Tuesday, December 10, 2024

GMIS 2024 and industrial safety manifesto launch

The Oilholic recently had the privilege of speaking and moderating at thGlobal Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) in Abu Dhabi, UAE on December 5, hosted by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development at the inaugural Abu Dhabi Business Week, with a key theme of building resilience across the global industrial, manufacturing and petrochemical complexes. 

The summit deliberated at length the challenge of ensuring safety and security for key infrastructure in the digital age. In line with this thinking, a first-of-its-kind Manifesto for Global Industrial Safety was launched at the event to widespread recognition and support from leaders and experts across the global industrial ecosystem. 

Developed by the Global Initiative for Industrial Safety (GIFIS) in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Lloyd’s Register Foundation, the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS), and the Cambridge Industrial Innovation Policy (CIIP), the manifesto sets a new global benchmark for safety and sustainability in industrial practices.


Each year, approximately three million deaths worldwide are linked to insufficient safety measures and dangerous working conditions, resulting in an economic loss of 3.9% of global GDP, according to the International Labour Organisation. Cognisant of this, the manifesto offers a strategic blueprint for stakeholders to harness technology and effectively address safety risks for workers around the world. 


In doing so, it outlines guiding principles and vital contributions required from industry, government, academia, regulators, and international organisations to accelerate the safe adoption of technology in new industrial processes and to integrate technology-enabled safety solutions in traditional industries. 

Delivering a keynote address at the event, post-launch, Dr. Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security for the UAE Government, said the manifesto underscores the importance of continuing to prioritise safety, security, and collaboration. 


"Partnerships, communication, and information-sharing are vital to maintaining this progress and achieving a resilient and secure future." More so, as the global cybersecurity market booms in the digital age, as recorded by yours truly in a Forbes missive from the event


An exciting event agenda also saw several topics of interest deliberated throughout the day-long event. Proceedings included a fireside chat hosted by yours truly on pioneering industrial resilience by leveraging technology and the pivotal role of leadership in industrial safety, with Barbara Frei, Executive Vice President Industrial Automation, Schneider Electric and Courtney Gregoire, Vice President and Chief Digital Safety Officer, Microsoft. 


Both Barbara and Courtney touched on best practices from an OT and IT perspective as industries and whole sectors embrace IIoT, AI and robotics. 


Later in the day, and to bring the event proceedings to a close, the Oilholic also moderated a panel session titled 'Built to Endure: Resilience in High-Stakes Industries.'


Panellists included Amer J Siddiqi, Executive Director, Mubadala, Hazeem Al Suwaidi, CEO, Borouge and Hesham Awda, COO, NMDC Energy Offshore. They offered their respective takes on why building resilience in high-risk industries requires a multi-faceted approach that combines technology, strong leadership, and a culture of safety. 


This now incrementally involves the deployment of advanced technologies, such as predictive analytics and machine learning, to anticipate potential disruptions before they occur.


As global supply chains become increasingly interconnected, industries’ ability to endure and adapt to challenges will be a defining factor in their long-term success, happened to be the verdict of the panel, and the wider GMIS discourse


Offering a parting food for thought - for governments and businesses alike, resilience has become a strategic asset that not only safeguards operations but also drives sustainable growth. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 


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© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photo I: GMIS 2024. Photo II: Dr. Mohamed Al Kuwaiti, Head of Cyber Security for the UAE Government speaks at GMIS. Photo III: Gaurav Sharma hosts a fireside chat with Barbara Frei, Executive Vice President Industrial Automation, Schneider Electric and Courtney Gregoire, Vice President and Chief Digital Safety Officer, Microsoft. © GMIS 2024. 

Wednesday, December 04, 2024

Speaking at GMIS 2024

The Oilholic is delighted to be back in Abu Dhabi, UAE for GMIS 2024, being held here on December 5 as part of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Business Week. Yours truly will be hosting one fireside chat and one panel session at the event with distinguished industry thought leaders. 

