ADIPEC 2019: Constant Evolution is Key to Success for ADIPEC Strategic and Technical Conferences

As the oil and gas industry faces unprecedented and accelerating change, constant evolution ensures the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) remains the world’s premier event for sharing professional knowledge and shaping the strategic future of petroleum.

For 2019, the headline change is the restructuring of the strategic conference as ‘Oil and Gas 4.0’. The new name connects oil and gas to the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ and to the emerging technologies that are transforming the way the industry operates.

Careful revisions across the ADIPEC programme offer a range of new and updated sessions, creating real value for industry leaders and professionals taking part.

“ADIPEC has always focused on the future, empowering industry leaders and professionals to navigate a path forward and create new opportunities – both in their own work, and for the industry as a whole,” said Omar Suwaina Al Suwaidi, ADIPEC Conference Chairman, and Director, Executive Office Directorate, ADNOC.

“Our challenge is to provide a conference programme that understands the urgency of change, and the fundamental shifts we see taking place across the industry. It’s about meeting the needs of people working in oil and gas today, understanding how that will change tomorrow, and defining a strategic vision for the years ahead.”

In total, ADIPEC hosts upwards of 10,400 delegates across its strategic and technical conferences, with more than 160 sessions and 1,000 speakers. More than 100 ministers, CEOs and global business leaders are speaking during the event.

A growing focus on the impact of technology has been a feature of the conferences for several years. In 2016 and 2017, ADIPEC added cyber-security as a specific section within the strategic conference, which expanded into a broader discussion of digitalisation in 2018. As ‘Oil and Gas 4.0’, the conversation expands again, ranging across artificial intelligence, blockchain, big data, machine learning, automation, cloud computing, robotics, and unmanned vehicles.

Similarly, the former ‘Women in Energy’ sessions evolved in 2018 into the current ‘Diversity in Energy’ programme, highlighting the need to look outside the industry’s traditional talent pool when identifying and recruiting new professionals to its ranks. ADIPEC also continues its commitment to expand beyond its original emphasis on upstream production to cover the full value chain of oil and gas. Conference sessions now support the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors, as well as offshore and marine.

For professionals looking for career and skills development, technical sessions offer an opportunity to share knowledge and best practice with their peers. Organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the main technical programme is created by a committee of industry experts and is the largest conference of its type in the world. As with the strategic conference, the programme covers the full value chain and includes the latest tech innovations, such as practical applications of artificial intelligence and data analytics, as well talent acquisition and retention.

“Delegates come to ADIPEC with an assurance that our technical sessions will provide insights the latest innovations affecting their work, and they will gain useful and useable new knowledge,” said Mohamed Al Marzouqi, Chairman of the ADIPEC 2019 Technical Programme Committee, and SVP Development, ADNOC. “The strategic conference looks at the bigger picture, the forces that are reshaping the industry as a whole. The technical conference is about how oil and gas professionals can create change every day. We provide professional development for attendees, and create a pathway to increased productivity and efficiency for their employers.”

Since its inauguration in 1984, ADIPEC has continued to grow, gaining worldwide recognition as the premier oil and gas industry exhibition and conference. Alongside the conference programme, the ADIPEC exhibition brings together over 2,200 international exhibiting companies across 160,000 gross square metres, with 23 country pavilions, attracting over 150,000 global attendees and 51 National and International Oil Companies.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, hosted by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and supported by the UAE Ministry of Energy, the Abu Dhabi Chamber, and the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, ADIPEC will take place from 11 to 14 November, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC).