FutureOn started with an idea. A ‘digital thread’ that connects exploration, concept, operations and decommissioning in oil, gas and energy. Today, that digital thread is in action and evolving in some of the world’s largest energy companies.

But there’s still work to be done.

Many larger operators haven’t wholeheartedly embraced digital solutions yet. Challenges like poor-quality or incomplete data can seem insurmountable, especially when there’s so much of it. Smaller operators face different challenges; working with acquired midlife assets brings its own complexity, older fields often come with patchy data and legacy ways of working.

But for established operators and start-ups alike, building a unique, proprietary digital thread across operations is key to future commercial success. Digitalization will define who survives, and success comes down to each business’ openness and readiness to make it work. Indeed, many companies are already rethinking skills and training to stay ahead.

This long read explores what the subsea field of the future - and the project phases of its lifecycle - will look like. Predicting the pace of change is hard, but looking forward to 2035, we should expect to see fully digital, highly autonomous subsea fields, fewer personnel (with evolved job roles), maximum safety and minimal risk.

Read on for our insights into what to expect in the subsea field itself, and across the asset lifecycle.

The subsea field of the future

Project margins are getting thinner, sustainability pressures are growing and data-driven foundations are now critical strategic infrastructure.

While topside operations have traditionally attracted more investment, subsea is a fundamental strand in the digital thread; key to helping organizations keeping pace commercially. As digitalization extends into the unpredictability of underwater extraction, both the risks and returns increase exponentially. Let’s look at some of the advancements that will be key to this change.

Accurate geospatial context

Future subsea fields will be hugely dependent on accurate geospatial context. Their sprawling networks of interconnected assets - Christmas trees, manifolds, pipelines, pumps, and umbilicals - demand precise physical locations and relationship monitoring to maintain system operations.

This precise spatial awareness will unlock safer and more efficient operations, especially within the context of the unpredictability of the ocean. Seabeds shift, pipelines move and unexpected objects appear. Without clear geospatial context, operators cannot accurately assess risks, plan interventions or reliably monitor asset integrity over time. We'll see more thorough embedding and integration of digital tools and standards like GIS frameworks and digital twins early in project design, so that companies can create a single source of truth where real-time data, predictive analytics and spatial relationships merge to enhance situational awareness.

But achieving this future depends on industry-wide collaboration and data consistency. Standardized coordinate systems help with position tracking, but the real value comes from everyone using the same data structures, tags and naming conventions. This shared ‘data language’ will allow digital twins to act as true interoperable models of subsea assets, providing full transparency and making remote operations, collaboration and long-term asset management far more effective.

Autonomous underwater inspection

Autonomous underwater inspection will transform how subsea fields are monitored and maintained. Fleets of AUVs and advanced ROVs will carry out routine inspections, collecting high quality data on assets without the need for costly, crewed vessels.

ROVs will increasingly operate semi-autonomously, handling complex tasks like detailed visual inspections and interventions in places AUVs can’t reach. Equipped with advanced sensors, AI-driven navigation and real-time data transmission, these systems will map, scan and detect changes on the seabed, feeding live information into increasingly accurate digital twins.

This constant, precise visibility will inform early detection of integrity issues, support predictive maintenance and reduce both cost and human risk, ensuring subsea operations stay safe and potentially supporting expansion into more complex deepwater environments.

Real-time anomaly detection

Real-time, AI-powered anomaly detection will take subsea integrity management to the next level. By analyzing subsea footage, machine learning can automatically detect cracks, corrosion or unexpected failures hidden in hours of underwater video. Tasks that once necessitated hours of painstaking manual review will be streamlined and accelerated exponentially.

This is an area where we're already making strides. We launched FieldTwin Vision in late 2024; an integration in the FieldTwin platform that allows operators to upload and process data captured by ROVs. As this technology advances, teams will be able to transform vast amounts of inspection footage into actionable insights in real time. This shift will help operators catch potential issues earlier, reduce inspection costs, make informed decisions faster and protect asset integrity more robustly than ever.

Predictive tools, actionable insights

With such thorough process automation and comprehensive data capture, predictive tools will be incredibly well-informed and well-positioned to transform data into actionable insights. Individual organizations will have important decisions to make about escalations: where does the AI-decision making stop and when are anomalies or unexpected occurrences ‘worthy’ of an alert to a human?

This will depend on the unique environments and processes of the organization in question, but is another area where cross-industry collaboration would be incredibly beneficial. We need energy companies, tech providers and regulators to work together now to start building guidelines for tolerance levels and intervention points.

Artificial intelligence, authentic intervention

While any process that can be automated will be, people will always remain essential to safe and efficient operations. The subsea environment is harsh and unpredictable, and no matter how far technology advances, humans will be needed to interpret nuance and apply contextual judgment.

The good news is that automation and AI can help tackle the growing skills shortage by freeing people from routine tasks. Of course, the skills landscape will shift accordingly - and we'll see more roles emerge for professionals that can combine engineering expertise with software fluency. 

