In Fujairah, the best energy forum east of Hormuz

The Energy Markets Forum in Fujairah is not the oil and gas industry’s largest gathering, nor does it pretend to be.

CERAWeek in Houston has corporate firepower; Adipec in Abu Dhabi offers scale and spectacle; and Appec in Singapore is a showcase for Asia’s petroleum business.

But EMF in Fujairah offers something its grander rivals lack: immediacy, informality and the opportunity to get close to the industry’s movers and shakers and hear what they really think – all on the frontline of the 2026 global energy tumult.

In my view, it is the best energy forum east of Hormuz. Geographical pedants will point out that Fujairah lies a couple of minutes of longitude west of Hormuz, but I will not let that spoil a good headline.

The presence of Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Adnoc chief executive, and UAE energy minister Suhail Al Mazrouei lent proceedings added authority, while Fujairah Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi gave them a royal endorsement.

That line-up, before 300 attendees, reflects the emirate’s role as a vital lifeline for UAE oil exports during the US-Iran war since February 28.

The formal plenary sessions were impressive, offering the usual abundance of informed opinion, authoritative forecasts and the occasional prediction alarming enough to concentrate minds.

But veterans know that the real business of an energy conference begins when the plenaries end: in the smaller panels, corridors, coffee breaks and, especially, post-prandial gatherings, where discretion tends to loosen.

I had the pleasure of moderating a discussion with three distinguished energy commentators: Andy Critchlow of Dow Jones, Niamh McBurney of Control Risks and outspoken independent Cyril Widdershoven.

Andy had just succeeded me as holder of Gulf Intelligence’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Energy Journalism. Our respective transition teams were working closely to ensure an orderly handover of power. There were no reports of constitutional irregularities.

The discussion ventured into territory that would have made excellent headlines, had the Chatham House Rule not intervened to protect the innocent – and possibly the guilty.

It was a reminder that the best panel sessions happen when participants say what they mean and mean what they say.

Another pleasure was the company of my fellow AGBI columnist, the incomparable Matein Khalid, whose command of financial history and global investment markets brought welcome breadth to proceedings.

Matein is a moderator’s delight: able to speak eloquently and at length on almost any subject, then stop on a dime when asked.

There was no shortage of immediate crises to discuss. At the gala dinner, conversation at my table turned to reports of Houthi advances along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and increased aerial attacks on Saudi Arabia.

There was much concern about the prospects for the World Petroleum Congress in Riyadh the following week. Fujairah delegates wished their counterparts in the Saudi capital a successful and safe gathering.

Similar subjects dominated the social gathering sponsored by ICE Futures Abu Dhabi, with president Gary King as genial host.

• XRG brings the Adnoc formula to the world
• Why Iran gains more from an open, dangerous Hormuz
• Gulf sellers discount oil to win back buyers

One recurring theme was that the energy industry is replacing its old “just in time” approach to efficiency with a “just in case” focus on resilience, redundancy and spare capacity across supply chains.

Gary was determined that nobody would exhaust strategic reserves on his watch that evening.

Much of the credit for the forum’s distinctive character belongs to Sean Evers, his wife Diyala and their indefatigable team at Gulf Intelligence. They have built an event that combines serious intellectual substance with the conviviality of a gathering of old friends.

For a couple of days each year over the past 13 years, an influential corner of the global energy business has focused its attention on the DoubleTree by Hilton in Fujairah, this time in nerve-jangling proximity to the war that has upended global energy markets.

If you are in the energy business, I cannot see why you would want to be anywhere else.

Frank Kane is Editor-at-Large of AGBI and an award-winning business journalist