NMDC Group Signs Energy, Marine and Subsea Deals at ADIPEC 2026

NMDC Group used ADIPEC 2026 to sign a run of agreements across energy, marine and subsea infrastructure, linking the Abu Dhabi contractor with partners in China, the UAE and beyond.

The exhibition ran from November 2 to 5 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. ADNOC hosted it under the patronage of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi.

Five agreements

• A long-term cooperation framework with the China Chamber of Commerce for the Petroleum Industry, aimed at bilateral opportunities in supply chains, fabrication and energy infrastructure.
• A tripartite cooperation between NMDC Dredging & Marine, Teledyne Marine and SITECH Gulf UAE covering marine survey technology, subsea equipment support and hydrographic innovation.
• A framework between NMDC Infra and Tekmar to localize subsea asset protection and stabilization in the UAE, with local manufacturing of concrete mattresses and subsea sleepers, technology transfer and marine engineering capability.
• A memorandum of understanding between NMDC Energy and e& UAE on digital transformation and smart energy and industrial connectivity deployment.
• An arrangement with Borouge International to explore advanced Borouge pipeline coating solutions for major regional energy infrastructure projects.

The dredging partnership is meant to support the development and deployment of survey technologies on marine and subsea projects.

Yasser Zaghloul, group CEO of NMDC Group, said the partnerships signed during the week would help localize critical capabilities in the UAE and strengthen subsea, survey and digital expertise. Growth, he said, is "not about size alone but about capability built and value created together."

not about size alone but about capability built and value created together.

Across the four days NMDC showed its engineering, procurement and construction and modular fabrication assets, an expanding marine fleet and autonomous subsea technologies. It also presented in-house artificial intelligence tools built to improve safety, efficiency and project delivery.

The event recorded more than 50,000 deals worth an estimated $67 billion, a 26.4% rise on 2025. It drew 240,000 attendees from 170 countries and more than 40 government ministers and policymakers. Thirteen conference programs staged over 380 sessions, where more than 1,800 speakers covered energy resilience, infrastructure investment and the part AI could play in meeting rising global demand.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC managing director and group CEO, used his opening address to press the industry to rethink how energy is built, protected and delivered. He named five priorities: expanding accessible supply, securing routes to market, using operational intelligence, mobilizing policy, capital and insurance support, and investing in people.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told the opening ceremony that AI can help solve complex energy challenges by accelerating decisions and improving operational performance. ADNOC announced a partnership with OpenAI and G42.

Elsewhere at the event, XRG agreed to pay $1.5 billion for Shell's stake in Australia's North West Shelf LNG project, and TA'ZIZ reached financial close on $1.4 billion, or AED 5.1 billion, for its terminal and ammonia projects in Ruwais.

The weight of the week for NMDC sits less in the signatures than in where the work lands. Concrete mattresses and subsea sleepers made in the UAE, survey technology deployed on regional projects and coatings tested with a domestic petrochemicals producer all move capability into the country instead of importing it, which is close to the argument Al Jaber made about protecting and delivering infrastructure.

ADIPEC returns to Abu Dhabi from November 1 to 4, 2027.