WPC Newsletter Number 21, August 2000

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4600 Delegates from 97 Countries
THE 16TH WORLD PETROLEUM CONGRESSES, CALGARY, CANADA

Today, the World Petroleum Congresses has 59 member countries, each represented by a National Committee. The WPC convenes every three years at various member country locations around the world, and it allows for open attendance which means that countries other than the 59 members can attend. While technology and science in the petroleum industry remain a core issue, the changes in the industry have brought upstream and downstream economics, business management, international social issues, globalisation and environmental concerns to the fore. In its 67-year history, the WPC has been held in cities from London to Moscow to Tokyo to Houston. At the 15th World Petroleum Congress in Beijing in 1997, 91 countries were represented. On Sunday June 11th 2000 it was Calgary's turn.

Sunday June 11th saw the opening of the 16th World Petroleum Congress in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a day on which a total of 4,303 delegates had registered with 95 countries represented.

This figure includes more than 2,800 delegates, 400 accompanying persons, 600 exhibitors and 400 members of the international media. In addition, more than 900 volunteers continued their work throughout the Congress making the event a hub of worldwide activity. " We're so pleased to be hosting the 16th World Petroleum Congress," said Jim Gray, Chair of the Canadian Organising Committee. 2We've been working with great energy and imagination to make this an excellent opportunity for networking and real business connections, as well as stimulating learning experience, with all presentations on leading environmental and technical work. And, of course, Calgary wants to show you real western hospitality." The Global Business Opportunities Centre (GBOC) - the WPC's first international trade show and business centre - was officially opened on Sunday June 11th, marking the start of the 16th World Petroleum Congress in Calgary. The Canadian Organising Committee and Programme Arrangements Committee had put all their efforts into what would become the prime networking platform for representatives of oil-producing countries under one roof. The 57,000 square-foot GBOC was the centrepiece inside the newly-built TELUS Convention Centre where 36 countries and 41 petroleum industry companies held their exhibits.

"We've created a kind of international fair. It's a business fair but nonetheless it's a fair that allows that extra networking", said Ray Cej, Co Chair of the Canadian Organising Committee (CANOC). " Other WPCs have had trade shows but they've never been housed in the same building as the Congress or been an integral part of the programme. It was our initiative to expand and include the show. We wanted to give the Congress more of an emphasis on business rather than focusing just on the technical aspects of oil producing".

The GBOC succeeded in allowing those countries not presenting papers in the programme to draw people to develop their petroleum industry. During the GBOC's Opening Ceremony, Randy Gossen, Chairman of the Programme Arrangements Committee, confirmed the Congress theme of Petroleum for Global Development, noting that "through networking, we are bringing together people, business and technology to create value for society". He added that GBOC was the ideal venue to bring CANOC's vision to life.

The enthusiasm of GBOC exhibitors was apparent all-round. " In the next five to ten years, we expect production to reach 2.5 million barrels of oil per day", said Antonio Paoso of Sonangol, Angola. " We're participating because we want to gain greater exposure for our new production trends and our recent deep water discoveries". PanCanadian's exhibit featured Terradeck, its new stereoscopic viewing equipment for enhancing depth perception of earth models. " GBOC is helping us showcase our state-of-the-art technology", said Tom Feigs. " We believe this will help us develop new business partners and give them greater confidence in our local and international expertise". " GBOC is a tremendous opportunity to showcase what we can do for companies from all over the world", said Andy Campbell of Salomen Smith Barney. " We advise companies on the financial and technical aspects of divesting assets, and this is the perfect setting to generate business".

The President of WPC, Ir. Dirk van der Meer, told the audience at the opening, "Calgary is indeed breaking ground and GBOC is a testament to the Canadian Organising Committee. The reason behind GBOC is the exchange of ideas and information. This is not a vendors' fair where equipment is sold but a centre for exchanging ideas to create value". Presenters during the GBOC opening also included Jim Gray, Chair of CANOC; Ray Cej, Co Chair of CANOC; Barbara Zach, Executive Director of CANOC; Randy Gossen, Chair of the Programme Committee; Ralph Goodale, Minister, Natural Resources, Government of Canada; Pat Nelson, MLA, Government of Canada; Al Duerr, Mayor of Calgary; and Gerry Protti, Chair, 16th WPC Service Arrangements Committee. Inside the GBOC exhibition hall on the second level of the North TELUS Convention Centre, exhibits from Brazil and the Calgary-based Pan-Canadian Petroleum Limited dominated centre stage around a meeting area. Outside the main exhibition area in Canada Court, seven Canadian provinces and territories were also represented.

