Brazil’s federal oil company Petrobras is testing quantum computing technologies, which it believes will be operational within five years, CIO Carlos Barreto, told BNamericas.
On the sidelines of the Cisco Engage event in São Paulo on Thursday, Barreto said the technology has the potential to speed up the discovery of wells and the company’s analysis processing, but it is still in the early stage.
In quantum computers, atomic and subatomic particles are used to store and process data, replacing transistors and semi-processors of traditional computers.
That creates the potential to carry out complex analyses in seconds for which traditional devices would need years. This power could be used for more predictive modeling in the oil and gas industry, faster field analysis and more efficient carbon capture.
The technology has been touted as promising for years, without taking off.
According to McKinsey, quantum computing alone – just one of three main areas of quantum technology – could represent nearly US$1.3tn in value by 2035.
“Investors of all kinds are perking up their ears – and opening up their wallets: government investors alone have pledged US$34bn in investments. In 2022, the US government announced US$1.8bn in funding, bringing its total investment to US$3.7bn,” McKinsey said in a report.
At a panel at the event, Barreto said that artificial intelligence technologies that have been implemented by Petrobras in a safe environment reduced the time to model a reservoir by 80%, leading to important savings for the company.
The company has also implemented AI to automatically regulate the flares at its refineries. This project specifically generates Petrobras savings of US$3mn annually, according to the executive.
Petrobras deployed generative AI in its tax and fiscal department, said Barreto.
The deployment generated immense time savings in the accounting sector and for the company’s internal tax auditors, who “praised the fact that for the first time they did not have to work overtime during the weekend,” he said.
Cintia Scovine, CTO of Bradesco, and Paulo André Rocha, AI general manager of Banco do Brasil, told the panel that both banks are also studying quantum computing.
Scovine said the technology should be mature enough in six years.
Bradesco has a team dedicated to the topic and sees opportunities to use the technology mainly for derivative pricing and risk simulation.
5G
Petrobras will disclose details of the first study of an industrial 5G network in Brazil this month, Barreto said. The case was carried out in partnership with industrial development agency ABDI and with Itaipu Binacional.
The CIO also revealed that Petrobras is testing private 5G at its refineries.
At present, Petrobras has a 4G private network project with Telefônica Brasil and Nokia for its offshore operations, as reported by BNamericas, with potential to upgrade to 5G.
The expectation is that the entire 4G network will be operational next year.
Wanda Parisien is a computing expert who navigates the vast landscape of hardware and software. With a focus on computer technology, software development, and industry trends, Wanda delivers informative content, tutorials, and analyses to keep readers updated on the latest in the world of computing.
