DUBAI, 28th October, 2026 (WAM) -- As the UAE accelerates its national AI agenda, Emirates Petroleum Company P.J.S.C. (Emarat), a pioneer in the UAE's oil and gas industry, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft to explore how AI can reshape workforce productivity, strengthen enterprise readiness and support the next phase of digital transformation across the organisation.

The MoU supports Emarat's ambition to become a digital pioneer in its sector and aligns with the UAE National AI Strategy 2031, which aims to position the country as a global leader in artificial intelligence. It further reflects Emarat's focus on preparing its people, workflows and technology environment for the responsible use of AI, while contributing to the UAE's wider digital transformation agenda.

Under the framework, Emarat and Microsoft will explore how Microsoft products and capabilities can support productivity, knowledge work and day-to-day collaboration across Emarat's workforce. Microsoft is planning to provide high-level guidance and best practices while also supporting awareness sessions on productivity transformation opportunities.

The collaboration will further assess priority business scenarios where AI agents and automation may create value for Emarat.

Burhan Al Hashemi, Chief Executive Officer of Emarat, said, "At Emarat, we are focused on creating the conditions for our workforce to understand, adopt and benefit from emerging technologies in a secure and responsible way. Our collaboration with Microsoft gives us a structured framework to explore how AI can strengthen productivity, decision-making and long-term business value. This is part of our ambition to build a more adaptive organisation and contribute to the UAE's progress towards an AI-enabled economy."

Kethan Parbhoo, General Manager, Small, Medium Enterprises and Channel (SME&C), Central Europe, Middle East and Africa said, "AI transformation is ultimately about empowering people and redesigning how work gets done. Emarat is taking a thoughtful approach to building the skills, governance and technology foundations needed to adopt AI securely and responsibly. Together, we aim to help unlock new levels of productivity and innovation while supporting the UAE's ambition to build an AI-enabled economy."

A key focus of the MoU is secure, responsible and governed AI adoption. Microsoft plans to share security and responsible AI frameworks, along with recommendations to support safe adoption of AI-enabled capabilities. This will help Emarat approach AI adoption through a clear governance lens, with attention to data protection, responsible usage and enterprise readiness.

The MoU also places emphasis on skilling and change management, recognising that AI transformation depends on employee readiness and cultural understanding.

Microsoft intends to provide access to relevant learning resources, including training materials, global adoption frameworks and curated learning paths, and may conduct educational workshops or briefing sessions covering AI features, responsible usage and change management in an AI-enabled workplace.

Emarat will lead internal adoption efforts, including staff communications, training coordination and the integration of AI skilling into existing learning and development programmes.

The agreement positions Emarat to approach AI transformation as a business-wide shift, connecting people, data and governance with the UAE's wider ambition to embed advanced technologies across key national sectors.