Insight and opinion from The National’s editorial leadership
November 02, 2022
The demand for clean and affordable energy has never been higher. While countries and energy companies look into the financing and technology needed, a major agreement signed in Abu Dhabi yesterday is opening a new chapter in energy security and climate action. The Partnership for Accelerating Clean Energy was signed by the UAE and the US as part of a project to invest $100 billion to produce 100 gigawatts of clean energy globally by 2035. The two countries also agreed to invest in ways to manage carbon and methane emissions, as well as the development of nuclear technology and the decarbonisation of the industrial and transport sectors.
This is a significant milestone as the world adjusts to new energy demands. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the global energy market looked very different. With vast supplies buoyed by America’s shale gas boom and fast-evolving technology in renewable energy, cheap fuel was a given. In too many ways, in fact, it was taken for granted.
Years of abundance and greater pressure to shift to greener energy sources caused some investors to pull back on spending for new oil and gas infrastructure. As a consequence, forecasts for capital expenditure were starting to project downwards, but the crash in demand brought on by the pandemic rendered them almost non-existent in various markets. In the seven years from 2014 to 2021, annual investment within the industry fell from $750bn to $350bn.
Oil is almost unique among industries in the way it requires constant reinvestment, with producers normally expected to allocate about 80 per cent of their capital expenditure each year just to keep their level of reserves up. The investment shortfall, coupled with a cut in supplies caused by the war in Ukraine, has caused prices to soar in recent months, and this has presented a tough lesson to a world now in the throes of unwieldy inflation and on the verge of a recession.
What to do about all of this is a hot topic at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec), the world’s largest gathering for the energy industry, taking place in the UAE’s capital this week .
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc, told conference participants on Tuesday that the world will lose up to 5 million barrels per day of oil each year from current supplies if investment comes to a halt. “This,” Dr Al Jaber said, “would make the shocks we have experienced this year feel like a minor tremor.”
Oil is almost unique among industries in the way it requires constant reinvestment
New investment in oil and gas is no longer as easy as it once was, given the worldwide push towards decarbonisation. But it is necessary all the same, and it can be done in a way that does not forsake the global effort to contain climate change.
“Energy security,” Dr Al Jaber noted, “is the foundation of all progress – economic, social and climate progress.” In his remarks, he emphasised the need for “maximum energy” alongside “minimum emissions”. In this respect, oil-producing nations can show leadership. Adnoc, for instance, has already connected its operations to nuclear and solar power, and is in the process of electrifying its offshore operations to cut their carbon footprint in half. It is also redoubling its efforts to bring down its levels of methane intensity, though it already has “one of the lowest levels in the world”. Yesterday’s partnership with the US is another step in the right direction.
At the same time, hydrocarbon producers are by no means the only factor in the equation to combat climate change. The lead-up to the Cop27 climate summit due to begin in Egypt next week has seen a host of countries in the developed world revisit and update their emissions targets for the next decade. Few of them, independent analysis has found, are on track to achieving them.
Balancing the world’s growing energy demands with its urgent fight against climate change is a complex challenge that requires not only boldness, but realism. In a year where these issues are very much at the forefront of the global consciousness, Adipec’s role in navigating that challenge cannot be overstated.
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Priority access to new homes from participating developers
Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
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Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
