Abu Dhabi’s state energy giant ADNOC said Sunday it signed an agreement with Microsoft to co-develop and roll out artificial-intelligence agents across ADNOC’s operations in the United Arab Emirates. The deal, announced in Abu Dhabi, brings in Masdar and XRG to build clean-energy projects and infrastructure aimed at powering Microsoft’s fast-growing global AI and data-center footprint. The companies say the partnership marries Microsoft’s AI tools and training with ADNOC’s industrial scale to speed up deployment and cut costs across the energy value chain.
Under the arrangement, Microsoft will provide advanced AI platforms and workforce programs while both sides explore a joint innovation hub for new digital solutions in drilling, refining, logistics, and safety. ADNOC says it moved early on enterprise AI—rolling out a Microsoft generative-AI stack across the company starting in November 2023—and has trained more than 40,000 employees, reporting a utilization rate above 90% and more than 70,000 hours of monthly productivity gains.
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The tie-up lands as the Gulf races to anchor the power-hungry AI economy with long-term energy supply, grid upgrades, and renewables. Masdar, the UAE’s flagship clean-energy developer, has been expanding wind and solar projects from the Middle East to Europe and the US, while Microsoft has pledged to match its data-center electricity consumption with carbon-free energy purchases. ADNOC, among the world’s largest producers, is pushing digitalization to boost efficiency and curb emissions intensity even as it increases output capacity.
If the collaboration delivers at scale, expect AI agents to move from pilots to plant-floor work—optimizing maintenance, reducing downtime, and managing power demand—while new UAE-based projects help feed the electricity needs of Microsoft’s AI build-out worldwide.