Objective With continuously growing energy demand and gradually expanding oil and gas pipeline networks, traditional regulation methods increasingly struggle to meet modern requirements for safety, flexibility, and economic efficiency. The intelligent upgrade of pipeline network regulation—integrating advanced technologies such as automatic control, artificial intelligence, and big data—has become a critical development trend with far-reaching impact. Despite progress toward comprehensive intelligent regulation, challenges persist across multiple dimensions, including data, algorithms, hardware, and software.

Methods The development of intelligence in the power grid sector was analyzed, drawing on the successful experience accumulated in the process of promoting intelligence in this sector. Simultaneously, an in-depth investigation on the current state of intelligent regulation in oil and gas pipeline networks was conducted, systematically identifying key challenges and constraints across standard systems, control capabilities, data infrastructure, regulation modes, and functional coordination. On this basis, a six-stage path for the intelligent development of oil and gas pipeline network regulation was proposed, comprehensively covering all aspects of regulation perception, analysis, decision-making, and execution, beginning with the enhancement of basic automatic control capabilities and gradually advancing to autonomous intelligence.

Results The path planning and implementation practice can gradually resolve intelligent regulation challenges in oil and gas pipeline networks through staged technological upgrades. A draft for comments on the enterprise standard of Intelligence Grading of Oil and Gas Pipeline Regulation at the level of China Oil & Gas Pipeline Network Corporation is scheduled for official release and implementation in 2026, outlining clear development goals and pathways for intelligent regulation. Meanwhile, auxiliary tools for intelligent regulation decision-making have been developed, initially reducing reliance on manual experience in the dispatching process.

Conclusion This study combines industry trends with current technological conditions to systematically propose a comprehensive development plan and staged upgrade path for intelligent regulation of oil and gas pipeline networks, supported by practical implementation cases. It guides enterprises in staged intelligent construction and offers valuable insights for enhancing regulation intelligence, system efficiency, and operational safety.