Chemical leaders from across the GCC gathered at the 4th Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA) Leaders Forum today at the Kempinski Central Avenue, Dubai, UAE, to discuss the clean energy future and possible energy evolution pathways in the GCC region.
Now in its 4th edition, the exclusive, C-suite gathering took place under the theme ‘Charting the Energy Evolution Pathways in the GCC’, attracting leaders from different organizations in the Arabian Gulf, who are developing some of the biggest and most ambitious projects in the region. Hydrogen took center stage at the discussions this year, as speakers addressed its development in the region, the global outlook and the energy transition in 2024.
Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Fageeh, CEO, SABIC and Chairman, GPCA, delivered the Welcome remarks, in which he discussed the need for the chemical and energy industry to accommodate themselves to a lower-carbon, more-circular economy. His remarks were followed by a research presentation entitled “The big picture: 2024 energy transition outlook” from Claude Mourey, Head of Hydrogen & Low carbon fuels – EMEA, Wood Mackenzie.
Dr. Manar Al Moneef, Chief Investment Officer, Neom, presented the keynote address on the importance of investing in the future and powering the next transformation. Her address was followed by a Leadership dialogue moderated by Florian Merz, Director – UAE Industries (Energy Transition/ Hydrogen), Mubadala & Head of Business Development – Europe, Masdar, who was joined by Dr. Cetin Nazikkol, CEO Regional Platform Asia Pacific Africa and Member of the Executive Board Decarbon Technologies, thyssenkrupp; Uwe Zwiefelhofer, MD & Head of MENA Region, Linde Engineering; and Manuel Kuehn, Global VP for Hydrogen Sales, SIEMENS Energy, on the topic of “Powering the clean energy coalition – A global outlook on the future of hydrogen”.
This was followed by a Panel discussion on “The hydrogen economy for the GCC” moderated by Matteo Mazzoni, Director of Energy Analytics, ICIS, in conversation with Phil Boustead, Director – Hydrogen/Green Gas Engineering, ACWA Power; and Rami Shabaneh, Research Fellow, KAPSARC. Dr. Samir J. Serhan, COO, Air Products, delivered the closing keynote, which discussed the opportunities to generate a cleaner future with hydrogen.
Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Sadoun, Secretary General, GPCA, commented: “The 4th GPCA Leaders Forum brought to the forefront the latest insights, challenges, and developments in the clean energy transition in the region and globally. It spotlighted hydrogen as an important enabler to drive the industry’s sustainability agenda and shed light on the projects and opportunities for transformation across the GCC. Continuing the conversation from the 17th Annual GPCA Forum in December, the Leaders Forum brought together Gulf chemical leaders to deliberate on some of the most pertinent questions poised to shape the chemical industry landscape in the years to come.”
