HE Dr Sultan Al Jaber and Sam Altman highlight energy, AI and investment priorities at ADIPEC 2026 opening

• H.E. Dr Sultan Al Jaber says global energy industry must fundamentally rethink how it builds, protects and delivers secure energy
  
  
• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman describes abundant, reliable energy as critical to unlocking next wave of AI-driven innovation and economic growth, with UAE embodying forward-looking adoption
  
  
• Day 1 brings together global energy CEOs, policymakers and technology leaders to examine the investment, infrastructure and innovation needed to strengthen resilience
  
  
• The world's largest energy event opens its biggest edition to date, with 2,260 exhibitors, 30 country pavilions, four specialised zones and more than 1,800 speakers across 380+ conference sessions - dmg events

ABU DHABI, UAE, Nov. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- ADIPEC 2026 opened in Abu Dhabi today, bringing together global leaders from energy, government, finance and technology, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, to examine how resilient energy systems, infrastructure investment, artificial intelligence and international partnership can strengthen energy security and support future economic growth.

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, ADIPEC 2026 marks the largest edition in the event's history, with an expected 239,000 participants from more than 170 countries. Opening-day discussions highlighted the growing importance of supply resilience, intelligent energy systems and long-term investment in meeting rising demand while ensuring energy remains reliable, accessible and affordable.

Against a backdrop of rising energy demand, geopolitical shifts and growing pressure on infrastructure, the four-day event is focused on strengthening resilience, mobilising capital and advancing the technologies and partnerships needed to support long-term growth.

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

Stating it is not possible to control every situation and remove every risk, Dr. Al Jaber said: "The choices we make today will determine the energy landscape a decade from now. Let's apply the lessons we have learned. Let's build capacity and everything that supports it. Let's forge partnerships that hold when it matters. And if you want a partner you can count on you are in the right room, in the right city, in the right country. Because when it counts the most, you can count on the UAE."

Setting out the case for a more resilient energy system, Dr. Al Jaber said since the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, nearly one billion barrels of crude have been drained from inventories. He outlined five steps the energy industry can take to reduce the impact of future shocks.

"First, accessible supply. We need expanded strategic storage, larger stockpiles of products and flexible refining capacity closer to consumer markets. Second, routes to market. Supply only counts when it arrives. Infrastructure must be built before it is needed and enabled by advanced logistics. Third, operational intelligence. Moving from automated operations to intelligent energy systems that anticipate risk, optimise performance and drive down the cost of every barrel. Fourth, capital follows confidence. Policy must create it, finance must accelerate it and insurance must keep trade moving. Fifth, which is in my view the most important, is people. Because behind every barrel that arrives is a person who made sure it did. Systems don't carry responsibility, people do. "

 Reflecting on the UAE's resilience during recent market disruptions, Dr. Al Jaber said: "We did not write our resilience playbook during this disruption. We wrote it years before. And at ADNOC, it did not make us immune, it made us prepared. Our leadership's foresight in modernising ADNOC made the difference, from integrated trading, to investing in people, to world-class logistics, to XRG's global portfolio in gas, chemicals and energy solutions.

"The evident result is our end-to-end AI-enabled operating model, built for a world of rising demand and delivering what customers need, when they need it, where they need it. Our ambition is to make ADNOC the most customer-centric energy company on earth."

The Opening Ceremony also featured a speech and interview with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, bringing a global technology perspective to discussions on the growing relationship between artificial intelligence, energy demand and infrastructure investment.

"I am tremendously excited for AI to help and enable the energy industry, and I even more excited to see what the world can do with the inspiration, ideas, output, and leverage that people can get out of AI, with abundant energy to make all these wonderful things happen.

Altman highlighted the growing interdependence between AI and energy, arguing that while AI can help make energy systems more efficient, reliable and innovative, the rapid expansion of AI will also require significantly more energy. He said AI was increasingly being used not just as a productivity tool, but as a platform for scientific discovery and problem-solving, with the potential to transform energy operations, materials development and system design.

Altman also praised the UAE's leadership in AI adoption and described the ADNOC-G42-OpenAI partnership as a model for applying advanced AI to real-world industrial challenges.

"I think the UAE has consistently been the most forward-looking country in the world for AI adoption. Going back to the launch of ChatGPT, this is a country that has decided to go all in on AI -- through its government and across its economy. It's an incredible embrace, and it has come from the leadership. There has been an acknowledgement that societies need to bet on these technologies," he said.

As the Strategic Conference got underway, the focus shifted to the decisions and investments required to strengthen energy systems and meet growing global demand.

The opening ministerial panel, 'Energy security is national security: building resilient supply in an uncertain world', His Excellency Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, United Arab Emirates, and Rt. Honourable Dr. Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Nigeria, discussed their countries' approach to ensuring secure and plentiful energy supply to enable their targeted economic growth.

Speaking about the UAE's strategy for further improving its energy sector resilience, HE Al Mazrouei said: "We need to build additional layers of protection to ensure we have enough resilience and spare capacity. All of this will require technology, and we will need AI to design better and become more resilient."

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

Speaking about disruptions faced by the energy sector this year, Richard Jackson, President and CEO, Oxy, said: "For us, having gone through these shocks, our strategy has been durability. We talk a lot about resilience, but within our team, we think about durability over time...We have focused on sustainable cash flow and production, and we have taken advantage of the opportunity to invest in more durable production."

Beyond the conference halls, ADIPEC 2026's exhibition opened with 2,260 exhibitors across 16 halls. Bringing together companies from across the global energy value chain, the exhibition showcases technologies and solutions supporting energy security, operational performance and infrastructure development, while creating opportunities for commercial partnerships and investment.

Asia participation is 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 covering the full breadth of the energy value chain.

ADIPEC 2026 continues until 5 November, with more than 1,800 speakers across 13 conference programmes and over 380 sessions addressing the priorities shaping global energy. Over the coming days, discussions will focus on turning strategic priorities into investment decisions, partnerships and practical solutions that strengthen today's energy systems while expanding capacity for tomorrow.

For more information, visit https://www.adipec.com/