- 72% say autonomous systems were important to keeping their operations resilient and production uninterrupted over the past year
- Just 3% name recent operational disruption as the primary reason for investing; long-term modernization and competitiveness is the most cited driver
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, October 29, 2026 — Schneider Electric, a global energy technology leader, today released new research showing that three quarters (76%) of Middle East energy leaders say their organization increased investment in autonomous technology over the past 12 months, while 72% say autonomous systems were important to keeping their operations resilient and production uninterrupted. The findings were unveiled just ahead of the upcoming Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC 2026) that takes place in the UAE capital from November 2-5 at ADNEC Centre.
Autonomous operations depend on more than automation: they require intelligence that can understand what is happening across the operation, determine the right response and translate insight into action. By connecting energy, operations and intelligence, organizations can respond and adapt faster, strengthening resilience while enabling people to focus their expertise where it adds the greatest value.
Energy leaders link autonomy to core operating outcomes. Enhanced productivity is the benefit most often reported as already achieved, cited by more than four in 10 (42%), followed by improved workforce safety, improved environmental performance, and improved operational resilience and asset reliability.
Security is central to scaling autonomy. Asked which technologies did most to advance their autonomous operations over the past year, almost half (47%) named cybersecurity and safety systems, level with AI and machine learning. Smart grids and distribution automation, digital twins, and open, software-defined automation follow, each cited by more than a third of respondents. Asked what is holding them back, concerns about cyber risk were the most common answer (35%), with the skills gap, competing investment priorities and high upfront costs each cited by more than a quarter. This reflects Schneider Electric’s view that security must be built in from the start as operations become more autonomous.
“Energy security is rapidly becoming economic security. Organizations do not become resilient simply because they are autonomous. They become resilient when intelligence is connected to execution,” said Devan Pillay, President, Heavy Industries at Schneider Electric. “When energy, operations and intelligence work as a single system, operators are able to see, decide and act faster. The Middle East has built that capability as long-term strategy. It gives every other energy region a clear model to follow.”
Investment has held firm. Just 2% reduced investment in autonomous technology over the past year, and every organization with at least some level of autonomous operations plans to allocate capital to autonomy in the next 12 months. Just 3% name recent operational disruption as the primary driver of their current investment. Long-term modernization and competitiveness strategy is the most cited driver, named by almost a quarter (24%), ahead of sustainability goals and long-term cost efficiency.
A clear majority (72%) say clear rules and regulations in their market have helped speed up their rollout of autonomous technology. On where capital goes next, almost half (48%) will direct most of their autonomy investment over the next 12 months to new (greenfield) projects, twice the share prioritizing upgrades to existing (brownfield) assets (23%). More than a quarter plan a roughly even split, so half will put at least an equal share into modernizing the facilities they already run.
“Operators across the region are treating autonomy as a long-term investment. Very few point to recent disruption as the reason they are spending,” said Gaurav Sharma, independent energy market analyst. “Energy leaders also say clear rules are helping them deploy faster. For an industry that plans assets over decades, that predictability matters.”
Energy leaders also connect autonomy with national workforce priorities. More than eight in 10 (84%) say their organization’s investment in autonomous operations is important to national workforce development goals across the region, and nearly a third say autonomy has enabled their workforce to focus on higher-value work.
The findings reflect what Schneider Electric sees in its work with operators across the region: resilience strengthens when trusted data, AI-driven insight and automated execution operate as one system, from energy supply to the plant floor. For operators, that means safer and more reliable operations, stronger asset performance and better-informed decisions across new and existing facilities.
“Our customers across the region are investing with confidence,” said Walid Sheta, Middle East & Africa President at Schneider Electric. “The question they ask us is how fast they can scale. Our role is to be the energy technology partner that helps them turn intelligence into action, from greenfield megaprojects to modernizing critical assets.”
At ADNOC’s Ruwais Refinery, the AI-driven autonomous operations pilot - announced by Schneider Electric last year - has moved from proof of concept to deployment. It is designed to return the plant to on-spec production up to 15% faster after a restart, while cutting energy use, fuel consumption, CO₂ emissions and hydrogen demand by up to 5%.
At ADIPEC 2026, Schneider Electric is presenting Intelligence into Action, its demonstration program showing how the principles in the research apply to oil and gas operations: managing power and process as one system with EcoStruxure™ Power & Process and the ETAP digital twin; modernizing control across new and existing facilities with open, future-ready automation from Foxboro Software Defined Automation; and using AI-powered insight from AVEVA to help teams see, decide and act faster.
Visit Schneider Electric at Booth 4250, Hall 4.