Some 81% of energy industry decision-makers expect electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence to exceed current forecasts, according to a survey released on Thursday by ADIPEC, the annual energy conference in Abu Dhabi.
Within that group, 32% expect demand to be much higher than projected. Only 3% expect it to come in below forecasts, the conference’s Global Energy Report 2026 showed.
The report, titled Power Shift: How AI and Geopolitics Are Redrawing Global Energy, was conducted by strategic communications firm Kekst CNC between August and October 2026. It surveyed 1,832 energy industry decision-makers across 78 countries and included 17 executive interviews, The National reported.
The Middle East was named the region offering the greatest opportunity over the next decade by 30% of respondents. Some 72% expect the region’s importance to global energy to increase, and 69% expect the same for the UAE.
Around half of oil and gas producers named Asia Pacific (49%) and the Middle East (48%) as their most important customer regions over the next five years.
Conflict and war were cited as the leading risk to the sector by 42% of energy respondents and 55% of oil and gas respondents. Even so, 85% said energy was a more attractive sector for investment than five years ago.
Some 64% said the global energy system had proved more resilient than expected after recent disruption, while 73% said investment risks across oil, gas and renewables had increased over the past five years.
Technology and AI companies were named by 43% of respondents as the organizations likely to gain the most influence over the energy industry. Governments and regulators and financial institutions were each picked by 15%, international oil companies by 14% and national oil companies by 9%.
Among oil and gas respondents, AI-driven efficiency is expected to become the leading commercial opportunity over the next decade, cited by 27%, ahead of supplying power to AI and data centers at 25%. Gas and liquefied natural gas growth currently ranks first.
Investment in renewables was the top energy security priority for 37% of respondents, followed by diversifying energy sources at 34% and protecting critical infrastructure at 31%.
ADIPEC 2026 will be held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from November 2 to November 5.
