Safety is the clearest example of tangible impact of AI on energy, says NMDC

Abu Dhabi: Safety is the clearest example of artificial intelligence delivering tangible impact on energy projects, according to Dr. Yasser Zaghloul, Group CEO, National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC) Group.

At this year’s ADIPEC, where AI in energy took a centre stage of discussion, he says the real story is quieter. Over the next five years, AI will stop being a showcase technology and become an ordinary part of how energy projects are planned, built and maintained.

Zaghloul says companies can move beyond the excitement around AI by tying every digital investment to results that can be measured on site, and safety is where those results are most visible.

He used the example of the AI camera system at NMDC, named AMAN, focuses across its fabrication yards and offshore vessels. It analyses live video to spot dangers such as workers missing protective equipment or risks from suspended loads, so teams can step in before an accident happens.

On cost and productivity, Zaghloul says using AI across the whole project, from design and buying materials to building and running ships, helps teams spot delays and mistakes sooner.

That means less work has to be redone, which helps projects stay on budget and finish on time.

Zaghloul says the biggest change will be AI moving out of experimental trials and into daily operations across the energy supply chain. Its greatest value, he argues, is giving companies a clearer view of what is happening, helping them make faster decisions and warning them earlier of problems in operations or supply chains.

In practice, that means predicting when equipment needs maintenance, using automated systems to inspect underwater and onsite structures, improving how materials and equipment are sourced, and monitoring health, safety and environmental conditions in real time.

In the UAE, where long-term national planning is backed by major infrastructure spending, he believes these tools will help the industry deliver complex onshore and offshore projects more safely, reliably and sustainably.

Rolling out AI across an organisation of more than 35,000 people, Zaghloul says, is as much about culture and governance as technology.

NMDC now runs more than 70 AI agents across many operations, but his guiding principle is, “technology does not replace engineering judgment, it sharpens it.”

Adoption, according to him, only works when it is not forced from the top. When dredge masters, project managers and yard engineers see that an AI tool or virtual reality simulation helps them plan a heavy lift more safely, use vessels more efficiently or simplify purchasing, they embrace it on their own.

Partnerships and homegrown innovation

No single company can digitalise an industry alone, Zaghloul says. He calls for closer links between energy producers, engineering and marine contractors, global technology firms, and local universities and research bodies.

For UAE firms to become creators of technology rather than just users, he says, two things matter: building solutions together with partners, and investing in people.

Training Emirati engineers and data specialists, means local talent will be the ones who design, train and oversee these systems, he added.