Exxon and Chevron Cancel Executive Trips to Abu Dhabi Oil Conference, Reuters Sources Say

ExxonMobil and Chevron have cancelled plans to send senior executives to ADIPEC, the oil industry's biggest gathering in the Gulf, citing security concerns, two sources familiar with the decision told Reuters on Thursday, Oct. 29.

Exxon CEO Darren Woods had been due to attend the conference in Abu Dhabi. Chevron was to be represented by upstream president Clay Neff. Both companies declined to comment. ADNOC, the UAE's state energy company, deferred comment to the organizer, DMG.

ADIPEC is scheduled for Nov. 2-5.

The security backdrop

The cancellations come as oil markets worry about fresh U.S. strikes on Iran and retaliation from Tehran. President Donald Trump has said he would not attack Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. But on Friday, according to Reuters, he said the U.S. may carry out another military operation against Iran.

The Gulf has become a harder place to do business. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have launched near-daily attacks on Saudi Arabia this month, including strikes that targeted Riyadh International Airport and Saudi Aramco's headquarters, according to OilPrice's reporting. Last week the State Department ordered some U.S. diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia. U.S. officials have also told Reuters the government plans to withdraw family members from a number of other U.S. missions in the region.

The conference circuit is already feeling it. Several top energy executives were dropped from the speaker schedule of the WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh earlier this month. The event went ahead despite deadly attacks on the Saudi capital claimed by the Houthis. Airport closures forced some delegates to travel to neighboring countries to fly home. Saudi Arabia has also postponed its Future Investment Initiative until 2027 because of air travel disruptions following the attacks, according to OilPrice.

What the organizers say

The UAE is a different case from Saudi Arabia. There have been no attacks targeting the UAE by Iran since May, according to Reuters.

DMG pushed back on any suggestion that American interest is fading. "US participation is very strong, with more than 120 exhibiting companies – the second-largest country representation after China," the organizer said in a statement. It said ADIPEC is set for record exhibition participation, with attendees expected from more than 170 countries. Last year's event drew nearly 240,000 people.

A list of confirmed U.S. industry speakers provided by DMG did not include Exxon or Chevron. The conference's online program still lists BP CEO Meg O'Neill and Equinor CEO Anders Opedal. One report said Woods' name also remained in the program as of Thursday.

The Reuters account says the companies cited security concerns. Neither company has commented publicly.

Washington and Tehran

The diplomatic picture is murky. Iranian state and semi-official media say Tehran received a letter from Vice President JD Vance and has not replied. Tasnim, a semi-official news agency, said Iran is waiting for the U.S. to meet its stated conditions and that "any position that contradicts this framework is unacceptable." IRNA said the message went to Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.

Trump has said the outreach was not a bid for broad peace talks. "They need help with medical supplies and various things," he told reporters. He described the effort as getting supplies in to help people "that are not well."

Hardliners in Tehran are pushing the other way. Iranian lawmaker Mahmoud Nabavian said on X that he asked Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei for permission to build an atomic bomb during a gathering in Qom, and that the crowd approved. That is one parliamentarian's public claim.

Oil and earnings

Crude is trading at elevated levels. OilPrice.com's board quoted WTI near $103 a barrel and Brent near $115. MarketBeat said Exxon shares have increased as investors anticipate Friday's third-quarter earnings report and benefit from a sharp crude-oil rally linked to the Iran conflict.

Both companies have large Gulf interests and the most to gain or lose from the region's stability. Pulling the CEO of the largest U.S. oil company from a UAE trade show is a data point on how the industry's security teams read the risk. It is not a forecast.

ADIPEC opens Monday, Nov. 2, one day before the midterms. Whether other Western executives follow Exxon and Chevron off the program will show quickly.