ExxonMobil and Chevron have canceled plans for their executives to travel to the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) next week, citing security concerns, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday.
Bloomberg separately reported that both US companies had canceled plans to attend the conference, the UAE’s biggest oil industry event.
Exxon Chief Executive Darren Woods had been due to attend, the sources said. Chevron had been due to be represented by Clay Neff, its upstream president.
Exxon and Chevron declined to comment. ADNOC, the UAE’s state energy company, referred questions to the event’s organizer, DMG.
Organizer cites strong US presence
“US participation is very strong, with more than 120 exhibiting companies, the second-largest country representation after China,” DMG said in a statement.
DMG said ADIPEC is set for record exhibition participation this year, with attendees expected from more than 170 countries. A list of confirmed US industry speakers provided by DMG did not include Exxon or Chevron.
The conference’s online program still listed other senior executives, including BP Chief Executive Meg O’Neill and Equinor Chief Executive Anders Opedal.
Regional security concerns
Concern over possible new US strikes on Iran, and retaliation by Tehran, has weighed on oil markets in recent days. There have been no Iranian attacks targeting the UAE since May.
The US State Department last week ordered some diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia, which has faced near-daily attacks by Yemen’s Houthis this month.
Earlier this month, several senior energy executives were dropped from the schedule of the WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh. That conference went ahead.
