ADIPEC 2026 opens in Abu Dhabi with Al Jaber keynote and 2,260+ exhibiting companies

ADIPEC 2026 opened in Abu Dhabi on 2 November, with the organisers reporting that the first day brought together energy leaders, policymakers and technology innovators. The Stratawire did not attend; this report is based on highlights sent by the organisers.

According to the organisers' highlights, the Opening Ceremony set the stage for four days of discussions. H.E. Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, highlighted the importance of energy security, investment and international partnerships.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also spoke at the ceremony, exploring the growing relationship between AI, energy and economic growth, the organisers said.

The organisers said the Strategic Conference examined the investments, infrastructure and technologies needed to build more resilient energy systems.

The exhibition

The exhibition welcomed 2,260+ exhibiting companies, according to the organisers. They said it showcased innovations across the AI Zone, Digitalisation Zone, Maritime & Logistics Zone and Low Carbon & Chemicals Zone.

The organisers' email also pointed to a free-to-attend AI Conference and AI Zone in Hall 13. Participants listed by the organisers include NVIDIA, Dell, OpenAI, Presight, G42, DeepOcean, Siemens, Honeywell, AIQ, e&, Microsoft, Cognite, IBM and Inception42.

Background from published reports

Energy Connects, published by ADIPEC organiser dmg events, reported that the exhibition opened with 2,260 exhibitors across 16 halls. It said the 30 country pavilions include China, India, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea, and described Asia participation as the strongest in the event's history.

In a pre-show article, Energy Connects said 353 Asian companies would exhibit. It also said the expanded AI Zone, co-hosted by AIQ, would highlight practical applications of artificial intelligence, robotics, automation and advanced analytics across energy operations.

Christopher Hudson, President of dmg events, said in that pre-show article: “We have a record-breaking 2,260 exhibiting companies, with the exhibition venue fully sold out and additional structures built to accommodate demand.” He added that the Opening Ceremony had been relocated to create more exhibition space.

What Al Jaber said

Energy Connects reported that Dr Al Jaber told the ceremony the global energy industry must fundamentally rethink how it builds, protects and delivers secure energy, after a year of disruption that exposed vulnerabilities in international supply chains.

According to Energy Connects, he said nearly one billion barrels of crude had been drained from inventories since the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. It said he outlined five steps to reduce the impact of future shocks.

Energy Connects quoted him as saying: “The choices we make today will determine the energy landscape a decade from now.”

It also quoted him describing the first step: “First, accessible supply. We need expanded strategic storage, larger stockpiles of products and flexible refining capacity closer to consumer markets.”

The other steps, as quoted by Energy Connects, were routes to market, operational intelligence, confidence to attract capital, and people. Of the last, Dr Al Jaber said: “Systems don’t carry responsibility, people do.”

Reflecting on the UAE's resilience, Energy Connects quoted him as saying: “We did not write our resilience playbook during this disruption. We wrote it years before.”

He also said ADNOC's ambition was “to make ADNOC the most customer-centric energy company on earth,” according to Energy Connects.

Scale and programme

Energy Connects said ADIPEC 2026, hosted by ADNOC, is the largest edition in the event's history, with an expected 239,000 participants from more than 170 countries. Gulf News also reported more than 239,000 visitors.

According to Energy Connects, the show runs until 5 November, with more than 1,800 speakers across 13 conference programmes and over 380 sessions.

In its pre-show article, Energy Connects listed bp, TotalEnergies, Eni, Oxy, ExxonMobil, Chevron, NNPC and INPEX among 54 national and international oil and energy companies taking part.