Displays by educational institutions and associations, also part of GBOC but not located in the main exhibition hall, were located in the Glencoe Room on the second level of the South TELUS Convention Centre. Delegates spoke a multitude of languages as they visited the exhibitors booths and made the most of their networking opportunities. Calgarians waved the Canadian flag on Sunday June 11th, as the festive Opening Cermony , at the Jubilee Auditorium, celebrated the 16th WPC in the presence of over 2,700 dignitaries and delegates. Choirs of schoolchildren sang O Canada on stage to kick-off the two-hour production loaded with fireworks, videos, dancing and singing over three acts designed to showcase the Land, The People and The Industry.

The Opening Ceremony demonstrated Calgary's status as ambassador for Canada. Prime Minister Jean Chretien welcomed the audience and conveyed Canada's pride in hosting the Congress. "There could be no more fitting a place to stage this event in Canada than in Calgary - a premier Canadian city at the heart of our $31 billion industry and a place we call the capital of the new West", he said. He emphasised that Canada was addressing global warming. "We believe that climate change is real and that the demand for low-carbon fuels will increase", he said, citing the financial commitment made to this environmental challenge by major Canadian oil companies.

At the start of the ceremony, Canada's glorious geography was highlighted in a cinematic montage that opened a show filled with multicultural delights. Ceremonial dancers from First Nations near Calgary gave WPC-16 participants a taste of aboriginal Canadian culture as they watched a hoop dancer perform a dance linking his hoops into magical shapes, interpreting the steady beat of the drums and the drummers' chanting. Following the Prime Minister's speech, Alberta Premier Ralph Klein rose to the stage to thank the Congress for offering the chance to share solutions, innovations and trends. He expressed pride in Alberta's innovations technologies and services. " This is not only a Congress where we're receiving some 300 technical papers, but also a chance to participate in one of the greatest petroleum shows on the face of the Earth", he said, referring to the National Petroleum Show at Stampede Park. In his ceremonial speech,

WPC President Ir Dirk van der Meer thanked all those involved in the formidable arrangements made for WPC-16 and for the gracious hospitality of the Calgarians. He said that more state-owned companies and research institutes were contributing to the Congress and he also identified some key questions which the Congress would endeavour to answer: When will non-conventional sources of energy become conventional? How does the industry respond to society's need in an ecologically and socially responsible way? What impact will renewable forms of energy have on supply, demand and price? 'A Symphony of the Industry', a high-energy musical orchestration of the sounds and sights of the industry, brought the ceremony to a close.

While delegates retired to prepare with eager anticipation for the next day's programme, the round-the-clock work of WPC-16 volunteers continued. Calgary is known for its vital volunteer spirit and its citizens generate a special enthusiasm to support major events. In 1988, volunteers helped to make the Calgary Winter Olympics one of the most successful Winter Games ever. Calgary volunteers were again prepared to put their city on the map again for the 16th WPC. Easily recognised by their vests, bolo ties and western hats, volunteers were stationed throughout the TELUS Convention Centre and at the WPC-16 hotels to assist delegates. As well as helping facilitate the programme and special events, they had been organising registrations, escorting people to sites, working with police and security agents, and providing interpretation services in 20 languages. "I like to volunteer. It comes from the bottom of my heart", said one volunteer at the registration bureau."

Volunteering is a way to be part of what happens in Calgary. And the 16th WPC is no different - it requires special support from within the community." The Canadian Organising Committee had contributed thousands of hours since the 15th World Petroleum Congress in Beijing to organise the event, and most volunteers had asked to work every day during the Congress. Another 500 volunteers had been placed on a waiting list, making Calgary legendary in WPC circles. "We are known for our tremendous heritage of volunteering and the Calgary Congress will be a challenge for future Congresses to match", said Pat Moore, Volunteer Co-ordinator. "Our volunteers are eager to meet and help delegates, and they're very proud to be part of another world-class event in Calgary".

Accompanying Persons See Alberta Landscape

During WPC-16 more than 400 accompanying persons took part in the various tours including day trips to the Banff National Park, the spectacular Rocky Mountains, the Bow River for fly fishing and visits to the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaentology ,the world-class dinosaur museum near the Bradlands at Drumheller. Accompanying persons were able to get a close look at some of Alberta's most dramatic geographic regions.

