Energy reserves give countries trust and reliability, says ADIPEC chair

Abu Dhabi – ADIPEC Chair Abdulmunim Al Kindy emphasized that possessing abundant energy reserves confers confidence and reliability to nations. "Having large reserves of energy gives a country assured access to its markets and the reliability to move energy from wherever it is sourced and deliver it to the customer," he explained.

Al Kindy stated that one of the key takeaways from the 2026 edition is that even a minor disruption in supply can significantly impact the entire market. He elaborated that if 10% of the supply is lost, or if there is merely a belief that 10% is lost, it undermines trust and confidence in the prices of the remaining 90%, thereby affecting both demand and supply across the economy.

He praised ADNOC's leadership, management, and employees for their commitment to maintaining operations and delivering to the public despite the disruption. Al Kindy highlighted that ADNOC's technical conference measures success by the number of ideas that transition from technical feasibility to commercial projects. EVP of Development & Production (Gas), ADNOC Upstream, and ADIPEC 2026 Technical Conference Chair Haitham Al Jenaibi emphasized that the goal is to help attendees develop technically feasible ideas into commercial projects.

He also mentioned that the event aims to provide small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with exposure to industry leaders, innovators, resilience practices, technology adoption, and niche ideas. Both Al Kindy and Al Jenaibi anticipated that participants would leave with insights that could potentially lead to future proposals. Despite initial concerns about geopolitical events affecting international attendance, the participation was unexpectedly higher than ever, with over 27 new countries contributing for the first time.

Al Jenaibi noted that early concerns about geopolitical events might have deterred participation, but the actual turnout surpassed expectations. ADNOC's investment in redundancy, which was once questioned as commercially unjustified, proved invaluable during recent disruptions. Al Kindy revealed that the company had anticipated such scenarios a decade ago and built its assets with the necessary redundancy to sustain production levels.

He acknowledged that the spending was controversial at the time but confirmed that the investments paid off when disruption occurred, allowing ADNOC to switch supply bases and deliver to different destinations. The redundancy measures, including interconnections between sites and additional asset procurement, were designed with preparedness in mind.

Al Kindy also commended the company's workforce, crediting regular drills and exercises for instilling a sense of preparedness, even as staff turnover occurred. He emphasized that the company's assets were designed with these contingency plans in mind, ultimately proving their effectiveness during the disruption. Looking ahead, ADIPEC 2026 will shift its focus from discussing "why" to "where" and "how" in the application of artificial intelligence (AI).

The conference aims to explore how AI can be implemented in various stages of the energy sector, from exploration to production, and to discuss the potential benefits and challenges of integrating AI technologies.