Enbridge Inc., in collaboration with Microsoft, is harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to drive significant advancements in safety, emissions reduction, and asset optimization across its operations.
Building on a strong digital foundation, the company began implementing AI over five years ago and is now leveraging it to support operational and environmental excellence.
“Our long-term collaboration with Microsoft has enabled us to apply cutting edge technology, which is helping to solve critical business problems and deliver powerful outcomes,” said Bhushan Ivaturi, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Enbridge. “The investments we’re making today will play a critical role in enabling technological solutions to the biggest challenges in the evolution of our energy systems as we transition to a lower-carbon future.”
Enbridge embarked on a digital transformation in 2020 to drive productivity and efficiency and empower employees with the tools and capabilities they need for personal productivity. At the core of this strategy was a secure and modern technology foundation enabled by Microsoft.
This led to an ambitious cloud migration and modernization program, with over 80 percent of workloads moved to Microsoft Azure cloud platform within two years. This initiative not only enhanced computing, network, and storage capabilities but also bolstered cybersecurity measures and reduced data centre emissions through server decommissioning and a smaller physical facility footprint. Today, that strong digital foundation has positioned Enbridge as a leader in AI. Earlier this year, Enbridge rolled out Microsoft 365 Copilot to nearly one third of all employees, while the entire workforce has access to Bing Enterprise and ChatENB, an internal chat bot using Azure OpenAI Service.
“The Enbridge leadership team drove a cloud-first strategy, a big bet that opened the door to broader opportunity that positions Enbridge today to take full advantage of AI,” said Tom Kubik, Enterprise Commercial Multi-Industry Lead at Microsoft Canada. “We are proud of the work we’ve done together and are working towards our common goals of supporting a more connected and collaborative workforce and increasing data and analytics capabilities.”
Enbridge is leveraging AI across its operations to optimize assets, increase efficiencies, enhance safety, and contribute to its broader sustainability goals. Powered by Microsoft Azure Machine Learning, key examples include:
The Energy Optimizer tool leverages AI to provide real-time operational insights, enabling Control Center operators to make decisions about how to move the energy Enbridge transports in the most efficient way possible. By managing the amount of power required, Enbridge can achieve cost savings and GHG reductions, while ensuring the safe, reliable and efficient operations of its liquid pipelines.
Enbridge utilizes aerial surveillance to patrol its pipelines, detecting potentially damaging activities, conditions, or loss of containment. With AI, the company can now monitor the right of way more efficiently, reviewing data and detecting issues quicker and more accurately. This AI-driven approach has improved threat detection and response, significantly reducing the risk of third-party damage.
Enbridge employs intelligent automation for pipeline integrity, using AI to identify potential maintenance needs. Through workflow automation, data controls, advanced analysis, and machine learning models, the company gains new insights for rapid and effective asset maintenance, enhancing safety and efficiency while reducing process complexity and maintaining the health of our assets.
“Looking forward, we see ongoing opportunities and benefits of AI, in terms of data analytics, asset and process optimization, security and cost and emissions savings,” said Ivaturi. “At Enbridge, we are enabling the accessibility, sustainability, and security of energy through applied technology and innovation, and our collaboration with Microsoft will continue to play a pivotal role in that.”
