From the rebound in energy and trade demand, to the important commitments from the world’s governments on reducing global emissions at COP26, 2021 will be a crucial turning point for the energy industry.
There is a great amount to discuss this year for energy companies, governments, and stakeholders across the value chain, ranging from the challenges posed by new emissions targets to the possibilities opened up by the world’s ongoing economic recovery. The opportunity for these discussions will be at ADIPEC 2021, the first major energy exhibition and conference taking place after COP26, where CEOs, government ministers from around the world, and energy experts will set out the future of the sector from 15–18 November in Abu Dhabi.
Hosted by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and under the patronage of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, ADIPEC continues to be one of the world’s most influential meeting places for the energy sector to convene on the major issues of the evolving landscape.
The exhibition provides opportunities for those on both the production and consumer ends of the value chain to come together and network in a safe and secure way; to unlock millions of dollars’ worth of new business and to discover the range of products, solutions, and cutting-edge technologies.
Having navigated the challenges of the past year, we are excited to see the industry accelerating its plans for the future. More than 2,000 companies have already booked their stands as exhibitors, including 51 NOCs, IOCs, and IECs alongside major partnerships from BP, Huawei, and Exxon. After over a year of lockdowns, restrictions, and virtual sessions, the message we have received from the industry is clear: it is eager to again meet in person, share best practices, and find new opportunities that simply could not happen virtually.
Across 4 days, more than 1,000 ministers, CEOs, policymakers, and influencers at ADIPEC will be the first to reflect on the outcomes from COP26, while more than 800 technical experts will come together for 160 sessions on the latest and most exciting forms of energy technology. Twenty-six countries from across the world have already booked their pavilions, where exhibitors will display their innovative approaches to investing in and collaborating with the energy sector.
The continued success and evolution of the energy industry is, of course, built on its technical expertise, which is why I am so pleased to see ADIPEC’s Technical Conferencego from strength to strength. Organised by our close partner, the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the 2021 conference will welcome engineers from around the world. Here, industry professionals will come together to share engineering best practices and sharpen their ideas on everything from geosciences and the real-world application of artificial intelligence to maintaining operational excellence in the field.
A key area of the exhibition, the Digitalisation Zone,will offer insights on everything from big data to cloud and machine learning. CTOs and industry leaders from some of the world’s biggest tech and engineering firms, including Microsoft, Nokia, and Koch, will be onsite exploring the latest ways digitalisation can enhance the energy value chain.
Our Smart Manufacturing Zone,meanwhile, will provide a new platform from which to outline the potential of Smart Tech. With the industrial Internet of Things expected to grow rapidly by 2025, energy production and the manufacturing processes across the energy value chain will undergo significant changes. Bridging the gap between energy, manufacturing, and high-tech sectors, the Zone will detail what these changes will look like, including events on Materials Management 4.0, supply chain and logistics, computer-aided manufacturing, nanotechnology, and much more.
I am particularly keen to see all those in the running forthis year’s ADIPEC Awards. Now in their 11th year, the awards will be presented to the energy industry’s leading innovators, the projects, companies, and individuals exploring possibilities that can reshape our world.
And, of course, ADIPEC’s Leadership Roundtables, this year sponsored by BP, LUKOIL, and the Government of Japan, will offer executives and ministers an exclusive forum in which to discuss and debate strategic issues. Here they will assess the challenges and opportunities facing the energy sector.
Many of these challenges will be set not only at COP26 but by the European Green Deal and the Biden administration’s new 2030 Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Target. Achieving such decarbonisation objectives will require significant advances in technology—and ADIPEC 2021 will present a comprehensive overview of those innovations enabling the energy sector to respond.
ADIPEC will give the next generation of energy professionals strategic and technical insights on the latest trends in energy. As we look forward to returning in person to Abu Dhabi, 2021’s edition is set to be the most important yet.