Please do join if you can for some fantastic and insightful industry dialogues. Here are the details of the sessions:

Thursday, December 5, 2024 @ 12:30 GST

Pioneering Resilience: Technology and Leadership in Industrial Safety

With: 

- Barbara Frei, Executive Vice President Industrial Automation, Schneider Electric
- Courtney Gregoire, Vice President and Chief Digital Safety Officer, Microsoft
















(Click image to enlarge)

Thursday, December 5, 2024 @15:15 GST

Built to Endure: Resilience in High-Stakes Industries

With: 

- Amer J Siddiqi, Executive Director, Mubadala
- Hazeem Al Suwaidi, CEO, Borouge
- Eng. Hesham Awda, COO, NMDC Energy Offshore












(Click image to enlarge)

Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photo © GMIS 2024. 

Saturday, November 30, 2024

OPEC and the oil price floor

The last few weeks have brought range-bound volatility to the oil market with Brent futures oscillating between $70 and $75 per barrel. 

For the Oilholic, the now not-so-new Brent price floor is at $70 that OPEC appears to be protecting, although the producers' group rarely publicly comments on oil prices. 

In the face of subdued global, especially Chinese, demand growth, working to protect a price level rather than market share isn't quite working either. 

Brent has seen a steady decline over the last six months to the end of the year from $85 down to $75 to ultimately encountering resistance at $70. 

The market share versus price quandary is continuing for OPEC+ with no end in sight and perhaps no unanimity within its ranks on how to deal with it. 

All the while rising numbers of non-OPEC, especially US, barrels continue to hit the market. Overall, the situation is that at present, and going well in to H1 2025, there is very little appetite for additional barrels from any source, let alone OPEC+ barrels. 

Chances are OPEC+ will keep its cuts in place for another few months whenever a formal meeting takes place to decide on near-term production levels in December. But while it can potentially avoid actions to oversupply the market, will non-OPEC producers do so? Most likely, no. So, lower for longer does appear to be the order of the day. 

And were OPEC+ and the Saudis to discard their output curbs and trigger a market tussle, a decline to $50 Brent prices cannot be ruled out. 

Brent's price floor might currently be at $70, but it could potentially be... well floored further depending on what happens. 

Moving on from oil market chatter, yours truly recently discussed COP29 shenanigans on TRT World (clip here), wrote concluding thoughts on the climate change conference for Forbes (article here), and offered one's take on London's AIM-listed energy minnow Afentra (LON: AET) for Motley Fool (article here). That's all for the moment folks. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photo I: Oil pump jack building block model at the AVEVA World 2023 Conference, Moscone Center, San Francisco, US. © Gaurav Sharma, October 2023. Photo II: Gaurav Sharma on TRTWorld, November 2024 © TRT World, November 2024. 

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Media missives from ADIPEC 2024

With ADIPEC 2024 drawing to a close on November 7, the Oilholic capped a fascinating and engaging week out in Abu Dhabi by hosting four pivotal industry panel sessions at the event on subjects ranging from climate finance to hydrogen markets in Asia.

Yours truly also hit the airwaves to discuss the wider energy market, impact of the US elections, an incoming Donald Trump administration and the various developments at ADIPEC 2024 which attracted over 200,000 people this year. 

These included broadcasting calls with the BBC, WION, Energy Connects and more, with this blogger's week also peppered with plenty of missives via the keyboard for Forbes, and of course this blog.

All blog entries for each ADIPEC may be found here. And here are selected Forbes copies in chronological order based on soundbites and insight from the event. 

