A Record Stage for a Rebuilt Energy Conversation

ADIPEC 2026 opened in Abu Dhabi with a scale that matched its ambition. Organisers describe the four-day gathering as the largest edition in the event's history, with an expected 239,000 participants from more than 170 countries, 2,260 exhibitors across 16 halls, 30 country pavilions, four specialised zones and more than 1,800 speakers across 13 conference programmes and over 380 sessions.

Held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, in his capacity as Ruler of Abu Dhabi, and hosted by ADNOC, the event is organised by dmg events. Its opening day set a clear thematic frame: supply resilience, intelligent energy systems and long-term investment as the pillars for meeting rising demand while keeping energy reliable, accessible and affordable.

The backdrop is not abstract. Organisers point to rising energy demand, geopolitical shifts and growing pressure on infrastructure as the forces shaping this year's agenda. The conference is explicitly oriented toward converting strategic priorities into investment decisions, partnerships and practical solutions.

Al Jaber's Five-Step Resilience Playbook

The Opening Ceremony began with a keynote from H.E. Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO. His message was blunt: after a year of unprecedented disruption that exposed critical vulnerabilities in international supply chains, the global energy industry must fundamentally rethink how it builds, protects and delivers secure energy.

Acknowledging that not every risk can be removed, Dr. Al Jaber argued that choices made now will define the energy landscape a decade from now. He framed the UAE as a partner that holds when it matters, telling the room that “when it counts the most, you can count on the UAE.”

He also quantified the strain on the system, noting that since the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, nearly one billion barrels of crude have been drained from inventories. From that starting point, he laid out five steps for reducing the impact of future shocks:

  • Accessible supply. Expanded strategic storage, larger stockpiles of products and flexible refining capacity closer to consumer markets.
  • Routes to market. Infrastructure built before it is needed and enabled by advanced logistics, because supply only counts when it arrives.
  • Operational intelligence. A shift from automated operations to intelligent energy systems that anticipate risk, optimise performance and drive down the cost of every barrel.
  • Capital follows confidence. Policy must create it, finance must accelerate it and insurance must keep trade moving.
  • People. The most important step, in his view, because systems do not carry responsibility — people do.

Dr. Al Jaber attributed the UAE's performance during recent disruptions to preparation rather than improvisation. He said the country's resilience playbook was written years before the crisis, and that ADNOC's modernisation — from integrated trading to investing in people, world-class logistics and XRG's global portfolio in gas, chemicals and energy solutions — made the company prepared rather than immune. He described the result as an end-to-end, AI-enabled operating model built for a world of rising demand, with the stated ambition of making ADNOC the most customer-centric energy company on earth.

Altman: Abundant Energy as the Gate to AI's Next Wave

The presence of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on the opening stage signalled how far the energy and technology agendas have converged. In a speech and interview, he described abundant, reliable energy as critical to unlocking the next wave of AI-driven innovation and economic growth.

Altman articulated a two-way relationship. AI can help make energy systems more efficient, reliable and innovative, but the rapid expansion of AI will itself require significantly more energy. He said AI is increasingly used not just as a productivity tool but as a platform for scientific discovery and problem-solving, with potential to transform energy operations, materials development and system design.

He also praised the UAE's approach to adoption, calling it consistently the most forward-looking country in the world for AI. Tracing that stance back to the launch of ChatGPT, he described a country that decided to go all in on AI through its government and across its economy, with an embrace that came from leadership and an acknowledgement that societies need to bet on these technologies.

Altman singled out the ADNOC-G42-OpenAI partnership as a model for applying advanced AI to real-world industrial challenges — a notable endorsement of industrial AI deployment as a template rather than a pilot.

Ministers and CEOs Confront a Fragmented World

As the Strategic Conference got underway, the opening ministerial panel — titled “Energy security is national security: building resilient supply in an uncertain world” — brought together His Excellency Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates, and Rt. Honourable Dr. Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Nigeria. Both discussed their countries' approaches to ensuring secure and plentiful energy supply to enable targeted economic growth.

Al Mazrouei described the UAE's strategy in layered terms, saying additional layers of protection are needed to ensure enough resilience and spare capacity, and that technology — including AI — will be required to design better and become more resilient.

The opening CEO panel, “Energy security in a fragmented world: designing systems that can absorb disruption,” featured Meg O'Neill, CEO of bp; Richard Jackson, President and CEO of Oxy; and Markus Krebber, CEO of RWE AG. The discussion examined how the industry can safeguard supply, strengthen operational resilience and expand energy capacity.

Jackson offered a window into how one operator has processed repeated shocks, saying the strategy has been durability. He noted that while the industry talks a lot about resilience, his team thinks about durability over time, focusing on sustainable cash flow and production and taking the opportunity to invest in more durable production.

An Exhibition Built Around the Value Chain

Beyond the conference halls, the exhibition opened with 2,260 exhibitors across 16 halls, bringing together companies from across the global energy value chain. Organisers position the floor as a showcase for technologies and solutions supporting energy security, operational performance and infrastructure development, while creating opportunities for commercial partnerships and investment.

Asia's participation is described as the strongest in the event's history, with China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea among the 30 country pavilions. Four specialised zones — AI, Digitalisation, Low Carbon and Chemicals, and Maritime and Logistics — host companies spanning the full breadth of the value chain.

What to Watch as the Week Unfolds

ADIPEC 2026 continues until 5 November. Over the coming days, discussions are set to focus on turning strategic priorities into investment decisions, partnerships and practical solutions that strengthen today's energy systems while expanding capacity for tomorrow.

The opening day suggested where the fault lines and opportunities lie. Al Jaber's playbook places storage, logistics, intelligent operations, finance and people at the centre of resilience. Altman's argument adds a demand-side twist: AI's expansion is not only a consumer of energy but a potential tool for making the system smarter. The unresolved question — how much new capacity, capital and policy coordination that combination requires — is precisely what the remaining sessions are designed to address.