Thousands of oil and gas professionals, industry leaders, and decision makers are in the UAE capital  to discuss key industry issues at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec).

The world’s most influential oil and gas event, Adipec kicked off its 20th edition today (November 13) under the theme ‘Forging Ties, Driving Growth.’

This year's edition will be the largest yet, with an exhibition bringing together more than 2,200 exhibiting companies, 27 country pavilions, and 100,000 trade professionals from more than 125 countries.

The exhibition will span 135,000 sq m of floor space, including a dedicated quay-side exhibition area with tours of offshore vessels.

At the same time, Adipec’s renowned strategic and technical conference programmes will feature more than 900 speakers, in 185 conference sessions, with around 10,000 delegates taking part in the global industry’s premier knowledge exchange platform.

For the first time, the exhibition and conference will include the downstream petroleum industry, including refining and petrochemicals, alongside its established focus on upstream and midstream businesses.

Ali Khalifa Al Shamsi, the chief executive of Al Yasat Petroleum Operating Company, and Adipec 2017 chairman, said: "The global oil and gas industry is undergoing profound change, and organisations are investing in innovation and technology to ensure sustainable, long-term growth. Increasing investments by NOCs in the downstream sector is a key example, as resource owners move to access value throughout the value chain."

"Within this environment, the expo continues to evolve, providing a powerful, strategic, knowledge-sharing platform for the industry’s most influential decision makers, reflecting the most important executive priorities and playing a significant role in guiding the industry forward," he added.

Christopher Hudson, the president of dmg events, Global Energy, said: "Adipec draws on the power of high-level strategic discussion to supercharge its value as a commercial showcase for exhibition exhibitors."

"More than half of all attendees have authority to make purchasing decisions, while exhibiting companies range from the largest NOCs and IOCs, through to global oilfield services companies, to suppliers of new and niche technologies. From both a strategic and operational perspective, ADIPEC creates value and enables excellence," he added.

Hosted by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and organised by dmg events, Adipec will include keynote presentations by Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Adnoc Group CEO; Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy, Mohammed Barkindo, the secretary general of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and Lord Jim O’Neill, former commercial secretary, HM Treasury, UK Government.

The Adipec Conference Programme, one of the world’s largest and most influential speaking platforms for the oil and gas industry, will invite government decision makers to the stage in the first of two Ministerial Panels, which will focus on creating energy opportunity through foresight, vision, inspiration and innovation, said the organisers.

Ministerial speakers on the opening day include Al Mazrouei; Tarek El Molla, Egypt's Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Mohammed Hamad Al Rumhy, Oman's Minister of Oil and Gas; Dr Ibe Kachikwu, Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Dr Fabian Pok, Minister for Petroleum and Energy for Papua New Guinea.

The opening day will also feature two Global Business Leader sessions with speakers including Patrick Pouyanne, the chairman and chief executive of Total; Bob Dudley, Group chief executive of BP; Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, the president and Group chief executive of Petronas; Vagit Alekperov, the president of Lukoil; Musabbeh Al Kaabi, the chief executive of Petroleum and Petrochemicals, Mubadala Investment Company; José Antonio González Anaya, the chief executive of Pemex; Alexander Medvedev, the deputy chairman, management committee of Gazprom; and Dr Rainer Seele, the chief executive of OMV, offering a world outlook for the oil industry, said the organisers.

The topics at Adipec will reflect the two elements of the expo's theme. For ‘Forging Ties’, the emphasis will be on fostering relationships and creating business models for success, while for ‘Driving Growth’, CEO speakers will focus on pioneering strategies and breaking boundaries for global success, they stated.