ADIPEC 2026 opened in Abu Dhabi on November 2. In his opening address, Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, called on the energy industry to rethink how it builds, secures and delivers supply. A central theme across the opening address and conference discussions was how to ensure energy moves reliably from producers to consumers.
Al Jaber outlined five priorities for a more resilient energy system: expanding accessible supply, securing routes to market, developing operational intelligence that anticipates risks, strengthening investor confidence through policy, finance and insurance, and developing the people responsible for operations. He emphasised the need to build transport infrastructure ahead of demand and strengthen the ability of operational systems to anticipate risks.
Sultan Al Jaber delivers his opening address at ADIPEC 2026 in Abu Dhabi.
The discussion continued during the opening-day ministerial session, “Energy Security is National Security: Building Resilient Supply in an Uncertain World.” UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei described the country’s investments in pipelines, shipping and operational preparedness, including its pipeline to Fujairah. He highlighted spare capacity and alternative supply routes as essential components of resilience.
Speaking at the same session, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, approached the issue from the perspective of resource development, arguing that further investment was needed to turn gas reserves into available supply. Together, their remarks connected resources, transport routes, infrastructure and long-term investment, highlighting shared priorities among energy-producing countries.
In Energy Connects’ coverage of another conference discussion, Nasser Al Muhairi, Acting CEO of ADNOC Downstream Industry, Marketing & Trading, similarly stressed the need to assess energy security across the entire value chain: after production, crude must still be transported, refined and delivered. Vitol CEO Russell Hardy cautioned that the market’s ability to adapt to disruption did not mean it had sufficient buffers, pointing to concerns over inventories and spare capacity for refined products.
These perspectives brought operational continuity into focus across different parts of the energy system. For long-distance oil and gas pipelines, they also raise a practical management question: how can operators keep track of changing conditions along a route while maintaining the flow of energy?
Connecting Delivery Resilience with Changes Along Pipeline Corridors
From a pipeline corridor management perspective, new roads, excavation, expanding construction sites, temporary stockpiles and building encroachment can all warrant investigation. These changes may be scattered across long routes, occurring in remote locations as well as areas experiencing urban expansion or intensive construction.
Drawing on the conference discussions, STARPATH GLOBAL sees a practical starting point in maintaining an updated record of corridor changes. This helps operators understand where changes have occurred, how close they are to a pipeline and which locations should receive priority for inspection.
Satellite imagery acquired over time can provide wide-area observations to support this process. Comparing images from different dates against pipeline routes, management boundaries and known construction areas can help identify new buildings, roads and ground disturbance, and associate those changes with specific pipeline segments. Inspection teams can then plan their work around the locations identified.
Turning Change Maps into Inspection Tasks Requires Operational Context
For a mapped change to become an actionable task, it needs supporting information: when it was detected, its location, the associated pipeline segment, its distance from the pipeline, and before-and-after imagery. Construction permits, inspection records and field feedback then help operators assess its nature and priority.
For example, newly detected earthworks near a pipeline can first be flagged through imagery screening. Permit checks, drone surveys or field inspections can then establish the extent of construction. Where activity continues, video or other monitoring methods can be deployed as site conditions allow, with records retained throughout verification and response.
This process also requires clear boundaries. Surface changes detected in satellite imagery provide leads for investigation. The actual condition of an underground pipeline, the authorisation status of construction and the presence of immediate danger still require asset information and field assessment. Monitoring frequency, image resolution and verification methods should be configured around corridor conditions and operational needs.
Integrating Monitoring Results into Pipeline Operations
Through its oil, gas and energy infrastructure monitoring solutions, STARPATH GLOBAL coordinates satellite, drone and ground observations to support the identification of construction encroachment and subsequent verification. The focus is on organising observations into information linked to asset locations, helping operators schedule inspections, track changes and document responses.
For customers with existing GIS or asset management systems, delivery can be designed around their data formats, interfaces, deployment environments and access requirements, allowing monitoring results to enter established workflows. Imagery selection should also follow the task: wide-area screening requires suitable coverage and update frequency, while detailed checks of priority locations require greater spatial detail.
ADIPEC’s discussions on energy delivery resilience point to a clear priority for pipeline management: reliable delivery depends on long-term infrastructure investment and a continuing understanding of conditions along the route. Connecting wide-area observations, targeted verification and operational records can bring surrounding changes to operators’ attention earlier, providing more time to respond.
