Gulfsands at the Global Energy Forum

I am delighted to have represented Gulfsands at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Forum (GEF) held in Abu Dhabi, UAE this weekend

John Bell, Managing Director of Gulfsands comments:

I am delighted to have represented Gulfsands at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Forum (GEF) held in Abu Dhabi, UAE this weekend.  Together with Mark Cutis, Deputy Chairman of Gulfsands Middle East, I attended many excellent discussions regarding the big issues of the day in navigating a successful transition to a low-carbon future, including energy security, energy transition, de-carbonization and sustainability as well as the more short-term issues of protecting against supply disruptions and price volatilities.

It was a great opportunity to meet some familiar faces as well as many new ones.  It was also refreshing to hear an emphasis on pragmatic steps that can be taken towards Energy Transition including seeking to engage the oil and gas industry in those solutions rather than making them the pariah.  H.E. Saad Al-Kaabi, Minister of Energy, Qatar, was spot on when he emphasized the need for collaboration and innovation within the oil and gas industry. I hope and expect the industry to continue to step up to the challenge.

The opening remarks by H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, President-designate of COP28 were truly inspirational, calling for transformational progress in order to meet net-zero targets.  John Kerry, Presidential Envoy for Climate, US Department of State, calling for a “high integrity” carbon offset plan as part of this initiative, was both thoughtful and educational and Rt. Hon Charles Hendry, former Minister of State for Energy, UK shared his fascinating insights on Diplomacy amid Growing Geopolitical Tensions.

In the margins of the conference, we had many productive discussions regarding how oil and gas can be a catalyst for good, such as what we are trying to do with Gulfsands’ Humanitarian and Economic Stimulus initiative in Syria (“Project Hope”), and also clamping down on the illegal trade in stolen oil that is understood to represent some 7% of global production and could help offset the need for more production.

Kudos to GEF for helping stakeholders explore the opportunities and hurdles of transitioning to a sustainable energy system, and I look forward to next year.

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