Big Tech to share stage with Big Oil at Abu Dhabi energy conference Adipec

Enact Majlis, hosted by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, gathers energy leaders to focus on sustainable growth

Executives from major energy companies will meet at Adipec from November 3 to 6. Antonie Robertson/The National

Big Tech will share the stage with Big Oil at this year’s Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec) as artificial intelligence finds more uses within the energy industry.

Senior executives from legacy oil companies such as BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies as well as state oil businesses like Adnoc will continue to lead the event, which will include Microsoft’s president Brad Smith on the opening day. Microsoft is increasing its regional presence and has signed multibillion dollar deals with the UAE in recent years, including committing $1.5 billion in investments in Abu Dhabi AI business G42 last year.

Microsoft is also involved in the UAE’s energy industry through a 2024 deal with Adnoc and Masdar to collaborate on carbon capture, hydrogen and ammonia projects.

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AI has become increasingly important in the regional energy industry. One in five energy companies now uses agentic AI, which independently makes decisions for them, according to a recent Microsoft-Adnoc report.

About 88 per cent of executives believe AI has a positive effect on energy and their industry and the relationship is now “symbiotic”, the report found.

Adnoc, Masdar and XRG gathered 100 global leaders from the energy, technology, investment and government sectors on Sunday at the Enact Majlis in Abu Dhabi. Photo: Adnoc

Adnoc, Masdar and XRG also gathered 100 global leaders from the energy, technology, investment and government sectors on Sunday at the Enact Majlis in Abu Dhabi to discuss the intersection of AI, energy and investment.

The majlis, hosted by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Adnoc's managing director and group chief executive, focused on meeting energy demand growth in evolving market dynamics and building infrastructure at scale and pace.

“Energy and AI are the twin engines that have the potential to turbocharge socioeconomic growth, but energy intensive data centres are competing for energy alongside multiple demand drivers in an increasingly complex world,” said Dr Al Jaber, who is also chairman of Masdar and executive chairman of XRG.

“The sheer scale of the demand requires investment, at scale, today, because the future won’t wait for us to catch up. And if we are going to meet the needs of data centres, along with everything else, we are going to need energy, tech and investment sectors working together with governments.”

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At the four-day Adipec event from November 3 to 6 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, apart from AI, discussions will also focus on the future of energy, sustainability as well as geopolitics.

Gulf energy ministers from the UAE and Qatar will open discussions on Monday joined by counterparts from Egypt and the US’s Energy Dominance Council chairman Doug Burgum.

The US delegation will also include Deputy Energy Secretary James Danly and former assistant secretary of state for energy resources Amos Hochstein, who is now managing partner at New York holding company TWG Global.

Adipec will also feature ministers from predominantly oil-importing countries of the Middle East such as Lebanon and Jordan. Beirut is looking to kick-start its much-delayed offshore oil and gas licensing programme, which has stalled as investors backed from the country's political stalemate and impact from the Israeli-Gaza war.

Other players in the oil industry who have become recent mainstays at Adipec will also feature on the agenda, including PetroChina, Petronas and India’s ONGC, among others. Indian refiners including Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, who have been most affected by the US sanctions on Russian oil firms Rosneft and Lukoil, will also attend Adipec this year.

The conference takes place in a period of extended volatility in oil markets this year, a result of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump.

Oil producers' group Opec+ will also meet on Sunday, where it is expected to increase output by 137,000 barrels a day in December as part of an ongoing plan to unwind production curbs.