Dr Sultan Al Jaber, managing director and group chief executive of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company was named the Energy Executive of the Year 2021 by the Energy Intelligence Group for charting a path of modernisation at the state-oil company.
Dr Al Jaber, who is also the UAE's minister of industry and advanced technology, will receive the award at the Energy Intelligence Forum, which will be held from October 4 to 7.
He will be the 25th recipient of the award. Previous honorees have included Amin Nasser of Saudi Aramco (last year), Ben van Beurden of Royal Dutch Shell (2019), Bob Dudley of BP (2018), Patrick Pouyanné of Total (2017), Khalid Al Falih of Saudi Aramco (2016), and Rex W. Tillerson of Exxon Mobil (2015).
"Dr Al Jaber has distinguished himself as an innovator at a time of great change,” Raja Sidawi, chairman and chief executive at Energy Intelligence, said.
“He has reimagined Adnoc's operations, its strategy and its culture," he added.
Opec's Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo offered Dr Al Jaber his congratulations, calling him an "accomplished oil technocrat".
"He has continuously demonstrated his loyalty and unwavering commitment to his home country and the global energy sector as a whole," Mr Barkindo said on twitter.
Dr Al Jaber has led Adnoc since 2016, overseeing a streamlining of its operations and attracting large-scale investment from industry peers and major financiers.
Under his leadership, Adnoc launched an initial public offering of shares in its fuel distribution business and adopted a partnership approach to developing its upstream assets.
Dr Al Jaber has also encouraged Adnoc to embrace energy transition, positioning the national oil company to develop fuels of the future.
The company plans to lower its carbon footprint and has pledged to reduce its emissions intensity by 25 per cent over the next decade.
Adnoc, along with other major state-backed entities such as Mubadala and holding company ADQ, formed an alliance to produce hydrogen, an alternative clean fuel, earlier this year.
"As the world aims to lower its carbon footprint, the UAE will continue to lead as a responsible global citizen and we will leverage our convening power as a unifying force for progress," Dr Al Jaber said during an address to the annual Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week in January.
Dr Al Jaber is also the UAE's envoy for climate change.
Under his stewardship, Adnoc has also looked to play an international role in the pricing and trading of oil. The company, along with its key trading and upstream partners, set up an exchange for the trading of crude futures priced against its flagship Murban grade.
Murban crude futures began trading on March 29. A record 14,419 contracts traded hands on Wednesday, marking its highest volume day so far.
Dr Al Jaber also sits on the Emirates Diplomatic Academy Board of Trustees, is chairman of the board of trustees at the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and is chairman of the UAE National Media Council and Abu Dhabi Media Company.
He graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in chemical and petroleum engineering. Dr Al Jaber also has a degree in business administration from California State University and a doctorate in business and economics from the UK's Coventry University.
