Event News

The panel emphasised South-South collaboration. (Image source: Alain Charles Publishing)

During a panel session at ADIPEC 2024, industry stakeholders discussed ways to increase collaboration between countries in the global South and the global North

The discussion focused on energy transitions and the role of OPEC in ensuring energy access. Key points included the need for diverse energy sources, with OPEC advocating for all forms of energy, not just renewables. The conversation highlighted energy inequalities, such as Heathrow Airport consuming more energy than Sierra Leone.

The Paris Agreement was emphasised as a reduction of emissions, not a phase-out of fossil fuels. The East Africa pipeline and Uganda's oil projects faced financing challenges but are progressing.

The importance of South-South cooperation and regional collaboration in energy projects was underscored, with examples from Uganda, Cyprus, and Sierra Leone.

His Excellency Haitham Al Ghais, Secretary General of OPEC, explained why fossil fuels will continue to play an important role in the global South.

“We talk about the importance of another factor, which is urbanisation. By 2030 which is less than six years from today, we're going to have over 582 million people, nearly 600 million people, moving into new cities all around the world, again in non OECD developing parts of the world,” he said.

“The Paris Agreement, ladies and gentlemen, is about reduction of emissions. It's not about phasing out or phasing down or keeping the oil under the ground. It's about reducing emissions that includes technology, that includes investing in renewables, investing in all sources of energy.”

“We have the OPEC Fund for International Development, an agency, a sister agency, based in Vienna, that is very active in Africa and other parts of the world in developing and promoting socio economic development projects, energy projects as well as renewable energy projects.”

“We also have the charter of cooperation, which we signed in 2019 which is a platform that is open for oil producers to participate in, whether it's exchange of technologies, exchange of experiences between various member countries and non OPEC producers who are not members of OPEC that can participate in this platform to gain access to the best practices being implemented in our member countries.”

Growing South-South collaboration

Uganda’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Development Ruth Nankabirwa, said, “The East African crude oil pipeline was a negotiated project, and it was a win-win. My president wanted all the oil refined in Uganda, but because we didn't have money to do it by ourselves, we collaborated with investors and we let some of the crude leave the country, while some is refined, which will come with industrialisation.”

Deputy Minister of Energy for Sierra Leone Edmond Nonie, said, “We have big clients in the mining sector who have the capital to pay and have the willingness to pay for lower priced electricity from the grid. So we are embarking on a campaign to connect these mining companies, and once we have these transmission lines out to these companies, we can then do the further, last mile connection to our communities.”

Meanwhile, Cyprus is collaborating with Egypt for energy transmission.

The country’s Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry, George Papanastasiou, said, “The conversation with my colleagues in Egypt is to utilise the [Egyptian] infrastructure [for export]. Secondly, there are pipelines that cross the eastern Mediterranean, which reach Egypt. And the infrastructure in Egypt, there are two LNG terminals, liquefaction plants in Egypt, which are under-utilised.

“This is possibly the destination in order to reach the markets. Of course, there is the domestic market of Egypt as well, which is very important. We all know that power generation in this country is mostly coming from natural gas. Cyprus is very well positioned, and at the right time in order to support and provide the natural gas and use the infrastructure in order to reach the international markets.”

Young ADIPEC’s Experiential & Edutainment Hub drew students to STEM-focused zones. (Image source: ADIPEC)

ADIPEC 2024 has witnessed an increased participation of young voices around the world, bridging the generational gap to accelerate progress in the global energy transition

Young attendees have brought fresh perspectives to discussions on the future of energy, underscoring ADIPEC’s mission to foster a secure, equitable, and sustainable energy future shaped by voices from across the globe.

The ADIPEC Youth Council, now in its second year, gave university students the chance to join in cross-generational conversations with industry leaders on critical energy issues. Students from institutions like Abu Dhabi Polytechnic (UAE), University of Dar A Salaam (Tanzania), Federal University of Technology Minna (Nigeria), University of Sharjah (UAE), and Abu Dhabi University (UAE) shared their aspirations and innovative ideas for transforming the energy sector.

