Estimates from Rystad Energy suggest that digitalization and artificial intelligence technologies could generate nearly $500 billion in cumulative value for oil and gas exploration and production companies between 2026 and 2030.

This value is expected to be achieved through:

• Lower costs by improving operational efficiency

• Higher production through increased uptime and enhanced recovery rates

• Shorter project development timelines

Cost savings and production growth are expected to be the two largest sources of value through 2030, with both contributing at similar levels.

Exploration and production companies currently investing in digitalization and AI are expected to generate an additional $80 billion annually by 2030 compared to 2025 levels.

Results are already beginning to emerge across the sector.

ADNOC announced that AI-driven initiatives generated $500 million in value during 2023, while allocating $1.5 billion to digital spending with the goal of achieving $1 billion annually in added value.

Meanwhile, Equinor achieved nearly $200 million in AI-related savings between 2021 and 2024, before recording another $130 million during 2025 alone.

The report noted that digital value creation follows an accelerating cumulative curve as adoption expands and organizational capabilities mature within companies.

The estimated $500 billion opportunity is distributed across four main categories:

• Asset development

• Operations and maintenance

• Exploration and reservoir development

• Drilling, wells, and production

Digital maturity levels vary across these segments. Operations and maintenance currently show the fastest adoption pace, particularly through predictive maintenance and remote operations, which have reduced costs by double-digit percentages at some major companies.

Subsurface and reservoir-related activities are viewed as having the largest untapped potential, especially in boosting production volumes and lowering drilling costs. Some companies have already reduced seismic data interpretation times from several months to roughly 10 days.

The report also stated that artificial intelligence does not necessarily raise the performance ceiling for top-performing companies, but instead helps the broader industry move closer to the standards achieved by leading firms.

In the US shale sector, major producers are already approaching the physical limits of drilling efficiency. As a result, the greatest benefit now lies in improving average well performance. The study estimates potential improvements of around 10% on average across US onshore fields, while savings in some complex deepwater projects could exceed 50%, although a more realistic range is estimated between 15% and 20%.

This comes as exploration and production companies spent nearly $25 billion on AI tools and digital solutions last year. Forecasts suggest that the market for these services will grow by more than $10 billion by 2030, exceeding $35 billion annually before approaching $50 billion by 2035.

The report argues that the main obstacle to achieving these gains is not a lack of technology, but the difficulty of implementing it at scale. As a result, companies are increasingly forming partnerships with technology providers and oilfield service firms to reduce complexity and accelerate integration between different systems and equipment.

It also noted that most current AI applications in the oil industry rely on traditional machine learning models that require years of training data and are often difficult to transfer from one field to another without significant redevelopment.

However, newer technologies such as “agentic AI” — capable of performing tasks in a semi-autonomous manner — could accelerate digital transformation in the future by reducing gaps between departments and connecting different types of data without requiring full retraining.

Under an optimistic scenario, the annual value generated by digital initiatives could rise to $150 billion by 2030, with the potential to exceed $300 billion annually by 2035, compared to the base-case estimate of only $178 billion in 2035.

Achieving this scenario would also require increasing spending on digital solutions to $50 billion annually by 2030, before rising to nearly $80 billion by 2035.

The report concluded by noting that while artificial intelligence accelerates gains inside digitally mature organizations, it does not necessarily shorten the digital transformation journey itself.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded its first intraday record high since the outbreak of the war between the United States and Iran, supported by the artificial intelligence-driven rally and growing investor optimism regarding negotiations aimed at ending the conflict.

The benchmark industrial index climbed to an intraday record of 50,712.24 points before trading around 0.6% higher.

The move pushed the index above its previous peak of 50,512.79 recorded on February 10, after it had already reclaimed the 50,000-point level earlier this week.

The Dow Jones had officially entered correction territory during March after closing more than 10% below its record highs amid concerns over the global economic consequences of the Iran war, which triggered a broad selloff on Wall Street.

Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth, said: “The closer we get to an exit from this war, the more confidence markets gain, especially after a very strong earnings season and upgraded expectations for the rest of the year.”

The AI-driven boom, together with the fragile ceasefire in the Middle East, helped markets recover from March losses, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite reaching new record highs in mid-April.

However, the Dow Jones, which includes a larger weighting of industrial companies, lagged somewhat behind the rally as technology stocks led market gains.

The Dow Jones — which includes 30 companies and was first established in 1896 — is a price-weighted index, unlike other indices that are weighted by market capitalization, making it less sensitive to surges in large technology stocks.

Among the strongest contributors to the index’s performance this quarter were shares of Cisco Systems, Amazon, and Nvidia, especially after Nvidia’s sales guidance exceeded market expectations this week.

Meanwhile, shares of Chevron, McDonald's, and Nike were among the weakest performers during the same period.

