KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – In an exclusive interview with TheReporterAsia at the Energy Asia 2025 conference, Azwan Baharuddin, Country Managing Director of Accenture in Malaysia, articulated a transformative vision for Asia’s energy sector. He stated unequivocally that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative AI are the heart of a historic industry revolution, crucial for tackling decarbonization, achieving advanced operational efficiency, and unlocking sustainable growth to propel the region into a fully-realized digital era.
The Asian energy landscape is at a critical juncture, navigating the profound challenges of a global energy transition. The dual pressures of ensuring environmental sustainability while simultaneously enhancing competitive performance and efficiency have created an urgent need for innovative solutions. It is within this context, according to Azwan Baharuddin, that digital technologies have emerged not just as an option, but as the central pillar of the industry’s future.
In the in-depth discussion, Baharuddin emphasized that the industry’s primary trajectory is now firmly focused on decarbonization, significantly supported by the large-scale implementation of Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) technologies. He stressed that AI serves as the fundamental engine driving this monumental shift.
“The solutions we are seeing for the energy business in Asia are heavily centered around decarbonization, CCUS, and of course, digital technologies like AI and Generative AI, which are set to change how every part of the sector operates,” said Baharuddin.
The Country Managing Director for Accenture in Malaysia pointed to the firm’s close collaboration with Malaysia’s national energy company, Petronas, as a clear and powerful reflection of how AI can be applied to create tangible, transformative change. A flagship initiative is the “AI Refinery” project, which aims to optimize the entire refining process, substantially reduce production costs, and leverage Generative AI to elevate business operations on a macro level.
“What we are trying to do is look at many more efficient ways where we combine the usage of Gen AI, our Industry X knowledge, and our deep engineering and industry expertise to reduce the overall cost of production,” Baharuddin explained. “Furthermore, we are looking to use Gen AI to enhance the matching of our business. For example, even in shipping, we are trying to drive spot pricing for ships versus long-term bookings, which will in turn drive shipbuilding spaces.”
He highlighted a foundational shift in the industry’s operational philosophy. Historically, the oil and gas sector, including Petronas, has relied heavily on the accumulated knowledge and experience held within its workforce—what Baharuddin referred to as “knowledge in people’s heads.” Today, the capabilities of Generative AI and digital platforms can supplement and, in many cases, replace these traditional workflows, leading to significant gains.
“In the past, this business has always been driven by people with knowledge in their heads. But actually, with today’s Gen AI and all things digital, a lot of that work can be replaced by machines, computers, and AI,” he commented.
“This is especially critical for enhancing safety, establishing the right business processes, and driving the greatest value when it comes to pricing and how they operate in the market.”
The application of AI extends far beyond the refinery. In the downstream retail space, AI is being used to find better and more efficient production methods. In the upstream sector, it is optimizing complex processes such as the management of bid rounds for investors. “In the bidding rounds, for example, we are partnering with Microsoft to use AI solutions every step of the way. This helps in matching the right investor to the right location, a very important process, and all of it is going to be driven a lot by Generative AI,” Baharuddin noted.
However, he was keen to emphasize that successful implementation goes beyond simply deploying new technology. Accenture views this transformation through the lens of a “holistic program” that must comprehensively integrate People, Process, Technology, and Data to allow businesses to achieve true value realization.
To illustrate this holistic approach, Baharuddin detailed several compelling case studies.
“In the upstream business, we do a lot of work in the Industrial AI space for production optimization,” he elaborated. “By combining traditional physics-based models with an AI and data science layer, we can create more advanced hybrid models. The result is better accuracy that can actually uplift production from the well with only minimal tweaking of the existing information infrastructure and without significant new capital expenditure (CAPEX).”
Shifting to the downstream sector and large-scale projects, Baharuddin highlighted AI’s role in Asset Performance Management and Predictive Maintenance. Furthermore, he detailed the game-changing impact of Digital Twins on new capital projects.
“For new projects, particularly large-scale capital projects, there’s a huge digital and Industrial AI play,” he explained. “The implementation of Digital Twins, for example, can be used as a form of ‘Engineering Twin’ from the very start of construction. This involves mapping out 3D models of all moving parts coming into the project, ensuring that the construction of an entire platform or wellhead can be done on time and on budget. A lot of projects suffer from cost overruns, but the question is how we can minimize that as much as possible with the use of data and AI to optimize cost and support operators with project management.”
In conclusion, the insights from Azwan Baharuddin paint a clear picture: Asia’s energy sector is in the midst of a historic transformation. Digital technology, with AI and Generative AI at its core, is the primary driver of decarbonization, efficiency, and long-term sustainability. The successful navigation of this new era will depend on the strategic collaboration between industry players and technology experts to unlock this immense potential and lead the region into a future defined by innovation and opportunity.
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