Adipec’s international country pavilions play a key role in enhancing bilateral trade, creating the opportunity for dialogue and long-lasting agreements. The presence of so many country pavilions underlines the importance of Adipec for the oil and gas industry

The Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec), a world-class business forum, where oil and gas professionals convene to engage in dialogue, create partnerships, do business and identify solutions and strategies that will shape the industry for the years ahead, has grown exponentially over the years.

Adipec 2018 will be held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and hosted by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc). The event will be held over four days from November 12 to 15 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec).

Abu Dhabi has always been at the very heart of the international energy sector. The energy capital and Adipec provide the ideal venue for the world’s nations to come together to discuss commerce and innovation.

Adipec’s international country pavilions play a key role in enhancing bi-lateral trade, creating the opportunity for dialogue and long lasting agreements. The presence of so many country pavilions underlines the importance of Adipec for the oil and gas industry.

The show takes place in parallel with Adipec conference and offers a varied spectrum of information, entertainment and experiences for over four days to over 110,000 visitors. Building on the strength of the last 34 years, Adipec 2018, is shaping up to be another record-breaking year, bringing new features and enhancements, the organisers say.

The Young Adipec initiative

On the exhibition side of the event, the 2018 edition will see the event grow to cover 155,000 (gross) sq m of space across 15 dedicated exhibition halls hosting over 2,200 companies, including 38 NOCs and IOCs and over 28 international country pavilions.

Adipec 2018 will see the launch of three new dedicated exhibition zones, covering Digitalisation, Heavy Machinery and a dedicated Dive Zone in the Offshore & Marine Hall, with the Digitalisation sector also weaved into the strategic and technical conference programmes, thereby highlighting the event’s versatility and forward-looking nature.

Key features of Adipec 2018 will include the Middle East Petroleum Club, in a larger, double-decker building relocated back to the Grandstand area, next to Hall 14, while the Offshore & Marine sector will also host a new Middle East Maritime Club, which is an extension of the existing Middle East Petroleum Club aimed at providing a dedicated and secure business and networking area for offshore and marine’s leading CEO’s and business leaders.

Meanwhile, conference discussions will take place across several streams including Global Ministerial Panels, Global Business Leaders Panels covering the entire value chain, C-Suite Dialogues, Finance Breakfast sessions and Inclusion and Diversity plus Strategic Roundtables at the Middle East Petroleum Club.

The international strategic and technical conference programmes will be led by energy ministers and international CEO’s that spans 200 sessions, 980 expert speakers and is expected to attract over 10,400 delegates.

Digitalisation is the number-one trend driving CEO decision-making in the global oil and gas sector. According to recent research by international consulting firm, McKinsey, a range of interconnected emerging technologies have the power to unlock a potential $50 billion in savings and increased profit. Encompassing fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, robotics, sensor technology, machine learning, deep learning, and edge computing, digitalisation is expected to cut capital expenditure by 20 per cent, with operating costs in upstream cut 3-5 per cent and 1-3 per cent in downstream.

The related benefits to energy companies, their customers, and the wider society, are even greater, estimated to reach $1.6 trillion over the next seven years, according to data presented at the 2017 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. Environmental benefits include reducing CO2-equivalent emissions by approximately 1,300 million tonnes, saving about 800 million gallons of water, and avoiding oil spills equivalent to about 230,000 barrels of oil.

Wahba addressing the Women in Energy conference last year

Responding to the high importance being placed on digital transformation and disruption by industry decision-makers, unlocking the opportunities that will flow from digitalisation will be a key focus for the 2018 edition of Adipec.

"Digitalisation is an urgent priority for industry CEOs and business leaders, offering cost savings, operational improvements, and safety and environmental gains that will reach into every corner of the business, but the opportunities come with risks that must be understood and navigated," says Jean-Philippe Cossé, vice president – Energy at dmg events.

"What we are seeing is a profound disruption to business-as-usual, which will have long-lasting effects. Adipec is responding to this with a new ‘Digitalisation in Energy zone, supporting innovation, and helping drive smart investments that will be the foundations of business success in the years ahead."

Spanning both the exhibition halls and the strategic and technical conference programmes, the Digitalisation in Energy zone will include top technology providers and new start-ups serving the oil and gas sector. A purpose-built Innovation Theatre will provide tech companies with the opportunity to host expert talks and take digitalisation out of the technology silo and place it at the centre of a much bigger conversation.