Strong first-quarter earnings from US companies also reassured investors despite geopolitical tensions, as forecasts for US corporate earnings over the next 12 months have risen by more than 10% since the beginning of the year, according to data from LSEG Datastream.

Bitcoin opened trading on Friday, May 22, 2026, at $77,546.53, up slightly by 0.1% compared to Thursday’s opening price, before easing to $77,288.79 by 7:55 a.m. Eastern Time.

Meanwhile, Ethereum opened trading at $2,131.71, rising 0.2% from Thursday’s opening level, before slipping to $2,126.43 by the same time.

Despite both cryptocurrencies trading lower compared to last week, they have moved within a narrow range since the start of the week.

Comparing Monday’s opening prices with today’s levels, Bitcoin has traded within a range of no more than $132, while Ethereum’s movement has been limited to just around $2.

Investors are waiting to see whether clearer signs of progress will emerge in peace efforts between the United States and Iran later today or over the weekend, as both sides continue to maintain their positions.

The United States continues insisting on the removal of enriched uranium from Iran, while Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, insists that enriched uranium must remain inside the country.

Current Bitcoin Prices

Bitcoin’s opening price on Friday morning rose 0.1% compared to Thursday’s opening. Performance versus previous periods was as follows:

• One week ago: down 4.3%

• One month ago: up 1.6%

• One year ago: down 29.3%

Bitcoin recorded its all-time high at $126,198.07 on October 6, 2025, while its all-time low was $0.04865 on July 14, 2010.

Current Ethereum Prices

Ethereum’s opening price rose 0.2% compared to Thursday’s opening. Performance relative to previous periods was as follows:

• One week ago: down 6.5%

• One month ago: down 8.4%

• One year ago: down 16.5%

Ethereum recorded its all-time high at $4,953.73 on August 24, 2025, while its all-time low was $0.4209 on October 21, 2015.

Gold prices declined in European trading on Friday, extending their limited losses for a second consecutive session and heading toward a second straight weekly decline, pressured by the current rise in the US dollar while markets await further developments in peace talks between the United States and Iran.

The likelihood of at least one US interest rate hike this year has increased, especially after the release of the latest Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting minutes, which showed that members remain open to raising interest rates.

Price Overview

• Gold prices today: Gold prices fell 0.75% to $4,507.49, from the session opening level at $4,543.00, while recording a session high at $4,546.16.

• At Thursday’s settlement, gold prices lost less than 0.1%, resuming losses that had paused the previous day during recovery attempts from a two-month low at $4,453.60 per ounce.

Weekly Performance

Over the course of this week’s trading, which officially ends at today’s settlement, gold prices are currently down 0.75%, heading toward a second consecutive weekly loss.

US Dollar

The US Dollar Index rose 0.1% on Friday, maintaining gains for a second consecutive session near six-week highs, reflecting the continued positive performance of the US currency against a basket of major and secondary currencies.

As is well known, rising levels of the US currency make dollar-denominated gold bullion less attractive to holders of other currencies.

The dollar received strong support this week from rising US Treasury yields, as investors bet that the Federal Reserve System will raise interest rates at least once this year.

In addition to support from long-term US Treasury yields, investors continue favoring the US dollar as a safe haven amid close monitoring of developments in peace talks between the United States and Iran.

US-Iran Talks

• Iranian news agencies: The final version of the US-Iran agreement has been reached through Pakistani mediation, with an official announcement expected within the next few hours.

• US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there are “good signs” regarding the possibility of reaching a peace agreement.

• Donald Trump: The United States is in the final stages of talks with Iran.

• Reports: Iran’s uranium stockpile and control over the Strait of Hormuz remain key points of disagreement between Washington and Tehran.

US Interest Rates

• Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s April meeting, released on Wednesday, showed that the majority of policymakers believe that “some additional tightening in monetary policy could become appropriate” if inflation remains above the central bank’s 2% target.

• Kevin Warsh will be sworn in later today as Chairman of the Federal Reserve before US President Donald Trump.

• According to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, markets are currently pricing in a 40% probability of a Federal Reserve rate hike in December, up from just over 16% at the beginning of May.

• Markets are currently pricing a 99% probability that US interest rates will remain unchanged at the June meeting, while the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut stands at 1%.

• Investors are closely monitoring the release of more US economic data, in addition to comments from Federal Reserve officials, in order to reassess those probabilities.

Gold Outlook

Edward Meir, analyst at Marex, said: “What is pushing gold prices lower is the strength of the US dollar, which in turn is being supported by the continued rise in expectations for interest rate hikes across most parts of the world.”

SPDR Fund

Holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed ETF, increased on Thursday by 0.85 metric tons, bringing the total to 1,037.70 metric tons.