applied
sciences
Editorial
Artificial Intelligence Applications in Petroleum Exploration
and Production
Hangyu Li 1,2, *, Xianzhi Song 3 and Shuyang Liu 1,2, *
Citation: Li, H.; Song, X.; Liu, S.
Artificial Intelligence Applications in
Petroleum Exploration and
Production. Appl. Sci. 2023, 13, 6214.
https://doi.org/10.3390/app13106214
Received: 11 May 2023
Accepted: 15 May 2023
Published: 19 May 2023
Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13, 6214. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13106214
1 Key Laboratory of Unconventional Oil & Gas Development of Ministry of Education, China University of
Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
2 School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China
3 College of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Beijing 102249, China
* Correspondence: lihangyu@upc.edu.cn (H.L.); liu.shuyang@upc.edu.cn (S.L.)
Recent advances in computer and data sciences have made artificial intelligence
techniques a useful tool in tackling the problems in petroleum exploration and production.
Intelligent exploration and production have become a hot topic both in academia and oil
and gas companies. This Special Issue aims to solicit recent progress and best practices in
the application of artificial intelligence techniques in petroleum exploration and production.
This Special Issue comprises 11 research articles.
Li et al. [1] developed a method of intelligent stuck pipe type recognition using dig-
ital twins and a knowledge graph model. The results show that the stuck pipe type can
be identified according to the degree of stuck pipe, the changing trend of the character-
istic parameters of stuck pipe, and the knowledge graph of stuck pipe types, and the
method can accurately identify the stuck pipe type and provide a basis for taking targeted
deconstruction measures.
Zang et al. [2] established an intelligent rate of penetration (ROP) prediction model
through the random forest algorithm and conducted drilling parameters optimization
for horizontal wells based on a multi-objective genetic algorithm to improve ROP and
reduce drill string drag. The results show that the ROP of the horizontal section of the
new well increases by 10.3%, and the drag reduces by 4.5% on average compared with the
adjacent well.
Fang et al. [3] developed a novel cementing quality evaluation method based on the
convolutional neural network. The authors proposed a multi-scale perceptual convolutional
neural network with kernels of different sizes that can extract and fuse information of
different scales in variable density logging. The results show that the new model is more
stable and more suitable than other convolutional neural networks for the identification of
cementing quality.
Li et al. [4] developed a machine learning-assisted prediction method of Oil production
and CO2 storage effect in CO2 -water-alternating-gas injection (CO2 -WAG). It demonstrated
that the proposed machine learning method can rapidly predict CO2 -WAG performance
with high accuracy by the average absolute prediction deviations of 1.10%, 3.04%, and
2.24% for cumulative oil production, CO2 storage amount, and CO2 storage efficiency with
high computational efficiency under conditions of various injection parameters.
Yin et al. [5] proposed an identification method of the gas kick type in a fractured
formation by combining the dynamic time warping (DTW) and the wellbore formation,
coupled with a two-phase flow model. The field example results show that the method can
identify the type of gas kick, based on the real-time surface measurement parameters, and
provide a basis for taking targeted well control measures.
Ji et al. [6] proposed a deep-learning-based model by using long short-term memory
(LSTM) and an artificial neural network (ANN) to generate synthetic compressional wave
velocity and conducted a case study of the Ulleung Basin gas hydrate in the Republic of
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Appl. Sci. 2023, 13, 6214 2 of 3

Korea. The results implied that the proposed method can accurately estimate missing well-
logging data, contributing to the reservoir characterization of gas-hydrate-bearing sediments.
Liu et al. [7] combined the powerful timing information-based mining ability of the
LSTM with the nonlinear fitting ability of FNN (fully connected neural network), and
established a rate of penetration prediction method for ultra-deep wells based on LSTM–
FNN. The results show that the average relative error and R2 of the LSTM–FNN model on
the data of well 1 and well 2 is better than the FNN and LSTM models, with the accuracy
of adjacent wells reduced by only 5%.
Zhu et al. [8] proposed a hybrid neural network model for predicting the bottomhole
pressure in managed pressure drilling by combining the different advantages of back
propagation (BP), LSTM, and a one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1DCNN)
model. The results show that the relative error of the best model is about 70% lower than
the optimal single intelligent model.
Pratama and Latiff [9] conducted automated geological feature detection in 3D seismic
data using semi-supervised learning. It was demonstrated that the proposed convolutional
neural network (CNN)-based model is highly accurate and consistent with the previous
manual interpretation in both cases with the synthetic data and the real seismic investigation
from the A Field in the Malay Basin.
Zhu et al. [10] developed an intelligent prediction of stuck pipe using the combined
data-driven and knowledge-driven model. The results show that the proposed model can
predict stuck pipe events with an F1 of 0.98 and a FAR (false alarm rate) of 1%.
Syahputra et al. [11] studied pay-zone determination using enhanced workflow and
neural networks. Unsupervised learning of self-organizing maps (SOM) is applied to
delineate hydrocarbons from given AVO properties for detecting hydrocarbons. The
proposed method validates a promising performance in defining probable hydrocarbons
using real seismic data and it enables the early detection of hydrocarbon content during
the preliminary stage of exploration when no well is accessible.

Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References
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2. Zang, C.; Lu, Z.; Ye, S.; Xu, X.; Xi, C.; Song, X.; Guo, Y.; Pan, T. Drilling parameters optimization for horizontal wells based on
a multiobjective genetic algorithm to improve the rate of penetration and reduce drill string drag. Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 11704.
[CrossRef]
3. Fang, C.; Wang, Z.; Song, X.; Zhu, Z.; Yang, D.; Liu, M. A novel cementing quality evaluation method based on convolutional
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4. Li, H.; Gong, C.; Liu, S.; Xu, J.; Imani, G. Machine learning-assisted prediction of oil production and CO2 storage effect in
CO2 -water-alternating-gas injection (CO2 -WAG). Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 10958. [CrossRef]
5. Yin, H.; Si, M.; Cui, H.; Li, Q.; Liu, W. Combining knowledge and a data driven method for identifying the gas kick type in a
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Appl. Sci. 2023, 13, 6214 3 of 3

11. Syahputra, L.A.; Hermana, M.; Satti, I. Pay zone determination using enhanced workflow and neural network. Appl. Sci. 2022,
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