ADNOC, Masdar, XRG and Microsoft forge strategic alliance to energy the way forward for AI and vitality

Earlier than the opening of ADIPEC 2025, ADNOC, Masdar, XRG and Microsoft have introduced a landmark strategic settlement to speed up synthetic intelligence (AI) deployment throughout ADNOC’s worth chain and ship next-generation vitality options to assist Microsoft’s increasing world AI and datacentre infrastructure.

Unveiled days earlier than Abu Dhabi’s flagship vitality occasion, the partnership goals to deploy synthetic intelligence throughout ADNOC’s operations and ship sustainable infrastructure to energy Microsoft’s world datacentre development. 

The announcement was made on the ENACT Majlis in Abu Dhabi, setting the stage for ADIPEC, which kicks off this week. ADIPEC is among the world’s largest and most influential vitality gatherings, drawing hundreds of trade leaders, policymakers and innovators to form the way forward for vitality. ADNOC, because the UAE’s nationwide oil firm, performs a central function on the occasion, showcasing its management in vitality innovation, sustainability and digital transformation.

This settlement builds on a historical past of collaboration between ADNOC and Microsoft. At ADIPEC 2024, the 2 firms, alongside Masdar, signed a Strategic Collaboration Settlement to advance AI and low-carbon initiatives. That partnership explored utilizing renewable vitality from Masdar to energy Microsoft’s datacentres and making use of AI to carbon seize, low-carbon ammonia and hydrogen tasks geared toward lowering emissions and enhancing biodiversity monitoring.

The 2025 settlement expands that imaginative and prescient by bringing XRG into the fold and deepening the dedication to twin transformation, utilizing AI to optimise vitality programs and delivering clear vitality to gasoline the computational calls for of AI itself.

Beneath the alliance, ADNOC and Microsoft will co-develop and deploy AI brokers throughout ADNOC’s operations to allow autonomous decision-making, scale back emissions and enhance effectivity. Microsoft may also present superior AI instruments and upskilling applications for ADNOC’s workforce. Collectively, the businesses will discover a joint innovation ecosystem to incubate transformative options for the vitality sector.

“As AI continues to reshape how worth is created and enhanced throughout industries, ADNOC, Masdar and XRG usually are not solely embedding AI into each layer of our operations, we’re additionally advancing the vitality programs that can energy AI itself,” mentioned Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Trade and Superior Know-how, ADNOC managing director and group CEO, government chairman of XRG, and chairman of Masdar. “By means of our partnership with Microsoft, we’re unlocking new alternatives to gasoline the way forward for AI, drive larger efficiency and future-proof our enterprise.”

Brad Smith, vice-chair and president resident of Microsoft, added: “No single firm or trade can meet this second alone. Accelerating the transition to a extra sustainable, safe and inclusive vitality future requires deep collaboration between governments, vitality suppliers, expertise firms and innovators in every single place.”

ADNOC has already demonstrated its AI management. In November 2023, it grew to become the primary vitality firm to roll out generative AI enterprise-wide utilizing Microsoft Copilot. Since then, greater than 40,000 workers have accomplished AI coaching, with utilisation charges exceeding 90% and productiveness positive factors surpassing 70,000 hours monthly.

The collaboration additionally builds on insights from the 2025 version of the Powering potential report, collectively revealed by ADNOC and Microsoft. Drawing from greater than 850 world specialists, the report explores how AI is reworking vitality programs, from predictive upkeep and emissions monitoring to clever grid administration and vitality optimisation.

As ADIPEC 2025 opens its doorways this week, the ADNOC-Masdar-XRG-Microsoft alliance presents a compelling preview of the vitality sector’s future, the place AI and clear vitality converge to drive innovation, resilience and sustainability.