From Dubai sessions to operating sites, artificial intelligence poses new questions for the energy sector

When more than 2,600 energy, research and technology specialists gather in Dubai, the sheer number of attendees does not automatically mean that solutions are ready in fields and facilities. But it does reveal where the questions are heading. The 2026 Gas and Oil Technology Conference and Exhibition, hosted by Dragon Oil in partnership with the Society of Petroleum Engineers, placed artificial intelligence, sustainability and operational efficiency at the heart of the energy sector discussion.

According toKhaleej Times, the three-day conference gathered representatives from 1,206 companies, 40 exhibitors and 11 sponsors, from 70 countries. The event was titled “Activating the Future through Leadership, Innovation, Sustainability, Artificial Intelligence and Talent,” and focused on how emerging technologies can help energy companies increase productivity, reduce costs and address environmental challenges. This is a description of the conference agenda, not an announcement of operational results achieved by each participating company.

Artificial intelligence here connects to field problemsThe presentations on the final day covered digital tools for improving shutdown periods, forecasting geothermal energy potential, identifying obstructions inside gas wells, and detecting internal valve leaks. Other discussions also focused on using artificial-intelligence data analysis to improve equipment fault diagnosis and raise efficiency in complex operating environments. These are examples of the usage direction presented at the conference, and are not evidence that any specific tool has been successfully deployed at a particular site.

The conference language also shows that technology does not operate in isolation from human expertise. Abdul-Kareem Ahmed Al-Mazmi, chief executive officer of Dragon Oil and chair of the GOTECH 2026 conference, said the impact of technology and artificial intelligence becomes greater when combined with human expertise and talent capable of turning innovation into tangible results. Therefore, software alone was not the sole focus of the event. The programme included 250 technical papers selected from roughly 1,300 submissions, within 52 specialised sessions covering machine learning, digital transformation, well safety, sustainable well design, reservoir analysis, water injection and carbon-dioxide leak monitoring.

Talent is part of the operating infrastructureA university programme at the conference hosted 30 Emirati students to provide insight into emerging technologies and career opportunities in the sector. In the same context, dedicated sessions addressed emission reduction, pollution management and the need for integrated energy systems that meet future demand. Sector leaders also examined the future of oil and gas amid shifting geopolitical, environmental and technological pressures, and participants from Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan took part in sessions on the Caspian energy market. This combination of training, engineering and sustainability shows that skill development is not presented as a parallel activity, but as a prerequisite for leveraging digital tools that affect sensitive operational decisions.

For energy workers and companies in the Gulf, the direct implication is that data-analysis, fault-diagnosis and operating-environment understanding skills will become as close to daily business dialogue in the sector as anything else. The conference itself links artificial intelligence to efficiency and to environmental and geopolitical pressures, but moving from presentation to implementation requires expertise and teams capable of handling these tools. Thus, Dubai’s significance lies not only in hosting an international event, but in the fact that regional energy discussion has begun to place technology, talent and sustainability into a single operational issue, while the published conference material alone does not determine the operational impact of these tools.