Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the third annual Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum started in Abu Dhabi.
The premier event gathers international and regional political, industry, and thought leaders to set the global energy agenda for the year and examine the long-term geopolitical and geo-economic implications of the changing energy landscape.
Among those who attended the forum were Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy and Industry; Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO; Musabah Al Kaabi, Chief Executive Officer, for the petroleum and petrochemical sector of Mubadala Investment Company; Majid Jafar Chief Executive Officer of Crescent Petroleum, and others.
In his speech on the occasion, Dr. Al Jaber spoke about the link between the demand on energy and the international economic circumstances. He also emphasised the need to focus on increasing operational efficiency and reducing costs and explained that companies operating in the oil and gas sector must be flexible, accurate and respond quickly to be able to balance the current conditions of the market and future growth of long-term energy demand.
"We are gathering at a time of rapid geopolitical and technological change, which is challenging energy markets and governments around the world," said Frederick Kempe, President and CEO of the Atlantic Council.
"For that reason, each year we convene in Abu Dhabi some of the world’s most important policy and business actors to discuss how these shifts are driving innovation, investments, corporate strategy, geopolitics and the energy sector as a whole."
The 2019 forum focuses on four key themes: the future of oil, the digitisation of energy, diversification within energy companies and countries, and will have a regional focus on East and Southeast Asia energy demand and energy innovation.