Oil and gas industry will remain an essential pillar of the future diversified energy mix, calling on the industry to modernize in response to disruptions on multiple levels and a fast-evolving energy landscape, announced UAE Minister of State and CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber.
Delivering the opening keynote address, at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC), Jaber said the oil and gas industry is being disrupted by new technologies, new business models, new forms of energy and a new geopolitical order, with the rise of Asia.
“This era of disruption is just the beginning and will only gather pace over time. Yet, the oil and gas company of today can be a winner tomorrow, if it operates at a lower level of cost and a higher level of performance; if it brings digital into the core of its operations; if it embeds sustainability into its DNA; and if it rethinks how to leverage its partnerships, enable its people and re-center its customer relationships.”
The Minister added that the fact is by 2040, all the energy currently consumed in the United States, India, and Japan will be added to global energy demand, and oil and gas will provide the source for over half of it.
“These facts are undisputed and simply make a compelling business case to invest in the future of our industry.”
Jaber said ADNOC is on track to expand its oil production capacity to 4 million barrels per day (BPD) by the end of 2020 and is finding new reserves of natural gas as it gets closer to achieving gas self-sufficiency for the UAE.
ADNOC is also leveraging the UAE’s geography as the company expands its downstream operations and creates a world-scale refining and petrochemicals complex, indicated Jaber.
He invited international partners and the UAE private sector to take advantage of ADNOC’s high-quality feedstock and seize this unique opportunity for growth as the company delivers its downstream expansion strategy.
As the oil and gas industry embraces an age of disruption, digitization is the next frontier to driving efficiencies, curbing costs and extracting the highest value from every molecule of a hydrocarbon produced, according to Jaber.
“At ADNOC, Artificial Intelligence powers our Panorama Digital Command Center, enabling clearer, real-time, business-critical decision making. Advanced robotics are transforming our surface and subsurface operations. And predictive analytics is significantly minimizing our operational downtime and maximizing our savings.”
Jaber stressed that technology is also key to unlocking one of the central challenges facing the oil and gas industry, namely on delivering more energy with fewer emissions.
“We are expanding the Middle East’s first commercial-scale carbon capture utilization and storage facility to capture at least 4.3 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2030. That equals the amount of CO2 captured annually by 5 million acres of trees or forest over twice the size of the UAE,” said Jaber.
He concluded by saying that expanding the operations, ADNOC is pioneering the use of optical drones to monitor fugitive emissions, helping maintain the best-in-class methane intensity.
Also at the ceremony, UAE’s Minister of Energy and Industry, Suhail al-Mazrouei, said that UAE is a leading player in the global energy sector, due to its role in finding solutions to the challenges of energy sustainability, diversifying sources and shaping a new energy landscape.
Pointing out that oil exploration and new hydrocarbon reserves enhance the UAE's position as a reliable source of energy, he expressed his optimism for the global oil market.
