Oct 29 (Reuters) – US oil firms ExxonMobil and Chevron have cancelled plans for their executives to travel to the United Arab Emirates’ biggest oil show next week, citing security concerns, two sources familiar with the developments told Reuters.
Exxon Chief Executive Darren Woods had been due to attend the conference in Abu Dhabi, known as ADIPEC, while Chevron had been due to be represented by its upstream president, Clay Neff, the sources said.
Exxon and Chevron declined to comment. ADNOC, the UAE’s state energy firm, deferred comment to event organiser DMG.
“US participation is very strong, with more than 120 exhibiting companies – the second-largest country representation after China,” DMG said in a statement. ADIPEC is set for record exhibition participation this year with attendees expected from more than 170 countries, DMG said.
A list of confirmed US industry speakers at ADIPEC provided by DMG did not include Exxon or Chevron.
Fears of fresh US attacks on Iran and retaliatory strikes by Tehran have gripped the oil markets in recent days. US President Donald Trump has said he would not launch an attack on Iran before the US midterm elections on November 3, but on Friday he said the US may carry out another military operation against Iran.
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There have been no attacks targeting the UAE by Iran since May.
The online programme for the conference still listed other top executives such as BP CEO Meg O’Neill and Equinor CEO Anders Opedal.
The US State Department last week ordered some diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia, which has been facing near daily attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis this month. US officials have also told Reuters it plans to withdraw family members from a number of other US missions in the region.
ADIPEC is the latest conference to see disruptions from the conflict. Earlier this month, several top energy executives were dropped from the schedule of the WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh. The conference went ahead despite deadly attacks on the Saudi capital claimed by the Houthis.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Susan Fenton)
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