AI and machine learning will handle the heavy lifting, the scale, the sheer volume of data. But it will be these skilled teams who remain best placed to interpret that data, validate insights and apply knowledge where it matters most. To support them, tech providers must commit to UI that make complex systems easier to navigate.

By combining and learning from disparate data sources like project data, documents, field layouts and P&IDs, generative AI now gives us the chance to improve interfaces in ways that feel natural and familiar. By turning project files into searchable databases that respond to natural language, teams can find relevant information faster. One of the biggest challenges when introducing new software is managing change and driving adoption across the workforce; intuitive UI will be a key.

It’s all built on bandwidth

Of course, none of this can happen without the network infrastructure to support it, and high-bandwidth data streaming will be critical. As subsea equipment gathers vast amounts of video and environmental data, high-speed transmission back to digital platforms will allow operators to respond to conditions in real time.

Bandwidth needs can vary hugely. From a few kilobits per second for temperature or pressure readings to hundreds of megabits per second for the HD video data we can expect to see in future. The number and type of sensors, how often they transmit data and whether data must be processed in real time all drive these requirements. Redundancy and backup links for critical processes will also add further demand, but what’s clear is that this demand will only grow - and operators need to build the network infrastructure to support it.

Digitalisation across the asset lifecycle

Oil and gas has always taken a conservative approach to data management. Understandably so. Companies spend millions on seismic surveys and exploration data, and they don’t want to see it exposed or used in ways they can’t control.

The movement of data between stakeholders and across the asset lifecycle is critical to the success of the future subsea field over its lifespan. It needs to be considered early and comprehensively, to balance digital risk and ROI.

Proprietary data should be maintained within a company’s own, sovereign environment, rather than sent to external systems. The AI model can process and analyze your information, but raw data should stay under your control.

Across the asset lifecycle, that strong digital thread that we keep coming back to remains key - and how you use that data is fundamental. At the earliest of exploration stages, decommissioning should be in mind, with processes and cost planning built in up front.

Exploration: a better understanding of environment

Scenario-driven modeling and advanced environmental tools will give businesses a much deeper understanding of the subsea environment before work begins, with minimal risk and at lower cost. By running multiple what-if? scenarios that simulate different field layouts, weather conditions and operational choices, teams can identify the best options for minimizing ecological disturbance and ensuring safety of on site engineers.

Improved environmental tools will make it easier to model seabed conditions, currents, marine life habitats and potential spill impacts, helping companies make more informed decisions that balance resource development with environmental responsibility.

Development: a deeper, more collaborative approach

AI-driven concept design, scenario modeling and modular construction methods will transform project delivery and reshape how things are built. Key to this will be greater collaboration. And as fields and projects become more complex; simplified, streamlined collaboration can become a distinct competitive advantage.

"Collaboration is not just a value, it is a growth strategy."

- Filip Valica, VP Corporate Development at FutureOn.

Read more of Filip’s insights into collaborative technologies and how they’re shaping the FieldTwin roadmap here.

FieldTwin brings stakeholders together in a secure digital workspace to plan, design and develop subsea fields more efficiently. By enabling teams to work together in real time within a single, cloud-based environment, FieldTwin breaks down silos - and inefficiencies - between operators, contractors and partners.

This connected approach reduces rework, speeds up design cycles and supports better decision making, ultimately accelerating subsea projects, at lower cost and with improved transparency across the entire project lifecycle.

Production: man meets machine

We've already covered the key technologies for future production above. But ultimately, once a project moves into production, the health of the asset will increasingly rely on the power of interconnected data. Every new project modeled within a digital twin strengthens the entire ecosystem.

Take FieldTwin for example. As more operators and project stakeholders connect their systems and data, it becomes a richer source of insight, helping teams monitor live operational data, detect issues before they escalate and make informed decisions faster.

And as operations continue to evolve, new AI capabilities such as predictive maintenance and automated anomaly detection will increasingly help teams visualize field conditions and mitigate risks before they become problems.

Decommissioning: consideration from the outset

No one wants to spend money on decommissioning, so the smart approach is building for it upfront. Traceability and cost modeling, with all the regulatory checks built in from day one, make a huge difference. Having that digital thread running from design to decommissioning means you’re not reinventing the wheel at the end, and you’re not leaving surprises behind for regulators.

Invest early and invest across the full life cycle. By embedding decommissioning considerations into initial design and maintaining clear, connected data across the life of the asset, operators can plan for end-of-life scenarios with confidence. This reduces cost overruns, avoids last-minute compliance headaches and ensures subsea fields are retired responsibly.

Operators that invest in digital tools and connected data from design through to decommissioning will build robust digital foundations and enjoy the most substantial returns. Improving safety, reducing costs and effectively handling unwieldy and evolving compliance.

To build and strengthen the digital thread that will be critical to the future success of your organization, the time to act is now. FieldTwin is an empowering platform that will help you take the first step, or evolve your digital operations.

With a strong open API and open-source integration, FieldTwin centralizes how you work across project phases and in day to day operations. Learn more about FieldTwin, and the capabilities we’re building to support our industry’s digital future.