Shipping now eats 30% of a barrel’s cost, says ADNOC's Al Jaber

Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, emphasized at the opening of ADIPEC 2026 in Abu Dhabi that global energy security must be measured by delivery, not production alone. He highlighted the industry's need to rethink its approach to building, protecting, and delivering energy following the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

These disruptions have caused nearly one billion barrels of crude to drain from global inventories, with diesel stocks in some markets reaching their lowest seasonal levels in 35 years. Other markets face a 600 billion cubic feet LNG supply gap. The industry's delivery costs have also increased, more than doubling from under 5% of a barrel's cost to over 30%.

Dr. Al Jaber outlined five steps the energy industry can take to mitigate future shocks, including expanding strategic storage, improving routes to market, implementing operational intelligence, fostering capital confidence through policy, finance, and insurance, and prioritizing people. He praised the UAE's resilience, citing the country's integrated trading, investment in people, world-class logistics, and AI-enabled operating model by XRG.

Dr. Al Jaber also stressed the UAE's commitment to advocating for dialogue, active diplomacy, and political solutions to stabilize markets and energy flows, urging partners to count on the UAE when it matters the most.