in partnerships, and our company has entered numerous strategic agreements over the last five years.
AIQ has established strategic partnerships with the likes of SLB, Halliburton, Baker Hughes, and all the big system integrators and technology providers support our solutions.
In terms of the technologies shaping the industry, we have been part of the development of a few, including machine learning and the optimization of agentic AI.
Notably, we are working on developing an AI workforce solution. It will revolutionize the energy sector, especially how humans and AI co-exist and collaborate.
TER: The global energy landscape is evolving to energy addition as the world’s energy demand is increasing at a faster-than-average pace, with energy security a major talking point globally. What pivotal role can AI play in the global energy mix? What should the energy sector focus on in building a formidable workforce in this era of artificial intelligence?
Penubarthi: At AIQ, we believe that it’s energy for AI and AI for energy. For AI to operate efficiently, it requires a good amount of energy, including data centres, and government authorities need to push this initiative forward.
In terms of the AI native workforce that we are currently developing, AIQ is advancing this product line to revolutionize the global energy workforce system.
Apart from this, we also believe in working with academia. In the UAE and globally, we work with universities, assisting students so that by the time they come to the corporate world, they know what are the things that they need to work on.
TER: AI data centres require massive amounts of energy to function efficiently. A single query on ChatGPT can consume up to 10 times more energy than a Google search, leaving industries vulnerable to energy outages and capacity limitations. Can only renewables power AI data centres?
Penubarthi: AIQ is an intelligence provider, and we don’t provide the energy infrastructures to our customers. Of course, we are part of G42, which has a separate company (Khazna) that focuses on energy infrastructure here in the UAE.
But all I can tell you is from the experience of what’s happening within the industry and our partners, is that the new data centres that are coming up are powered by a mix of renewables and traditional energy sources.
Also, there are ways to reduce the amount of energy consumption of the AI software in the data centre if they are architected properly.
TER: What’s next for AIQ in terms of your company’s deliverables in the Middle East and other countries?
Penubarthi: What we have done in the last five years has created a base of success stories and case studies here in the UAE.
Early this year, we began deploying our technologies beyond the Middle East.
Recently, we have entered markets including Indonesia and Colombia, and have signed strategic partnerships in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and Kazakhstan, with more in the pipeline.
The year 2025 has been an exciting one for us to venture into new markets, while 2026 will be all about scaling these opportunities to the next level.
