Energy Secretary Perry visits National Energy Technology Laboratory in Pittsburgh

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry visited on Tuesday the National Energy Technology Laboratory in Pittsburgh to learn about the laboratory’s work related to using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) techniques to improve oil and gas recovery effectiveness while reducing environmental impacts.

NETL Director Brian Anderson hosted the visit. Secretary Perry was briefed on NETL’s Center for Advanced Decision Science, a data analytics approach that supports using machine learning and big data analytics algorithms for fossil energy research challenges. Partners in the initiative include Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), West Virginia University (WVU), Battelle, Leidos, industry partners through existing oil and gas field labs and Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships and other national labs.

NETL officials also discussed the laboratory’s efforts to find opportunities to apply ML approaches and validate their application in the field. NETL is also developing AI applications for a multiphase particle tracking software platform.

NETL’s work builds on investments by the DOE Office of Fossil Energy to develop rapid predictive modeling capabilities like computational fluid dynamics, which uses applied mathematics, physics and computational software to visualize how a gas or liquid flows and how the gas or liquid affects objects as it flows past.