Home Hospitality Night also proved to be a popular option for 600 delegates and accompanying persons. Sundog Printing President Dale Hodgson and his wife were two of the many hosts who opened their doors to international visitors. Six people, including one from Romania, three from Slovenia and two from Argentina, joined the Hodgsons at a rustic Western lodge on the banks of the Bow River.

The menu was nothing less than Alberta beef and beans; the dress code was blue jeans. It was, Dale said, a wonderful introduction to "cowboy" Calgary.

National Committee Receptions

The receptions held by some of the WPC National Committees were thoroughly enjoyed by all those who attended them and they provided an excellent opportunity for all WPC members to meet and exchange ideas and build on their relations whilst enjoying the catering delights offered by their hosts. The Brazilian National Committee hosted a reception in the Alberta Room, the venue for both meetings of the Executive Board, at the Palliser Hotel on the evening of Monday June 12th. Also that on that evening, the U.S.A National Committee held a reception in the Crystal Ball Room at the Palliser. On Tuesday June 13th the Algeria National Committee hosted a reception in the Engineered Air Theatre, at the Calgary Arts Centre, while the Norway National Committee hosted their reception in the Palliser Hotel's Oval Room. The Saudi Arabia National Committee's reception took place in the Crystal Ballroom, Palliser Hotel, on the same evening.

Plenary Sessions

The line up of speakers and presenters in the Plenaries included the biggest names in the petroleum industry - leaders with rich and varies international experience in business, public service and academia. The Jack Singer Concert Hall, in the Calgary Performing Arts Centre was the venue for each day's Plenary sessions: The plenary session on Monday June 12th, ' The Canadian Petroleum Experience: The Power of Diverse Experience', included Robert B Peterson, President and CEO of Imperial Oil Limited since 1994, who emphasised the role of technology in Canada's petroleum industry and said this role will continue to grow along with concern for the environment.

Technological innovation was also allowing exploration and production in ever more remote areas and in deeper offshore venues, he said. Technology will enable the industry to meet more stringent environmental demands. In his plenary speech the Treasurer of Alberta the Honourable Stephen C. West said that the drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions had produced a new industry: the environmental service industry, with more than 1,000 new companies. He also stated that the proper development of energy resources will be positive and protect the environment, not destroy it. The Honourable Ralph P. Goodale (Plenary Chairman), Minister of Natural Resources, Canada confirmed that Canada had achieved its position of prominence in the world petroleum industry through a judicious balance of regulation, science and concern for the environment. "Proper development of energy resources will be positive and protect the environment, not destroy it", he said.

Speaking during Plenary 2 session 'Synthesizing Refinery and Automotive Strategies', ENICHEM chairman and CEO Fabrizio d'Adda said that refining needs to become more efficient and integrate with the petrochemical industry. He added that the refining industry had not changed in 25 years and, realistically, changes will need to be limited to the feasible. Better recycling of feedstock and the use of emission gases to generate power can improve efficiency, he said. Daimler-Chrysler Member of the Board Of Management, Jürgen Hubbert cautioned that viable energy alternatives are years away.

The industry is developing fuel cells, and cars can now be produced with a floor-mounted cell that leaves room for five passengers and luggage, he said. But an infrastructure sufficient to support the fuel cells would be at least 10 to 15 years away. He also said that the development of sulfur-free fuels would dramatically reduce pollution. Meeting the challenge of reducing CO emissions by 25 per cent in the next five years depends on the auto industry's developing fuel-efficient engines, he said. American Petroleum Institute President Red Cavaney said that automobile emissions have decreased by 70 per cent since 1970 despite the doubling of miles driven. Product quality and emission controls have improved through auto and oil industry collaboration, a century-long tradition. But the way to future improvement is not so clear and the two industries must balance environmental demands with increasing demand for individual transport. Attendance at Forum 1 in Macleod Hall D gave clear evidence of the growing interest in and emphasis on environmentally responsible behaviour on the part of the oil and gas industries.

The Forum and RFP sessions attracted, in some cases, standing-room only attendance, On Tuesday June 13th, Plenary 3 was chaired by Rashad Kaldany, Director Oil, Gas and Chemicals at the World Bank. He introduced Sir John Browne, Group Chief Executive of BP Amoco p.l.c, who gave his 'New Agenda' Opening Address.