Under the patronage of Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence, and supported by the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK), the 12th Young ADIPEC programme aims to foster an inclusive, collaborative environment. Students explored real-world opportunities in Youth Talk sessions such as 'Discover Pathways in the Energy Industry', where seasoned professionals outlined the career possibilities open to young visionaries ready to contribute to the energy transition.

Speaking during the session, Rashed Alneyadi, growth and new energies manager at Mubadala Energy emphasised the vital role of emerging talent in driving sustainable progress. He said, “When I was younger, I wanted to be in an industry that enabled me to make an impact. When I thought about it, everything requires energy, from your phone, your house, and even you need energy. In the energy sector, everyone can make an impact. More diversity has been introduced to our industry and more women and men are working hand by hand to help this industry prosper and grow.”

Other popular Youth Talks included ‘Shaping the Future of Leadership in Energy’, where students explored their leadership potential and learned essential skills for success, and ‘Flow of Transition’, a session focused on personal development and charting a career path in the evolving energy landscape. 

Cross-generational collaboration

Christopher Hudson, president, dmg events, the organisers of ADIPEC, said, “As a powerful platform for cross-generational collaboration, ADIPEC connects current and future leaders, innovators, and engineers, unlocking new pathways for impactful careers in energy. This year, the event’s expanded youth initiatives highlight the industry’s commitment to investing in future talent and amplifying youth voices in shaping the sector’s transformation.”

Young ADIPEC’s Experiential & Edutainment Hub drew hundreds of students to eight STEM-focused zones, including the Technology for a Sustainable Future zone with activities on carbon capture and the Energy Transition Zone, focused on climate action. The 2030 Careers Zone highlighted roles in demand in the coming years, while the Science Zone covered earth sciences, chemistry, and physics.

In the Methane Abatement Challenge, UAE students presented innovative solutions to reduce methane emissions. In the Flaring category, the Methane Mitigators team from Abu Dhabi International PVT School won for their concept to retrofit catalytic combustion technology in existing flares. The Piphexis team from Yas American Academy earned top honors in the Venting category for methane-trapping filters, while the Triple Bond team from Abu Dhabi International PVT School took the Fugitive Emissions category with a detection and prevention system using satellites, drones, and methane-transforming bacteria.

ENERGYai will combine large language model technology with cutting-edge agentic AI. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

ADNOC and AIQ has announced at ADIPEC the launch of ENERGYai, the first-of-its-kind custom-built agentic artificial intelligence (AI) solution for the global energy transformation

ENERGYai will combine large language model technology with cutting-edge ‘agentic’ AI – AI ‘agents’ that are trained in specific tasks across ADNOC’s value chain. These specialised AI agents bring a new level of autonomy and precision to critical tasks, from seismic analysis to energy efficiency and real-time process monitoring. Designed for seamless integration into existing workflows, the agents harness state-of-the-art machine learning and predictive analytics, improving decision-making and operational efficiency.

This innovation underscores ADNOC’s commitment to pioneering sustainable, data-driven solutions that elevate industry standards. Developed by AIQ in collaboration with G42 and Microsoft, ENERGYai will integrate best-in-class technologies, including open subsurface data universe (OSDU) frameworks and OpenAI models.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC managing director and Group CEO, said, “ENERGYai marks a major milestone in ADNOC’s journey to be the world’s most AI-enabled energy company and a key enabler of the global energy transformation. It will be a powerhouse for value creation and sustainable energy production and will leverage petabytes of data to better empower our people and unlock innovative solutions across our value chain. As AI accelerates the pace of progress and transforms industries, ENERGYai will help future-proof ADNOC, reinforce our position at the forefront of AI deployment and ensure we continue to provide secure and sustainable energy to the world.”

Peng Xiao, Group CEO of G42, said, "ENERGYai embodies G42’s commitment to transforming global energy through AI, delivering real-time, data-driven insights and deploying agentic AI to enhance efficiency, resilience, and sustainability. By combining ADNOC’s industry leadership and petabytes of historical data with G42’s advanced AI capabilities, and collaborating with Microsoft, we are creating a strong foundation for the future of energy—empowering leaders to make strategic choices that drive sustainable progress."

