Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) will focus on expanding clean energy, with investments in hydrogen an area of interest for the oil producer, said CEO.

"We are pursuing hydrogen as a potential new start as part of clean energy and clean technology strategy," al-Jaber told the Energy Intelligence forum.

Hydrogen has long-been touted as a potential clean fuel as it only emits water vapour but it has failed to gain traction, mainly because of historically high production, transportation and storage costs. But the oil company expects that hydrocarbons will stay at the core of its business.

"By 2030, oil and gas will remain at the heart of ADNOC's business model," al-Jaber said

He added further saying that even in the most fast-pace energy transition scenarios, the world would continue to get more than half of its energy needs from oil and gas for many decades to come.

The company is also consistent with its strategy of reaching an oil production capacity of 5 million barrels per day by 2030, al-Jaber said.

He said that the oil market had "clearly tightened," and he remained cautiously optimistic, adding that it was still very important to keep a close eye on the new COVID-19 movement restrictions and their impact on economic recovery.