Sir John Browne stressed that the petroleum industry is not washed up and old-fashioned, but has been reshaped by changes that have fostered a new agenda of productivity that results in an exciting industry. Consolidation has made the industry more competitive. Growth in demand, especially for natural gas - 30 bcf/d more than in 1990 - has spurred development of cleaner products to meet environmental concerns. Technological change has introduced efficiencies. Globalisation, although incomplete even in the energy sector, has increased the unrestricted flow of knowledge. But globalisation carries a responsibility to tread sensitively in host countries, he said. "The debate on globalisation is complex and important, and not to be dismissed a product of fringe activity." He referred to productivity, saying it comes from applying scientific advances over a complete span of activity, and that cost productivity goes beyond eliminating overheads so that reach and simplicity can be combined. He noted that competition drives these factors and stimulates progress and makes performance visible. " Every advance is watched, monitored and copied. Technology in particular travels openly. There are few areas of proprietary knowledge. We have to earn our position every day." Following Sir John Browne's Opening Address, His Royal Highness Prince Faisal Bin Turki Bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud , Adviser to the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia addressed the plenary session.

He said that major oil companies used to finance their investments from sales until the 1986 oil price crash, when companies were forced to borrow heavily to finance investments. The 1998 price crash aggravated their problems. By contrast, OPEC countries finance their investment from internal sources, he noted. Because international banks cannot keep pace with the expansion of energy demand, a trend is developing for multinationals to seek closer co-operation with OPEC countries, including those of the Gulf. Liberalised global markets and accelerating technological changes mean major energy companies must take a greater role in financing their own long-term, complex projects, Joeren van der Veer, Group Managing Director of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies told the session. Shell regards investing in such projects as its core business, although it does not rule out financing with other partners, he said. His company also believes a reputation for assembling projects is a competitive advantage, stemming from a long-term stake in technology, people and relationships, rather than investments in developing countries, to create value for mutual benefit. Also on Tuesday June 13th the heads of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy Agency aired their differences on crude oil price stability, taxation and production constraints at the eagerly-awaited OPEC Luncheon held in the Imperial Ballroom, Hyatt Regency Hotel and attended by 1,400 delegates and dignitaries. OPEC Secretary-General Dr. Rilwanu Lukman reacted to what he called "stinging crticism" of producers by asserting that "Producers have been made the scapegoat for high prices of gasoline and heating oil", and charged that the true culprit is taxation by the governments of consuming countries.

"In the European Union", he said, " 68 per cent of the final price is tax, with 16 per cent going to refiners and marketers, and the other 16 per cent to oil exporters". And when crude prices fall, prices of gas do not drop by a corresponding amount. "When we talk about higher prices at the pump, whose court is the ball really in? ", Lukman asked. He warned that OPEC members need a stable and fair return to finance the huge increase in production required to slake the world's rapidly increasing demand for oil as the global economy expands. In response to Dr Lukman's speech, the IEA's Executive Director Robert Priddle said "Taxation does affect demand over time, but that's not to say it robs the birthright of the producers. Eliminating the European Union tax on gasoline won't release an equivalent sum to the producers". There is a need to build better understanding, and there is a need for more OPEC oil, he agreed. Price stability is desirable, he said, but consumers cannot be expected to accept production control by a cartel as an acceptable or effective route to price stability.

On Wednesday June 14th, speakers in Plenary 4 on the corporate social responsibility of companies doing business internationally, agreed on principles but differed on the perception of their achievement. Dick Cheney, CEO of Halliburton Company, said that petroleum industry activity is enormously valuable to society and is carried out with regard for the triple bottom line of profit, society and the environment. "I'm not here to apologise or make excuses for the industry,", he said. "The world needs energy." Cheney said that the challenge is to be proactive and be part of the solution. As an example, he said, spending on environmental protection has soared from $700 million in 1970 to nearly $10 billion today. The industry can contribute to infrastructure and improve the quality of life while pursuing development, and still minimise environmental impact. Olav Fjell, Chairman and CEO of Statoil, said business is motivated to be socially responsible mainly through long-term, educated self-interest, but also can have core values and a purpose beyond just profit. "Corporate social responsibility becomes a strategy for gaining competitive advantage, " he said. He added that globalisation has created opportunities, but also represents challenges. Companies must ensure that poorer countries are not marginalized, economic growth is not destabilising, and that living standards do not slip in the developed world. He said that corporate social responsibility is a marriage of profits and principles, "but opinions differ when it comes to the specifics." Jacqueline Aloisi de Larderel, Director of the United Nations' Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, said liberalised trade has increased sources of wealth, but at the cost of social and environmental impact, and the benefits are not distributed equally.