“Across the full value chain of traditional and renewable energy sectors, AI technologies can optimize energy usage, improve safety, reliability and efficiency, reduce emissions and accelerate low- and no-carbon energy solutions,” said Darryl Willis, corporate vice president - energy and resources industry at Microsoft. “We are pleased to be collaborating with ADNOC and AIQ in the development of AI-powered solutions that can drive economic growth, address energy security and equity, and advance a net-zero future for all.”

Trained on ADNOC’s 80 years of data, the ambitious three-year development programme for ENERGYai will begin testing with real-world datasets by the end of 2024 in a number of specific areas. It is projected that ENERGYai will accelerate by up to 75% the building of detailed geological models using very large and diverse datasets to support planning and development of large-scale CO2 storage solutions.

In development planning, ENERGYai will accelerate plans from 1-2 years to weeks, minimising costs and emissions in the process. ENERGYai can analyse multiple scenarios in parallel and this ability to run detailed, highly advanced simulations across all variables helps make faster and more accurate decisions. Further along the value chain in the downstream business, the platform's future-proof and scalable design integrates seamlessly with ADNOC’s existing technologies and platforms.

The three-day Finance & Investment Conference at ADIPEC has four main themes. (Image source: ADIPEC)

ADIPEC 2024 will highlight the critical role of finance in accelerating the transition to a secure, equitable and sustainable energy future, through its inaugural Finance & Investment Conference

Held from 4-7 November in Abu Dhabi, ADIPEC will gather financial leaders, policymakers, and energy executives to unlock the capital required for scaling low-carbon technologies and fast-tracking decarbonisation initiatives.

The three-day Finance & Investment Conference at ADIPEC has four main themes: Mobilising investment for a sustainable future; Navigating uncertain geopolitical factors to secure energy transition investment; Ensuring bankability of clean energy projects and technologies, and Meeting the growing demand for resilient and clean energy in developing countries.

In alignment with these themes, the conference will feature sessions led by global experts to activate investment needed to fast-track the global energy transition, including navigating macroeconomic volatility, unlocking capital for emerging markets, and developing regulatory frameworks that support decarbonisation technologies.

Key speakers will include Charlie Tan, CEO, Global Impact Coalition; Mazin Khan, CFO, Masdar; Julian Mylchreest, executive vice chairman, Bank of America; Lina Osman, managing director and head, Sustainable Finance - Africa and MENAP, Standard Chartered; Semih Ozkan, executive director, EMEA Energy, Power, Renewables, Metals & Mining, JP Morgan, and Zoe Knight, group head, Centre of Sustainable Finance, Head of Climate Change MENAT, HSBC, who will jointly discuss solutions to the financing challenges faced by developing economies in their energy transition efforts.

Addressing critical gaps

Sharing his extensive expertise in securing investment within the energy and renewables sectors, Charlie Tan, CEO, Global Impact Coalition, said, “Achieving net-zero emissions requires ambition, financial frameworks and innovative investment models that can make decarbonisation viable from both a sustainability and commercial angle. As a global energy leader, Abu Dhabi provides the perfect stage for hosting ADIPEC’s critical conversations on bridging the gap between ambition and action in the broader energy transition.

“At ADIPEC 2024, we will focus on how public and private sectors can join forces to scale up financing for clean energy, ensuring long-term growth and environmental impact. The event will empower financial and energy experts to take decisive action, leveraging and allocating capital to where it’s needed most to deliver economic prosperity and environmental sustainability."

Christopher Hudson, President of dmg events, the organiser of ADIPEC, said, “One of the most significant barriers to achieving an equitable energy transition is the gap in clean energy finance and investment between the Global North and South. Developed nations have more financial resources while emerging markets need help to secure capital for large clean energy projects, slowing the transition and deepening regional inequalities.

“Addressing the finance gap between the Global North and South is one of the key focus areas of our new Finance and Investment Conference. Discussions held at ADIPEC 2024 will set the stage for how finance can play a transformative role in ensuring that we meet our decarbonisation goals while continuing to drive sustainable economic growth for generations to come and advance an equitable energy transition for all.”

Although the energy transition offers significant investment potential, a critical gap exists between capital flows, with the International Renewable Energy Agency estimating US$35 trillion as being required by 2030 to facilitate a fair and systemic energy transition, creating challenges for governments, energy companies, and financial institutions in providing the necessary funding.