The World Petroleum Council (world-petroleum.org) was founded in London in 1933. It provides a forum for discussing the issues facing the oil industry on a worldwide basis and is strictly non-political. The WPC is dedicated to the application of scientific advances in the oil and gas industries, to technology transfer and to the use of the world’s petroleum resources for the benefit of mankind.
The WPC’s 61 member countries represent over 90 percent of the worlds major oil and gas producing and consuming nations of the world. Each country has a national committee made up from representatives of the oil and gas industry, academia and research institutions and government departments. The WPC will hold the 18th World Petroleum Congress on the theme “Shaping the Energy Future: Partners in Sustainable Solutions,” from Sept. 25-29 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Attendance at WPC Congresses is open to all and over 90 countries are usually represented. The Congresses have traditionally covered all aspects of the industry from exploration to downstream activities. More recently these topics have been expanded to cover petroleum finance, management and environmental issues.
Saudi Arabia will be well represented at the Congress. Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi will be a keynote speaker in the session on the “Global Oil Perspective” and Saudi Aramco will be both exhibiting and hosting a luncheon at the event.
The WPC website is not only for those involved in some way with the energy industry. WPC maintains an informative education section containing information from many sources on climate, oil and gas and various institutes globally. Some of the current topics include “A Young Person’s Guide to Oil and Gas,” “The Quest for Oil,” “Ocean and Oil Spills” and “Alternative Transport Fuels.” These topics are certainly essential reading for the informed energy consumer.
