Creative strategic partnerships hold the key to the continuing success and resilience of the oil and gas industry, Dr. Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State, CEO of the ADNOC Group, told the 38th annual Oil and Money Conference, in London today.

Delivering the ministerial keynote address, on the opening day of the conference, Dr. Al Jaber said by working together in "smarter, more cohesive ways", the global oil and gas industry "can weather any challenge the future brings, reinforce our resilience and create enduring value."

Using ADNOC’s new, expanded approach to partnerships as an example, Dr. Al Jaber said, "Energy market trends have refocused our approach to partnerships as the key to maximizing capital efficiency, optimizing our entire value chain and growing market share.

"To deliver the next wave of our growth we are actively seeking fast acting partners who can deliver access to high growth economies; forward looking partners, who can apply the latest technology to our upstream, midstream and downstream operations and financially savvy partners, including private equity and institutional investors, who can deploy long-term capital for attractive, sustainable returns."

Dr. Al Jaber also noted ADNOC is exploring the IPO of minority stakes in some of its services units, emphasising that ADNOC, at the holding company level, will remain wholly owned by the Abu Dhabi Government. In addition, he described how ADNOC is revisiting its capital structure to accelerate delivery on its smart growth 2030 strategy.

"As part of the active management of our portfolio of assets we are looking to optimise our balance sheet to both free-up capital for re-investment and enhance returns. ADNOC is therefore considering various options with regards to its future financing strategy," he said.

"We believe this new approach to partnership and our capital structure will enhance performance across our businesses and ensure we continue to thrive in this new energy era."

Dr. Al Jaber expressed confidence that hydrocarbons would continue to be the bedrock of economic growth for decades to come. By 2040, he said, oil and gas would still be essential to the global energy mix, supplying over half of the world’s energy needs, while renewables and nuclear would make up 27 percent and coal would fall to 22 percent. Meanwhile, petrochemicals would grow 150 percent by 2040.

Addressing the conference theme of ‘Adapting to Uncertainty’, Dr. Al Jaber said in an increasingly unpredictable world, planning for what can be predicted is critical to responding to factors that shape demand, impact supply and affect price, including geopolitics, natural disasters and disruptive technologies.

"In the United Arab Emirates, we have taken this to heart," he said. "We proactively plan our destiny, rather than let external factors dictate it for us. We do not fear the unknown, but embrace it for the potential it brings. And we study future trends closely to draw out the insights and opportunities they offer. We have capitalised on the future by building bridges to other countries and forging business partnerships beyond our borders."

Taking place in London, the Oil and Money conference is being attended by over 500 of the most influential decision makers from the oil and gas industry from 180 companies in 43 countries, including government ministers, senior executives, policy makers, financiers, strategists and industry experts.