ADNOC announced on 2 November 2026 a multi-year partnership with OpenAI and G42, signed at ADIPEC in Abu Dhabi, becoming the first energy company to deploy OpenAI's advanced artificial intelligence platform for connecting and coordinating frontier AI agents across complex business operations.

The signing of the partnership agreement was witnessed by His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council.

ADNOC to Integrate OpenAI Frontier Across Business Operations

According to ADNOC, where its existing AI, including the specialist subsurface AI known as ENERGYai, builds deep intelligence about reservoirs, assets, and operations, OpenAI Frontier will connect that intelligence across the business so that operational, capital, and commercial decisions can be made together rather than one after another.

The technology will be deployed on OpenAI's GPT models using UAE-based computing AI infrastructure.

Leadership Statements on the Partnership

His Excellency Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, said the next frontier of AI is "not simply doing things faster" but "making possible what was previously beyond reach."

He stated that through the partnership, ADNOC is taking a major step towards connecting intelligence across its entire business, combining world-leading AI with decades of industrial expertise to make better decisions, unlock greater value, and strengthen energy security.

As the first energy company to deploy OpenAI Frontier, we are demonstrating how frontier AI can move beyond individual applications to reshape the performance of an entire industry. This is industrial AI at scale, pioneered here in Abu Dhabi, and it will help define the future of energy," he said.

OpenAI and G42 Highlight AI's Role in Energy Transformation

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said, "More capable AI can help us tackle some of the world's hardest problems, particularly around energy. By combining frontier AI, sovereign infrastructure, and industry expertise, this first-of-its-kind partnership will help ADNOC move faster, operate more efficiently, and make better decisions across the energy value chain. Together, we're shaping the future of AI-enabled energy."

His Excellency Mansoor Al Mansoori, CEO of G42 International, said, "You should not have to use AI to benefit from it. Some of the greatest value will come from improving the systems humanity depends on, and energy is fundamental to every economy."

He added that the UAE is building an AI-native nation with a global purpose to export intelligence responsibly, as it has long exported energy, and that the partnership builds on years of collaboration with ADNOC through AIQ. "What we build here should strengthen the energy system the world relies on, with benefits that reach people far beyond our borders," he said.

First Application: Field Master Planning

The partnership will initially focus on two high-value applications. The first is intended to transform field master planning from a sequence of separate subsurface, facility, and economic studies into a single, integrated decision.

Building on ENERGYai's reservoir-level intelligence, OpenAI's advanced reasoning models will integrate decades of data across thousands of wells, multiple stacked reservoirs, and hundreds of surface facilities, together with capital, cost, and commercial considerations, to prepare and optimize full-field development master plans.

ADNOC states this will allow complex development plans to be prepared and optimized in hours rather than months. The company describes the step change as one of scope as much as speed: rather than optimizing each reservoir or facility on its own, the plan is optimized for the whole field at once.

Second Application: Valuing Every Barrel in the Ground

The second application will make ADNOC the first energy company in the world to use this technology to value every barrel while it is still in the ground, according to the announcement.

It will connect intelligence across ADNOC's integrated value chain, from production and processing to refining, logistics, sales, and trading, where decisions today often rely on different systems, data, and priorities.

Interconnected AI agents will continuously forecast crude oil supply, demand, prices, and margins; predict their impacts before they occur; and weigh the commercial and operational impact of every decision as one integrated process.

By solving complex workflows from the reservoirs to the customers, the application is intended to give decision-makers insights that are ready to act on and to unlock the highest value of every barrel ADNOC produces, processes, and sells.

Bespoke Decision Intelligence on Sovereign Infrastructure

The partners will jointly develop and deploy a bespoke decision intelligence capability using OpenAI Frontier, combining OpenAI's latest generation frontier models with ADNOC's proprietary industrial data and expertise.

The capability will be deployed on G42's sovereign AI infrastructure in the UAE, with human experts retaining oversight of consequential decisions.

Broader Context and Future Ambitions

The partnership complements ENERGYai, ADNOC's specialist subsurface AI, and more than 200 AI applications already in use, advancing the company's stated ambition to become the world's most technology- and AI-enabled energy company.

Beyond the initial applications, the partnership will create a shared foundation of industrial knowledge that preserves institutional expertise and accelerates future AI applications across ADNOC's operations.

It will also strengthen ADNOC's cyber defence through OpenAI's Daybreak Blue initiative, supporting the company's security teams.

Tap Into the Middle East Booming Oil & Gas Project Pipeline Before Your Competitors Do

Every week, new refinery expansions, LNG terminals, and offshore developments take shape across the Middle East. If your team is still relying on fragmented news reports and outdated databases, you're making critical business decisions with incomplete information.

The Global Project Tracking (GPT) platform by Blackridge Research gives you a single, continuously updated source of intelligence on oil and gas projects across the Middle East, so you can identify opportunities early, reach decision-makers at the right time, and win more contracts.

From early-stage feasibility studies to fully operational assets, the platform covers every phase of the project lifecycle with verified, deal-ready details.

• Upcoming Projects

• Tender Notices

• Contract Awards

• Projects Under Construction

• Completed Projects

Book a Free Demo today and see how the Global Project Tracking (GPT) platform by Blackridge Research can transform your Middle East oil and gas strategy.