Long-recognised as the premier meeting place for energy ministers, global business leaders and C-level executives from the world’s oil and gas giants, Adipec 2018 will see the return of the event’s highly regarded strategic and technical conferences, while also continuing the expansion of the exhibition and conference programmes.

Conference sessions for the downstream refining and petrochemicals sector, introduced for 2017, will return to ensure that Adipec covers each link in the oil and gas value chain. The co-located waterfront Offshore and Marine Exhibition and Conference will add a commercial dive zone, while other returning features include the Adipec Awards, which celebrate excellence in energy, and Young Adipec, a dedicated ‘edutainment’ programme designed to encourage students to choose a career in energy. New for 2018 will be an Inclusion and Diversity in Energy conference programme, continuing and expanding on the work of the Women in Energy conference in previous years.

Hosting more than 80 ministers, CEOs, and global oil and gas business leaders as speakers, Adipec brings together the companies, decision and policy makers that shape the future of oil and gas supply, for four days of focused business, dialogue and knowledge transfer that addresses today’s energy challenges and defines tomorrow’s hydrocarbon landscape.

Adipec’s international technical and strategic conference spans 200 sessions, with 980 expert speakers and over 10,400 delegates. The technical conference programme, organised in collaboration with the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), sets the international standard for the exchange of best-practice and operational excellence in the world of energy, with all technical abstract submissions put through a rigorous evaluation process by the Technical Programme Committee. Sessions cover upstream, midstream and downstream sectors, including specialised programmes such as offshore and marine.

Alongside the conference will be the landmark Adipec exhibition areas, underpinning the event’s status as a premier showcase for suppliers and customers across the oil and gas industry. For 2018, Adipec is expected to attract more than 2,200 exhibiting companies, including 38 NOCs and IOCs, and 30 international country pavilions.

Young Adipec, the annual youth outreach initiative by the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec), has continued its successful work to promote the energy sector as a source of fulfilling careers for young Emiratis, hosting around 400 students from 17 schools for the 2017 edition.

Held under the patronage of Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, Young Adipec is aimed at educating high school students between the ages of 14 and 17 about the wealth and diversity of career opportunities in the energy sector, encouraging them to pursue studies in the fields of science and engineering, and spreading awareness about these specialties.

In his opening address to the Young Adipec Forum, the minister emphasised that the programme had been designed in partnership with faculty and staff at Khalifa University of Science and Technology and of the Petroleum Institute, to help young Emiratis realise their potential.

"The young people who are participating in this Adipec Youth Forum represent the potential future leaders of the oil and gas industry, the wise people who will provide the leadership of that sector in the future," he said.

"Future leaders attending this year’s conference are joining a select group of more than 1,500 students from across the UAE who have attended the previous conferences. Like them, you will gain a new understanding of the opportunities for satisfying and rewarding employment in the vibrant and challenging oil and gas industry."

Launched as part of the 2013 edition of Adipec, one of the world’s most influential oil and gas gatherings, the Young Adipec programme has consistently expanded. Now organised in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK), activities for 2017 included an Experiential and Edutainment zone as part of the Adipec Exhibition, where a series of hands-on activities introduced participants to engineering and science related tasks in a fun and engaging way.

Young Adipec also organised field trips with major companies in the oil and gas sector, run during the lead-up to Adipec itself, while the programme concluded with the Young Adipec Forum, a series of TED-style talks designed to engage and inspire young people to pursue energy-related careers.

As a special guest, former Nasa astronaut, Colonel Alfred M. Worden, USAF-Ret., who was a command module pilot on the Apollo 15 mission, shared his experience of how science and technology careers can literally reach for the moon.

The closing day of Adipec 2017 had put the spotlight on the growing importance of women in the oil and gas workforce, with industry role models leading the Women in Energy conference.

Held as part of Adipec, more than 200 delegates attended Women in Energy, offering a full day of discussions aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion within the global oil and gas industry.

In the conference’s keynote address, former US ambassador to the UAE, and now president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, Marcelle M Wahba, said many industries continued to have a built-in bias that men were better suited to certain roles.

"This is the glass ceiling that women contend with in male dominated professions or industries," Wahba said. "When it comes to glass ceilings, I understand that there’s none tougher to crack than the one that women face in the oil and gas industry."

Women in Energy includes an emphasis on supporting a new generation of female professionals seeking careers in scientific or technical roles.

Research by the Boston Consulting Group, for the World Petroleum Council, has found that fewer than a fifth of oil and gas workers are female.