Over 180,000 attendees converged in Abu Dhabi last week for the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC), the world’s leading oil and gas event. The conference highlighted a key tension at the heart of the energy sector: the role of artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool for increased efficiency and a driver of higher energy demand, particularly for natural gas.
Industry leaders explored AI’s potential to revolutionize energy by optimizing operations, reducing costs, and curbing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Yet, how do you deal with AI’s growing appetite for energy? As AI applications like machine learning and data processing multiply, they fuel an unprecedented surge in energy consumption.
Goldman Sachs projects that the U.S. data center boom alone will require an additional 47 gigawatts of power capacity by 2030. Natural gas is expected to supply 60% of that demand. Globally, this could drive a 50% expansion in the gas market over the next five years.
Microsoft invests heavily in renewable energy projects, such as its $10 billion partnership with Brookfield to develop over 10 gigawatts of renewables. However, the clean energy transition is slow, making it nearly impossible for some industries to continue without natural gas. Furthermore, nearly all forms of renewable energy including wind and solar require substantial fossil fuels for deployment.
This intersection of AI, energy demand, and climate commitments creates a critical dilemma: how can industries balance their climate pledges with the immediate need for scalable, dependable energy?