Abu Dhabi Energy Regulator's AI Platform Asateel Processes More Than 14,000 Transactions

Rashed Al Zaabi, the department's director of gas and petroleum products operations, gave the figures to the Emirates News Agency at ADIPEC 2026. He said the use of AI was helping the regulator meet customer needs and attract investment, and described the platform as a way to use data to support more precise regulatory decisions.

The numbers give a rare measure of how far a Gulf regulator has handed routine casework to automated systems. The department regulates about 12,000 customers and more than 800 facilities and companies in the petroleum products sector, Al Zaabi said.

The department has also issued a set of policies covering petroleum products trading, gas network planning, the governance and licensing of local gas distribution companies, and liquefied natural gas across the emirate. Al Zaabi said the LNG policy allows gas to be delivered to industrial sites outside the reach of local gas networks, giving them access to a lower-emission fuel.

To bring in private companies, the department has signed cooperation agreements with two UAE firms, Muzn Energy and Cloud Energy, and Saudi Arabia's Gas Hub United to study LNG supply options for investors in areas without a gas grid.

It has also published a unified gas code and a guide to gas works in buildings, which set out responsibilities from planning and installation through to operation and maintenance. Al Zaabi said clearer rules let investors produce more accurate feasibility studies and assess risk in a sector with high safety and compliance demands.

The department's next focus is expanding central gas networks and planning infrastructure earlier so that it keeps pace with the emirate's economic and industrial growth, he said.