ADNOC, OpenAI Bring AI to UAE Energy Operations

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has announced a multi-year partnership with OpenAI and UAE-based artificial intelligence company G42 to introduce advanced AI technology across its energy operations. The agreement, announced on November 2, 2026, at the ADIPEC energy conference in Abu Dhabi, marks a significant development in the growing use of artificial intelligence within the global energy industry.

Under the partnership, ADNOC will deploy OpenAI's advanced AI technology to connect operational information and support decision-making across its business. The initiative will cover several stages of the energy value chain, including production, processing, refining, logistics, sales and trading.

One of the first applications will focus on field master planning. Traditionally, energy companies conduct separate studies for underground reservoirs, production facilities and economic considerations before developing operational plans. The new system aims to bring these different sources of information together, allowing teams to evaluate complex development plans more efficiently.

According to ADNOC, the technology will connect decades of operational information from thousands of wells, multiple reservoirs and hundreds of surface facilities. The company expects this approach to help prepare and optimise development plans in hours rather than months.

Another important application will involve evaluating the commercial value of oil before it is extracted. AI systems will analyse information about production, supply, demand, prices and market conditions to help decision-makers understand how operational choices may affect the company's wider business.

The partnership will use OpenAI's technology alongside ADNOC's proprietary industrial information and G42's UAE-based computing infrastructure. The companies have also stated that human experts will retain oversight of important decisions.

ADNOC already operates more than 200 AI applications and has been expanding its use of robotics across its facilities. The new agreement is intended to connect these existing capabilities and create a more integrated approach to industrial decision-making.

The announcement reflects a wider development in the energy sector, where companies are increasingly exploring artificial intelligence to manage complex operations, improve efficiency and analyse large amounts of information.

However, deploying AI across critical infrastructure also raises important considerations, including cybersecurity, data protection, reliability and human oversight. The technology will need to demonstrate its effectiveness in real operational environments before its full impact can be assessed.

For the UAE, the partnership represents another step in its strategy to expand its position in artificial intelligence and advanced industrial technology. It also highlights how AI is moving beyond consumer applications and becoming increasingly important in industries that support economies around the world.

The results of this collaboration could offer an example of how traditional energy companies adapt their operations to an increasingly digital and data-driven industrial environment.