The participation of Austin Hay, director of ADC Energy, in the OSRL 2025 event in the United States, gave an insight into how this company with almost 40 years of experience has managed to remain at the forefront in the operational assurance of offshore platforms. During his interview, Hay explained how they have evolved from traditional inspection to integrating artificial intelligence, data science and partnerships with key players in the energy sector.
ADC Energy is an independent engineering consultancy specializing in the inspection of offshore platforms, including rigs used in oil and gas, geothermal, carbon capture and offshore wind energy. Its core service is operational assurance, ensuring that systems, equipment and people are in optimum condition before and during operations.
Independence is a key factor: its audits are not influenced by operator or manufacturer interests, which strengthens the confidence of all stakeholders involved. With offices in Aberdeen, Houston, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, ADC has the capacity to operate globally, offering services to both operators and rig owners.
One of the most significant changes the company has undergone in recent years is the digital transformation. "We moved away from paper a long time ago," commented Hay. For more than 15 years, the company has been digitizing all information collected during inspections, allowing them to store valuable historical data.
This information is used to record findings, and to anticipate future problems. Data collected from multiple inspections allows you to establish patterns, detect deviations and make informed decisions in real time, raising the quality of your reports and enabling you to better advise your clients on new drilling or maintenance campaigns.
The introduction of interactive dashboards has changed the way customers access and understand technical information. These dashboards, developed by your in-house data science team, allow you to visualize the status of complex equipment such as BOPs (Blowout Preventers) and other critical systems on offshore platforms.
In addition, ADC has integrated machine learning and deep learning models that can anticipate failures; this capability represents a major change in the way the offshore industry operates and plans.
"We are helping companies like Seadrill make predictive maintenance decisions about their well control equipment."
Hay stated.
While many companies want to apply AI, few know where to start or what problem to solve. The difference at ADC Energy is in the approach: they only apply artificial intelligence when there is a
Another differentiating factor is that ADC is not a data company, but an engineering consultancy with data science capabilities. This means that each AI-generated result is validated and interpreted by technical specialists, with decades of field experience.
For Hay, technical forums such as OSRL 2025 remain critical because, although technology facilitates communication, direct interaction with clients and colleagues remains irreplaceable.
"There are too many people hiding behind an email. Here we have value time with people, we re-introduce ourselves and share face-to-face what we do," he said.
Austin Hay.
Events like this also allow presenting innovations, listen to real market needs and strengthen business relationships; it is a space where technical knowledge intersects with the human factor.
ADC Energy remains a family-owned company, which, far from limiting its scope, has strengthened its commitment to useful innovation. Rather than chasing technological fads, its focus is on solving real problems with modern tools and highly qualified personnel.
This combination of tradition, technical expertise and technological integration has positioned ADC as a global benchmark in offshore platform assurance. And according to its director, they will continue to move forward without losing sight of the human value behind every piece of data and every inspection.
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Source: Inspenet.