  • ADNOC Boss Urges Energy Peers To Fully Embrace Power Of AI, November 4, 2024
  • Donald Trump’s Presidency Will Likely Boost U.S. Oil Output In 2025, November 6, 2024
  • Strait Of Hormuz: Why Iran Wont Harm Critical Oil Shipping Route, November 7, 2024
  • British Energy Majors May Lean More On Oil And Gas To Boost Profits, November 8, 2024
  • New U.K. Tax Rates Are Hammering North Sea Oil And Gas Drilling, November 12, 2024

That's a wrap for this year's ADIPEC. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photo: Gaurav Sharma at ADIPEC 2024 studio in Abu Dhabi, UAE on November 4, 2024 © dmgevents /APCO Worldwide. 

Friday, November 08, 2024

ADIPEC Days III & IV: Connecting minds. Transforming Energy

Over the course of Wednesday and Thursday - days III & IV - of ADIPEC 2024 that put us on the home stretch towards the conclusion of global event, conversations turned to a collaborative transformation of the energy mix. 

It was acknowledged that a blend of human ingenuity, finance and technology, with conducive inter-governmental policies would go a long way. 

Hence, event participants got to grips with how to make it happen along with flagging some tangible examples of successful private investments, public-private partnerships and international collaboration. 

Familiar industry subjects were also under the microscope on both days - including but not limited to - stepping up efforts on achieving global carbon neutrality, crucial role of natural gas in a future energy mix, infrastructure for alternative fuels for transportation at ports and airports, tackling methane emissions, and emerging hydrogen energy solutions. 

Speaking of hydrogen, yours truly hosted a panel on Day III titled 'Asia's role in defining the hydrogen market' with panellists - The Right Honourable Abang Johari Tun Openg, Premier of Sarawak, Malaysia, Hiroshi Matsuda, Chief Regional Officer, EMEA, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Koji Yamamoto, SVP, JOGMEC, Shoichi Kaganoi, SVP, Hydrogen & CCUS Development, INPEX and Karine Boissy-Rousseau, VP Green Gases, TotalEnergies.

We discussed how Asian countries are positioning themselves within the global hydrogen economy, focusing on their advances in production technologies and infrastructure, and the geopolitical implications of their evolving roles as both importers and exporters in the hydrogen market.

Afterall, as Asian nations start to configure their hydrogen markets, the region provides a compelling case for the development of new technologies to produce lower cost hydrogen, as well as investments in a rapid expansion of enabling infrastructure for international hydrogen trade.

And the Oilholic brought his ADIPEC 2024 engagements to a close with a panel on the 'strategic role of NGOs in unlocking energy investment for emerging economies' on the final day of the event.  

Eminent panellists for this session included Maha Attia, Head of the Strategic Planning Committee and Assistant Vice-Chairman for Foreign Trade at the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), Madadh MacLaine, Secretary General, Zero Emissions Ship Technology Association, Huda Al Houqani, Director, Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG) and Michel Abi Saab, General Manager, Emerge.

We discussed how non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are fostering energy sector growth in developing countries by overcoming regulatory and infrastructural barriers, and how strategic collaboration with NGOs can unlock significant investment potential in emerging markets.

By collaborating with governments and industry, NGOs help to refine policies and showcase scalable clean energy projects, making emerging markets more attractive to energy companies and financial institutions. These strategic partnerships not only advance sustainable development but also enable organisations to navigate complex regulations, secure funding, and confidently enter high-growth markets.

Finally, global events like ADIPEC cannot of operate in isolation from international developments, none bigger than the 2024 US presidential election that saw Donald Trump reelected. News of the return of Trump reverberated midway through the week-long event. 

Goes without saying, his presidency will likely have a profound impact on global energy markets, as summed up by yours truly in a Forbes piece. And on that note its time to bid goodbye to Abu Dhabi folks, until next year. So keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2024. Photo I: Energy AI exhibition at ADIPEC 2024. Photo II: Gaurav Sharma hosting a panel on hydrogen markets in Asia at ADIPEC 2024 on 06.11.24. (Courtesy: dmgevents) Photo III: Gaurav Sharma hosting a panel on the strategic role of NGOs in unlocking energy investment for emerging economies at ADIPEC 2024 on 07.11.24. (Courtesy: dmgevents)