Sultan Al Jaber rallies energy industry to lead world to next phase of sustainable growth

Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Adnoc managing director and group CEO, rallied the energy industry on Monday to lead the world to the next phase of sustainable socioeconomic growth.

Delivering a keynote address at the opening ceremony of the 40th edition of Adipec, Dr Al Jaber detailed how the industry can capitalise on the opportunities of the three global megatrends of the rise of emerging markets, growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and energy system transformation. He explained that harnessing the megatrends requires unprecedented cross sectoral integration to accelerate sustainable growth.

Dr Al Jaber noted that targeted investment, enhanced grid and energy infrastructure and enabling policies and regulation are crucial to unlocking the transformative potential of the megatrends. Adnoc, he explained, is embracing the megatrends and pivoting to new opportunities across the energy value chain and around the world to future-proof its business, decarbonize and deliver long-term sustainable value.

“We stand at the dawn of a new era of hope and possibility, defined by three megatrends: first, the rise of the global south and emerging markets. Second, the transformation of energy systems, and third, the exponential growth of Artificial Intelligence. These three megatrends present mega opportunities that demand mega solutions,” Dr Al Jaber said.

He highlighted that by 2050, the world’s population will grow by a further 1.7 billion, mostly in the Global South and as a result, energy markets must shift and grow, and energy systems must be transformed.

“Wind and solar will expand seven times. LNG will grow by 65 percent. Oil will continue to be used for fuel and as a building block for many essential products. And as the world becomes increasingly urban, demand for electricity will double. Adding to this demand is Artificial Intelligence. AI is one of those era-defining breakthroughs that is changing the pace of change itself. It is redefining the boundaries of productivity and efficiency. And it has the potential to accelerate the transformation of energy systems and to supercharge low carbon growth.

“But the exponential growth of AI is also creating a power surge that no-one anticipated 18 months ago. That’s when ChatGPT took off. A single prompt on ChatGPT needs 10 times more energy than a google search. As AI expands, it will rely on a massive scale up of data centres for its huge and fast-growing computational needs. Over the next 6 years, data centers will more than double, requiring at least 150GW of installed capacity by 2030 and double that again by 2040,” Dr Al Jaber said.

He noted that no single source of energy is going to be enough to cater for this demand and meeting this demand sustainably will require harnessing diverse energy sources, from renewables and nuclear to LNG, alongside advanced infrastructure and increased investment.

The UAE, he emphasised, is proactively adapting its energy systems and cited Adnoc’s international growth strategy, which includes expanding its global gas footprint, making long-term investments in the chemicals sector, enhancing battery storage solutions, and advancing low-carbon fuels and carbon capture.

Dr Al Jaber highlighted the interconnectedness of energy and AI and urged an integrated, cross-sectoral response that meets the fast-growing energy needs of AI and leverages AI to transform energy systems.

He explained that the UAE has built a thriving AI ecosystem that is fostering growth and low carbon development and went on to detail how the adoption of AI is accelerating Adnoc’s strategy as the company reaps the benefits of its early investments in the technology.

“For Adnoc, AI stands for applied intelligence. We chose to be one of the earliest adopters, because we saw it as a strategic imperative to drive efficiency, unlock value, enhance growth, lower emissions and future-proof our business.”