Global energy leaders call for more AI investment at ADIPEC

ADIPEC, the UAE’s annual gathering of leaders in the global energy industry, got underway in Abu Dhabi on Monday, with CEOs from BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies sharing the stage with Microsoft and other tech giants as artificial intelligence becomes central to the energy transition. 

The conference, which runs through Thursday at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, will also spotlight sustainability, hydrogen, carbon capture and geopolitics, reflecting how energy markets are evolving beyond oil and gas production. ADNOC, Masdar and XRG convened 100 global technology, investment and government leaders at the “Enact Majlis” ahead of ADIPEC to emphasize the intersection of energy and AI, The National reports.

Hosting the event is Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, who serves as UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and also heads ADNOC and Abu Dhabi-owned renewables firm Masdar. Among the top tech executives in attendance is Brad Smith, President of Microsoft, which recently invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi AI firm G42. ADNOC and Microsoft announced a new agreement on Sunday to integrate artificial intelligence throughout the UAE company’s operations and support Microsoft’s global AI and data center expansion. 

Pointing to volatility in the oil market, where prices have plummeted 33% in the past two years, Al Jaber called for massive spending on data centers and artificial intelligence, reckoning that investments from the global energy industry should reach $4 trillion a year. Near-term uncertainty is real, while long-term demand remains strong,” Al Jaber said. “Our response to meet that demand should focus on data, not the drama.”

Also in Abu Dhabi, Amos Hochstein, Managing Partner at TWG Global, and formerly Deputy  Assistant  to  the President and Senior  Advisor for Energy & Investment in the Biden administration, said in an interview with CNBC that the U.S. “needs billions” in power‑infrastructure investment to modernize and secure its energy systems.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, meanwhile, met on Saturday with Doug Burgum, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior and Chairman of the National Energy Dominance Council, who came to attend ADIPEC 2025. Burgum and Under Secretary of State Jacob Helberg took a tour of the UAE’s Upper Zakum oil field on Sunday.

Trump heads home after sewing up $200 billion in UAE deals

President Donald Trump wrapped up his four-day tour of the Gulf with a pomp-filled visit to the UAE, locking in some $200 billion in contracts that starts to fulfill the UAE’s pledge to spend $1.4 trillion in the U.S. over the next decade. He took off for Washington in the early afternoon.

With attention focused on the U.S. leader’s commitment to ease restrictions on selling advanced AI semiconductor chips to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the two countries signed an agreement to build an AI development campus in Abu Dhabi that would be the world’s largest outside the U.S.

Though specifics on the AI tech purchases were not disclosed, Trump and Sheikh Mohamed met together with Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, which is the largest maker of the most advanced chips.

“We’re making great progress for the $1.4 trillion that the UAE has announced that it intends to spend in the United States over the next couple of years,” Trump told the UAE-U.S. Business Forum in an address early today. “This will generate billions and billions of dollars in business and accelerate the UAE plans to become a really major player in artificial intelligence.”

Trump also met with Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and CEO of ADNOC, at the business summit.

Among the deals were a $14.5 billion commitment from Etihad Airways for the purchase of 28 Boeing aircraft and a $60 billion oil and gas deal with ADNOC involving ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum, and EOG Resources. UAE officials said today the country will increase the value of its energy investments in the U.S. to $440 billion over the next 10 years.

Before returning to Washington, Trump visited the Abrahamic Family House on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island, the monumental prayer compound built by the UAE that contains a mosque, a church and a synagogue.

Gliding into President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed’s Qasr Al Watan palace grounds on Thursday night for a state dinner, Trump’s motorcade was flanked by mounted camels to the right and Arabian stallions to the left, The Circuit’s Omnia Al Desoukie reports from Abu Dhabi.

The Emirati and American leaders then strode together through the palace’s grand marble halls, where Emirati children waved flags while the national anthems of both countries were played. President Trump was presented by Sheikh Mohammed with the Order of Zayed, the country’s highest civilian award, which was also given to former U.S. President George W. Bush in 2008.

Among the guests at the state dinner were Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed; UAE Vice President; Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, UAE National Security Adviser; Sheikh Abdallah bin Zayed, the UAE Foreign Minister; and Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE Ambassador to the U.S.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Managing Director and Group CEO of the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, and Peng Xiao, CEO of AI tech company G42 were also present.

Senior U.S. officials at the state dinner included U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Martina Strong, U.S. Ambassador to the UAE.