WFES 2026 sessions to be hosted by yours truly

As Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week week approaches, the Oilholic is looking forward to moderating panels and fireside chats at the World Future Energy Summit (January 13 to 15), an event being hosted by Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) as part of the week-long ADSW proceedings covering vital topics across the energy spectrum.

The event will bring together global visionaries, leaders and technical experts. Yours truly can't wait to get started. Here are the details of the sessions: 

Wednesday, January 14, ADNEC Hall 4, Stage 3 @ 11:40 GST

The PV-battery storage tipping point

This panel will explore the economic drivers of grid-connected battery storage, deployment hurdles, and policy enablers positioning large-scale storage as the backbone of a clean energy future. Fellow panellists include: 

• Syed Ali Gilani, Planning & Energy Markets Director, Department of Energy Abu Dhabi
• Jad Abdel Masri, Senior Director, Group Supply Chain & Procurement, #Masdar
• Dr. Thi Minh Phuong Nguyen, Battery Storage Systems Expert, MAI Group
• Mike Sronce, Managing Director & Vice President, Sargent & Lundy
• Mohammad Al Natour, Managing Director, SMA Solar Technology

Wednesday, January 14, ADNEC Hall 4, Stage 3 @ 15:55 GST

Financing hydrogen: Innovative mechanisms to unlock capital

This panel will explore innovative financing structures and risk mitigation strategies to instil investor confidence and secure guarantees necessary to scale hydrogen infrastructure. Fellow panellists include: 

• Dr Dimitrious Dimitriou, Group Vice President of ESG & Sustainability, EMSTEEL Group
• Cornelius Matthes, CEO, Dii Desert Energy
• Siddharth Malik, Managing Partner, Green Investors AG
• Dan Feldman, Global Head of Energy, King & Spalding
• Santosh Raikar, Managing Partner, Silverpeak

Thursday, January 15, ADNEC Hall 7, Stage 4 @ 10:15 GST

Green bonds and beyond: Innovative financing instruments to accelerate the energy transformation

• A fireside chat with Mazin Khan, CFO of Masdar 

Explore the event's exciting agenda here, and be sure to register here.

Join the Oilholic in Abu Dhabi next week if you can! More to follow. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'! 

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© Gaurav Sharma 2026. Digital event banner courtesy of WFES 2026 & Masdar.

Speaking at World Future Energy Summit during ADSW

Delighted to announce that yours truly will be speaking and moderating at the World Future Energy Summit 2026 due to be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE from Jan 13 to 15, on a number of panels and executive dialogues. The summit will be held as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, that the Oilholic will also be participating in. 

Explore the event's exciting agenda here, and be sure to register here. It's complimentary. 

Excited to be part of the global conversation driving clean energy innovation and sustainability. 

More details on the Oilholic's panels to follow soon. Join me in Abu Dhabi this January. Looking forward to meeting old friends and making new ones!  

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

To follow The Oilholic on Twitter click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Forbes click here.

To follow The Oilholic on Energy Connects click here.

To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2025. Digital event banner courtesy of WFES & Masdar.

ADIPEC Day III: On partnerships, progress & more

As Day III of ADIPEC gathered momentum and crowds grew bigger still, global crude oil markets were greeted with the news that Saudi Arabia and Russia would maintain their joint oil production cuts of 1.3 million bpd until the end of the year. However, that didn't stop global oil benchmarks from sliding lower faced with an uncertain demand picture and an ever stronger US dollar. 

Inside the conference halls, and away from the din of the global crude market, various speakers called for heathy and meaningful cross-sector partnerships to open viable energy transition pathways. These may ideally involve stakeholders from across energy industries, financiers, technologists, governments, academia, and, of course, the end-consumer. 

As Niall Hannigan, Chief Financial Officer of Masdar, noted in a panel on fast tracking finance and prioritising investments for the energy transition. "Investors need scale. They want to see a clear policy framework within a geography, underpinned by a stable, transparent regulatory regime. Governments won’t attract investors alone – we need regulators, developers, development banks and commercial banks in the room together to create a programme. That collaborative conversation is essential.”

For his part, the Oilholic marked Day III with a tech heavy outing. It included concluding one's final speaking engagement at ADIPEC 2023's Digitalisation in Energy conference stream with a one-on-one discussion with Saravan Penubarthi, CTO of AiQ, on the future of cybersecurity solutions for energy systems. 

Wrapped up my moderating duties at #ADIPEC2023 with a final Digitalisation in Energy session earlier today with Saravan Penubarthi, CTO of AiQ, on the future of #cybersecurity solutions for #energy systems. Great session, lovely audience at @Chevron Hall 14 #EnergyTransition pic.twitter.com/WDIc77ekQk

— Gaurav Sharma (@The_Oilholic) October 4, 2023

With panel sessions concluded, yours truly also took some time out to have a walkabout in the wider exhibition area spread over several halls. 

Getting going on Day III of @ADIPECOfficial 2023. Here's @Yokogawa's display on #decarbonizing, @ABB_Energy's EV charging station mock-up (& @bakerhughesco talk on sustainable solutions) in the background #ADIPEC2023 #EnergyTransition #OOTT pic.twitter.com/Im6PLyz1p0

— Gaurav Sharma (@The_Oilholic) October 4, 2023

And...also said goodbye to Chevron's Boston Dynamics robotic dog(s) this blogger has been walking by for the past few days :) 

And that's all for Day III, more tomorrow! Keep reading, keep it 'crude'!

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To email: journalist_gsharma@yahoo.co.uk  

© Gaurav Sharma 2023. Photo: (1) ADIPEC 2023 exhibition floor, Abu Dhabi, UAE, (2) Chevron's Boston Dynamics Robotic Dogs © Gaurav Sharma 2023.