Energy & O&G29 October 2026

ASCO invests $24.4M in AI for offshore logistics

Offshore logistics provider ASCO is committing £18.3 million (about $24.4 million) over six years to AI and automation for North Sea materials management. A major energy client saw an 80% cut in materials processing time; one operator saved £36 million in inventory costs.

ASCO, a UK- and Norway-based offshore logistics and materials management provider, has announced a £18.3 million (roughly $24.4 million) investment over the next six years in digital tools, AI, and automation. Most of the spending goes to the Integrated Logistics Management System (iLMS), covering material, cargo, quayside, and transport management, alongside an expanded waste management system aimed at improving environmental reporting.

The company already runs AI-supported load optimization, automated data capture, image recognition, hazard identification, and barcode- and RFID-based materials tracking, coordinated through 24/7 operational control centers in the UK and Norway.

The results cited are concrete: an unnamed major global energy company saw an 80% cut in materials processing time, while an unnamed North Sea operator realized about £36 million (roughly $48 million) in inventory savings. ASCO has also brought in Steve Shearman as its newly created chief AI officer, who says the focus will be on "practical applications that solve real problems and can demonstrate measurable value" rather than technology for its own sake.

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