ADIPEC 2024 officially opened yesterday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), uniting world leaders and industry experts. The event is expected to gather more than 184,000 attendees this week. More than 40 ministers and 200 global C-suite executives will be among the 1,800-plus speakers who will contribute to the 370-plus conference sessions.
His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC's managing director and group CEO, delivered the opening address. "He called on the industry to capitalize on the opportunities of the global megatrends and said harnessing the megatrends require unprecedented cross-sectoral integration to accelerate sustainable growth," according to a recap report released by ADIPEC.
ADIPEC quoted him as stating, “We stand at the dawn of a new era of hope and possibility, defined by three megatrends: first, the rise of the global south and emerging markets. Second, the transformation of energy systems, and third, the exponential growth of artificial intelligence. These three megatrends present mega opportunities that demand mega solutions. By 2050, 1.7 billion people will join our planet, mostly in the Global South. As a result, energy markets must shift and grow, and energy systems must be transformed.”
ADIPEC says this week's conference sessions aim to address key energy transition priorities, emphasising the need to embrace transformational solutions such as artificial intelligence to empower lives around the world and drive global sustainability and prosperity.
ADIPEC’s first Ministerial Panel, "The New Global Leaders and the Energy Transition" addressed the role of policy and cross-border cooperation in shaping the energy transition and expanding access to groundbreaking climate technologies.
The session heard insights from:
- His Excellency Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, UAE;
- His Excellency Shri Hardeep S Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, India;
- Honourable Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Republic of Uganda; and
- His Excellency Karim Badawi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Arab Republic of Egypt.
ADIPEC also featured insights from private sector leaders, as they explored the difficulties of balancing business priorities and rising energy consumption with the realities of climate change.
During the "Meeting Escalating Global Energy Demand whilst Transitioning to a Low-carbon Energy System" session, attendees heard from energy industry executives, including:
- Murray Auchincloss, CEO, bp;
- Wael Sawan, CEO, Shell;
- Tengku Muhammad Taufik, president and group CEO, Petronas;
- Claudio Descalzi, CEO, Eni; and
- Musabbeh Al Kaabi, executive director, Low Carbon Solutions & International Growth, ADNOC.
Sawan shared his company’s approach to the energy transition, stating, “We fundamentally believe that the world needs much more energy, and specifically more diversified forms of energy. As a company, we must be very clear about where we can invest our capital. Decarbonizing our existing assets is the first step, and the next step in this process is changing our operations.”
In addition, ADIPEC reported that its new Finance and Investment Conference provided a platform for leaders from government, finance and energy to discuss the disparity between capital flows and the investment necessary for a fair and equitable transition. Reinhard Florey, OMV's CFO summarized this in the “Bridging the Gap: Energy and Financial Cross-sector Collaboration to Advance New Projects” panel.
“There are specific energy solutions for which we need capital. However, there is also an extended value system that we need capital support on," he said. "These extended networks, such as infrastructure, need to be built, and we encourage lenders to consider this opportunity. It takes a lot of specialist know-how to make the technology work, but it also takes the right infrastructure.”
