Introduction

The World Petroleum Council (WPC) is a non-advocacy, non-political organisation with charitable status in the U.K. and has accreditation as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) from the United Nations (UN). The WPC is dedicated to the promotion of sustainable management and use of the world’s petroleum resources for the benefit of all.

WPC conducts the triennial World Petroleum Congress, covering all aspects of the industry including management of the industry and its social, economic and environmental impact.

The Organisation

The objects of the World Petroleum Council are the promotion, for the benefit of the public, of the sustainable supply and efficient use of oil, gas and other energy resources in particular but not exclusively by the following:

(a) holding congresses, conferences, meetings, seminars and workshops to:

i. promote best practice with regard to social responsibility and development;

ii. promote the advancement of human rights (as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent United Nations conventions and declarations), facilitating discussion between government, industry and community in issues such as equality and diversity and elimination of discrimination;

iii. provide a forum for representatives of communities to share their concerns regarding sustainability;

iv. to suggest solutions for global energy challenges, environmental protection and multi-sectorial co-operation with the aim to conserve and preserve the natural environment;

v. share knowledge of technological developments and scientific research for the benefit of the public and publishing the useful results for the public benefit.

(b) publishing, producing or assisting in the publication, production and distribution of education materials to schools and universities and other interested parties with the aim to advance education for the public benefit.

(c) maintaining electronic libraries and providing public access to papers, research documents and publications.

(d) encouraging the undertaking of voluntary work (work which further exclusively charitable purposes – charitable under English law) in furthering the exclusively charitable objects of the World Petroleum Council.

(e) institute, establish and promote educational and training courses, scholarship grants, awards and prizes with the aim to advance education and research for the public benefit.

WPC Executive Committee 2011-2014

Accordingly the WPC does not have a formal position on issues but does act as a forum to bring together in dialogue the various sectors of society that have views on specific issues. WPC is a non-advocacy, non-political organisation and has accreditation as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) from the UN. 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 (oil and gas) resources for the benefit of all.

Headquartered in London, since 1933, the World Petroleum Council includes 70 member countries from around the world representing over 96% of global oil and gas production and consumption. WPC membership is unique as it includes both OPEC and Non-OPEC countries with representation of National Oil Companies (NOC's) as well as Independent Oil Companies (IOC's). Each country has a National Committee made up from representatives of the oil and gas industry, academia and research institutions and government departments. Governing body is the Council consisting of representation from each of the country national committees.

Every three years the Council organises the World Petroleum Congress hosted by one of its member countries. The triennial Congress is also known as the "Olympics" of the petroleum industry and covers all aspects of the industry from technological advances in upstream and downstream operations to the role of natural gas and renewables, management of the industry and its social, economic and environmental impact. In addition, outside stakeholders such as governments, other industry sectors, NGOs and international institutions have also joined in the dialogue.

World Petroleum Council Vision

The WPC's core value and purpose, as stated in the Articles of Association, centres on sustaining and improving the lives of people throughout the world.

The World Petroleum Council's (WPC) main purpose is to catalyse and facilitate dialogue amongst internal and external stakeholders aimed at seeking solutions to key technical, social, environmental and management challenges in global energy issues for the benefit of mankind. In doing so, the WPC will contribute towards sustainable growth.

The WPC does not take a position on the key issues facing oil and gas; but it provides a forum where the solutions to key challenges can be addressed.

The World Petroleum Congress

Every three years, the World Petroleum Council organizes the World Petroleum Congress as the principal meeting place for a global discussion of oil and gas issues. Following a twelve month campaign period, one of the candidate countries is selected by its fellow Council members to host the next World Petroleum Congress. Following the 21st World Petroleum Congress in Moscow from 15-19 June 2014 in Moscow, Turkey will be the next host of the 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul in 2017 (www.22wpc.com)

2017 – 22nd WPC, Istanbul	1983 – 11th WPC, London
2014 - 21st WPC, Moscow	1979 – 10th WPC, Bucharest
2011 - 20th WPC, Doha	1975 – 9th WPC, Tokyo
2008 - 19th WPC, Madrid	1971 – 8th WPC, Moscow
2005 – 18th WPC, Johannesburg	1967 – 7th WPC, Mexico City
2002 – 17th WPC, Rio	1963 – 6th WPC, Frankfurt
2000 – 16th WPC, Calgary	1959 – 5th WPC, New York
1997 – 15th WPC, Beijing	1955 – 4th WPC, Rome
1994 – 14th WPC, Stavanger	1951 – 3rd WPC, The Hague
1991 – 13th WPC, Buenos Aires	1937 – 2nd WPC, Paris
1987 – 12th WPC, Houston	1933 – 1st WPC, London

Beyond the triennial Congress, the World Petroleum Council is regularly involved with a number of other meetings such as the WPC Youth Forum, the WPC-UN Global Compact Best Practice Forum a joint WPC / OPEC workshop on CO2 sequestration, reduction of methane flaring, opportunities for enhanced oil recovery, dispute resolution, calculating reserves and resources, regional integration and the oil, gas and infrastructure developments in Africa.

Mission, Values and Principles

Mission

The WPC is the only organisation representing the global oil and gas community. The Council's core value and purpose centres on sustaining and improving the lives of people around the world, through:

• enhanced understanding of issues and challenges.
• networking opportunities in a global forum.
• co-operation (partnerships) with other organisations
• an opportunity to showcase the industry and demonstrate best practise.
• information dissemination via congresses, reports, regional meetings and workshops.
• initiatives for educating young people on energy matters.
• awareness of environmental issues, conservation of energy and sustainable solutions

Values

The WPC values strongly:

• Respect for individuals and cultures world wide
• Unbiased and objective views
• Integrity
• Transparency
• Good governance
• A positive perception of energy from petroleum
• Science and technology
• The views of all stakeholders
• And the management of the world's petroleum resources for the benefit of all

Principles

The WPC seeks to be identified with its mission and flexible enough so that it can embrace change and adapt to it. The WPC has to be:

• pro-active and responsive to changes and not merely led by them
• creative and visionary, so that we add value for all
• challenging, so that our goals require effort to attain but are realistic and achievable
• focused, so that our goals are clear and transparent
• understandable to all

Key Strategic Areas

World Class Congress
to deliver a quality, premier world class oil and gas congress

Inter Congress Activities
to organise fora for cooperation and other activities on specific topics and to organise regional events of relevance to WPC members and all stakeholders

Co-operation eith other stakeholders
to add value by cooperating with other organisations to seek synergies and promote best practice.

Communication
to increase awareness, of WPC's activities, through enhanced communication, both internally and externally.

Global Representation
to attract and retain worldwide involvement in WPC.

Youth (and Gender) Engagement
to increase the participation of young people and women in oil and gas issues, including the establishment of a dedicated Youth Committee for the development of active networking opportunities with young people.

Legacy
to create a central WPC legacy fund to benefit communities and individuals around the world based on WPC's mission

Structure

The Council is the governing body of the World Petroleum Council which convenes once a year. Its global membership elects the President and an Executive Committee every three years to develop and execute its strategy. The Council also selects the host country for the next World Petroleum Congress from the candidate countries. To ensure the scientific and topical quality of the event the Council elects a Congress Programme Committee whose members are responsible for delivering the high-level content for its Congresses.

The Secretariat of the World Petroleum Council is based in London, under the leaderhsip of the Director General and his dedicated team. WPCSecretariat@world-petroleum.org