Conversations about AI often revolve around the outlooks for the Mag7, capex or the resources required to power the technology. This episode of the Barclays Brief explores agentic AI’s potential for tangible results if applied to the energy industry. Lydia Rainforth, Head of European Energy Equity Research, joins Patrick Coffey to explain how agentic AI, defined as systems that plan, decide and act without human intervention, could unlock $80bn in productivity gains by 2030. ​

The bulk of productivity gains could be realised in upstream – the exploration and extraction of raw oil and natural gas. Lydia breaks down practical use cases from faster seismic interpretation and higher hit rates in exploration to more precise, increasingly autonomous drilling. They also look at the hardware offering innovation in predictive maintenance using drones and robots that could cut downtime and increase output. ​

Listen now to hear the insights and the introduction of Barclays’ AI Readiness framework (BAIR), which allows clients of Barclays Investment Bank to see companies graded by their level of implementation of AI, helping identify potential winners and laggards.

Listeners can hear more on this topic:​

Barclays Brief Ep 6 - Hyperscalers: Hypergrowth, higher risk

Barclays Brief Ep 7 - US dollar & the AI capex cycle

Barclays Brief Ep 8 - Critical minerals: the new oil

Clients can read more on Barclays Live:​

New Horizons – Agentic AI, the $80bn game-changer for energy

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