The UAE Minster of Energy, His Excellency Suhail bin Mohammed Faraj Faris Al Mazrouei, will lead a delegation of UAE energy representatives at the 22nd World Energy Congress (WEC) in Daegu, South Korea, next month.
Considered one of the world’s most prestigious energy events, the Congress will feature the UAE’s burgeoning investment portfolio as well as insights on the energy industry’s evolution from the perspective of a major, diversified leader. The event will take place from October 13 – 17.
The UAE delegation will include the Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Masdar, the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA), Mubadala Petroleum, Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA), Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE), Emirates LNG, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA).
“The UAE has one of the most compelling stories in the industry: a hydrocarbon superpower rapidly diversifying across the energy spectrum,” said Minster Al Mazrouei. “Our role in the World Energy Congress underlines that we are a country that looks toward the future, adapts and innovates in the ways we produce, consume and supply energy.”
Since the last World Energy Congress, the UAE has made major investments in both expansion of its oil and gas production and clean energy. The UAE has partnered with the world’s leading energy companies to ensure reliable oil and gas supply. Current production is around 2.9 million barrels/day, and this will expand to 3.5 by 2017. In March 2013, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, inaugurated the largest concentrated solar power plant (CSP) in operation in the world, Shams 1, quickly followed by the commissioning of the London Array, the largest offshore wind farm in the world and a Masdar investment. The UAE also began construction on its four nuclear energy plants, which will deliver 5.4 GW of peaceful nuclear energy by 2020 under a pioneering model of international transparency.
His Excellency, together with other senior members of the delegation will participate in the official discussions and panels of the WEC. The UAE will also host a pavilion highlighting its long history of energy leadership and innovation.
“We have a peaceful nuclear agenda and a burgeoning renewables industry on top of our hydrocarbon heritage,” continued Minister Al Mazrouei. “We are both redefining the role we play as a global energy exporter and advancing the global energy dialogue. We are proud to host the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), which is the first major intergovernmental organisation to be headquartered in the Middle East, dedicated to expand the adoption and use of renewable energy”
“The UAE has become an international centre of discussion on the future of the energy industry,” added Minster Al Mazrouei. The UAE notably hosts the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC), the largest oil and gas event within the region and the largest outside of North America. Now an annual meeting, ADIPEC features CEOs and policy makers from across the world in addition to 4,000 delegates and an exhibition that includes 1,600 exhibitors over 38,000 square meters of space. With the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW), the UAE’s capital is also home of the largest gathering on sustainability in the Middle East – attracting over 30,000 participants from 150 countries in 2013.
Held every three years and hosted by the World Energy Council, the World Energy Congress attracts more than 5,000 heads of state and government, ministers, policy makers and private sector players from the world’s key energy producers and consumers.
