The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has announced a multi-year partnership with AI research and deployment company OpenAI, and G42, an Abu Dhabi-based technology holding group, to deploy OpenAI’s advanced AI platform for connecting and coordinating frontier AI agents across complex business operations.
Frontier AI agents are autonomous, large-scale artificial intelligence systems that can set goals, make independent decisions, use tools, and execute multi-step workflows across enterprise environments for hours or days without constant human intervention. AI is already being used across the oil and gas industry to streamline operations, predict equipment failures, and to shrink processes timelines. Deploying frontier AI agents is also expected to help predict crude oil supply, demand, margins etc.
In a press release, the companies revealed that the partners will jointly develop and deploy a bespoke decision intelligence capability using OpenAI Frontier, combining OpenAI’s latest generation frontier models with ADNOC’s proprietary industrial data and expertise, deployed on G42’s sovereign AI infrastructure in the UAE and with human experts retaining oversight of consequential decisions.
The agreement is only the latest development in ADNOC’s AI and robotics strategy, which already encompasses more than 200 AI applications, and 70 robotics use cases deployed or under development. “Where ADNOC’s existing AI, including ENERGYai, builds deep intelligence about its reservoirs, assets and operations, OpenAI Frontier will connect that intelligence across the business, so operational, capital and commercial decisions can be made together rather than one after another,” the companies explained.
The partnership will initially focus on two high-value applications. The first will build on ENERGYai’s reservoir-level intelligence, and see OpenAI’s advanced reasoning models integrate decades of data across thousands of wells, multiple stacked reservoirs and hundreds of surface facilities together with capital, cost and commercial considerations, to prepare and optimize full-field development master plans.
The second application will connect intelligence across ADNOC’s integrated value chain, from production and processing to refining, logistics, sales and trading. Interconnected AI agents will continuously forecast crude oil supply, demand, prices and margins, predict their impacts before they occur, and weigh the commercial and operational impact of every decision as one integrated process.
“The next frontier of AI is not simply doing things faster. It is making possible what was previously beyond reach,” said Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and MD & Group CEO, ADNOC. “As the first energy company to deploy OpenAI Frontier, we are demonstrating how frontier AI can move beyond individual applications to reshape the performance of an entire industry. This is industrial AI at scale, pioneered here in Abu Dhabi, and it will help define the future of energy.”
Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI, said, “More capable AI can help us tackle some of the world’s hardest problems – particularly around energy. By combining frontier AI, sovereign infrastructure and industry expertise, this first-of-its-kind partnership will help ADNOC move faster, operate more efficiently and make better decisions across the energy value chain. Together, we’re shaping the future of AI-enabled energy.”
“You should not have to use AI to benefit from it. Some of the greatest value will come from improving the systems humanity depends on, and energy is fundamental to every economy,” said Mansoor Al Mansoori, CEO, G42 International. “Building on years of collaboration with ADNOC through AIQ, this partnership with OpenAI’s frontier capabilities will further that ambition to reality.”
Beyond the initial applications, the partnership will also strengthen ADNOC’s cyber defence through OpenAI’s Daybreak Blue initiative, helping security teams identify vulnerabilities and protect critical energy infrastructure. All solutions will operate within ADNOC’s oversight, ensuring that proprietary data and critical infrastructure remain protected. As part of the partnership, ADNOC and OpenAI will co-develop advanced AI solutions and equip ADNOC’s workforce with the skills to deploy and use them effectively.