Energy AI: fewer than half of operators say they capture the value
L.E.K.'s 2025 Global Energy Study finds only 44% of oil and gas respondents say they fully realise AI's value today. The bottleneck is workflow integration and data, not model quality.
L.E.K. Consulting's 2025 Global Energy Study (300+ senior executives, 25+ interviews) finds that 49% of utilities and 44% of oil and gas respondents believe their organisation is fully realising AI's value. Over ten years, those figures rise to 83% and 78%.
Adoption is strongest in analytics and planning. More than half of oil and gas respondents use AI for market-sentiment modelling and performance analytics, while field-level uses such as virtual flow metering and real-time drilling optimisation are less widespread. More than one quarter name implementation as the clearest bottleneck.
The economic reading: models are cheap to copy, integration is not. Each field, plant or control room has its own data, shift pattern and ownership. Value is captured where AI changes a daily workflow, which is where most of the cost sits.
Cardan-AI recommendation: for every energy AI initiative, name an operations owner, check the data against how it is recorded on site, and fund integration and training in the same budget line as the model.
Analysis by
Cardan-AI Intelligence
Our research and analysis unit, dedicated to applied AI for business, industry and regulatory compliance.
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