Few venues in the world are as closely tied to the daily movement of oil prices as Abu Dhabi’s exhibition halls this week. ADIPEC 2026, the largest annual gathering of the global energy industry, opened on Monday and will continue through 5 November.
Organisers describe it as their biggest edition yet, and the figures back that up. The four-day event at the ADNEC Centre brings together more than 40 ministers, along with regulators, policymakers and global chief executives. It features more than 1,800 speakers across 13 conference programmes and over 380 sessions, and a record 2,260 exhibiting companies. Organisers expect around 239,000 visitors from some 170 countries.
A bigger event, a bigger moment
Demand for space was strong enough that organisers moved the opening ceremony to the Abu Dhabi Energy Centre, freeing up extra capacity at the main exhibition site. The event is held under the patronage of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and hosted by ADNOC.
ADIPEC chairman Abdulmunim Saif Al Kindy has described this year’s edition as taking place at a pivotal moment for global energy. The programme covers energy security, infrastructure, investment, natural gas and LNG, artificial intelligence and industrial development, with a heavy emphasis on turning strategy into signed projects.
Among the regional players with a major presence are ADNOC, XRG, Masdar, TAQA, Mubadala Energy, AIQ, Borouge, Fertiglobe and Bapco Energies.
Why energy security dominates
The backdrop is impossible to ignore. The conflict involving the US, Israel and Iran is in its eighth month, and the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas shipments, remains the focal point of both military risk and diplomacy. Brent crude has been trading above $100 a barrel this week, swinging on each development in the talks mediated by Qatar.
ADNOC chief executive Sultan Al Jaber has been blunt about how the UAE sees it. In March, he told an audience at CERAWeek in Houston that weaponising the Strait of Hormuz amounted to economic terrorism against every nation. He described energy security as the difference between lights on and lights off, and used the occasion to invite global leaders to ADIPEC to discuss resilience. This week’s gathering is the follow-through on that invitation.
The UAE’s own position
The country has a particular story to tell in the room. Tanker-tracking data cited in regional reports shows UAE crude exports recovering close to pre-war levels by late summer, helped by pipelines that bypass the strait and the use of ADNOC’s own fleet. The UAE also left OPEC and OPEC+ on 1 May, and its output has since reached levels not seen in years, according to Reuters estimates.
Foreign Trade Minister Thani Al Zeyoudi has said the country wants to cut its reliance on Hormuz to zero, with expanded ports planned at Dibba, Fujairah and Khor Fakkan. How that infrastructure is financed and built is the kind of question that ADIPEC’s investor meetings are designed to answer.
Technology on the main stage
Artificial intelligence is the second theme running through the week, and the timing is not accidental. On Monday, ADNOC, G42 and OpenAI signed an agreement to bring advanced AI into the energy company’s operations, one of four deals announced in Abu Dhabi that day. Conference organisers have built AI into the programme because energy companies increasingly see it as essential, both for operating complex assets more efficiently and for meeting the soaring electricity demand of data centres.
What attendees are looking for
For delegates, the practical agenda is a mix of dealmaking and diplomacy. Producers want long-term buyers, buyers want secure supply routes, and investors want clarity on which projects will survive an uncertain price environment. Ministers will use the sidelines for bilateral meetings, and any hint of progress on Hormuz will be watched closely by traders far from Abu Dhabi.
What to watch through Thursday
The final two days are likely to bring the heaviest flow of commercial announcements, as companies save signings for the closing sessions. For readers in the UAE, the event also has a local dimension, with road closures and heavy traffic around ADNEC likely to continue until it closes.
The outcome will not be measured in speeches. It will be in whether the contracts, investments and partnerships announced this week make the global energy system any more resilient than it was on Sunday.
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