Recent progress and new developments of applications of artificial intelligence (AI), knowledge-based systems (KBS), and Machine Learning (ML) in the petroleum industry

Over the past two decades,broad-based and intense efforts have been devoted to apply concepts and methodologies from information technology(IT)and artificial intelligence(AI)to informatics research related to energy and environmental systems.Both academic research and industrial practices have generated an impressive amount of literature,which spans virtually every aspect of synergistic work among these disciplines.Informatics and systems analysis techniques are now being widely used by the practicing engineers and scientists to solve a broad range of problems in the petroleum industry.Speaking at the World Economic Forum at Davos Switzerland in 2017,Ginni Rometty,IBM′CEO at that time(now Executive Chairperson of IBM),described AI's role in the partnership between humans and machines as“augmented cognition.”In other words,AI not only supports but augments human cognition so that humans can be more efficient and“do a better job”[1,2].This should also be true and very beneficial for the petroleum industry.