"Twenty per cent of the world uses 60 per cent of the energy," she said, "and 2.8 billion people do not have access to energy sources." She stressed that globalisation must be promoted with a human face and decisions be made with the environment and the bottom line in mind. Plenary 5 on 'Globalisation of Natural Gas in the 21st Century' reflected the growing global acknowledgement of natural gas as an environmentally friendly, abundant and cost-efficient source of energy. Technical achievements ti improve its transmission and utilisation were underscored by the speakers, including Peter I. Bijur, Chairman and CEO of Texaco Inc.; Abdelhak Bouhafs, Chairman and CEO of Sonatrach; Linda Cook, CEO for Shell Gas & Power; and Mr Kochnev, representing the Ministry of Fuel and Energy of the Russian Federation.

Poster Sessions

Poster sessions were presented in conjunction with daily Forums. Here are some of the highlights:

Undiscovered resources estimated

The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) exhibit in the Poster Sessions was deemed timely and informative and was added to the technical programme. The exhibit featured the newly-released 'U.S Geological Survey World Petroleum Assessment 2000 - Descriptions and Results', a CD-ROM set that presents the results of a geologically-based assessment of undiscovered conventional petroleum resources with the potential to be added to reserves in the next 30 years 91995 to 2025).

Depth migration technology advances

One of the busiest booths was Shell's exhibit on the Gulf of Mexico Shelf Subsalt Play. " People are very interested in the scope of our play and these results apply to what is going on in the Deepwater right now", said Charlie Harvie of Shell Deepwater Development of New Orleans. Shell's exhibit showed three examples of depth migration demonstrating how far Shell's us of the technology has advanced in just five years.

Wave seismic data boosts production

Another booth in the upstream sector of the poster exhibit demonstrated Chevron's application of 3-D converted wave seismic data in the development of the North Sea's Alba Field. " We used this technique to convert wave data to image a reservoir", said Marty Brandt of Chevron Overseas Petroleum Inc. in San Ramon, California. "This application allowed us to locate lateral long reach wells. We used it to delineate drilling locations and find bypassed oil giving us higher production and better reservoir management. At least 60 per cent of the oil we're producing from Alba comes from these wells."

Saudi Aramco boosts technology innovation

Saudi Arabia's national oil company, Saudi Aramco, was moving to commercialise intellectual property for the first time, said Peter Jones of the research and development centre. It had been granted one U.S patent and had applied for a second method of assessing an oil show during drilling that takes the subjectivity out of the process. Over the past 10 years, the company has been seeking to become more technologically innovative, Jones said. The International Association of Oil And Gas Producers (OGP) headquarters in London helps member exploration and production companies from 66 countries benchmark and improve safety performance. Its poster exhibition showed that contractors now suffer two-thirds of all lost-time accidents compared with one-third just 10 years ago. "One of our initiatives is to help companies develop safety programmes and guidelines for contractors since their numbers have risen dramatically in the workforce,", said Katrina Hide.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGY SESSION

John Harper, Chair of the ITS, and his co-chairs left a trail of people talking and trading information behind them at the Interactive Technology session. "Our goal is to bring together the thoughts of individuals and stimulate discussions that will continue all afternoon," Harper said. "We want people to discuss complementary problems and offer variations and solutions to each other. We have always had poster sessions at WPC, but we have never brought authors together to discuss them. This is a first for Calgary." The sessions, held in the Poster Hall, were grouped together around eight themes and 50 exhibits. Themes included exploration, data management, pipeline network expansions, public involvement in decision-making, production technology, and resource evaluation and energy demand. "These sessions definitely helped people discuss and solve key problems," said Christian Ravenne from the Institut Français du Pétrole. "My only request is please make the next ones much longer." From the highly positive response to the ITS, it may well become a standard feature at future Congresses.

CANADA NIGHT

Festivities Celebrate Cultural Diversity

A little of the cultural diversity of Canada was on display at the Canada Night gala on the evening of Wednesday June 14th as singers, dancers and musicians from many backgrounds performed for over 4,000 delegates at Spruce Meadows. Indian and Inuit, easterners, westerners and northerners celebrated with everything from bagpipes to country music. The smallest performer was the pre-school little girl who led the singing of O Canada; the tallest was a fellow on stilts wandering through the crowds; the heaviest were the horses performing in the celebrated Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride. Delegates watched the multi-breed Spruce Meadows Prairie Dogs race their own miniature course of hurdles and tunnels in imitation of the serious, high-endurance show jumping that takes place four times a year at the 320-acre world-class facility in Calgary's south flank. At the various pavilions of the provinces and territories delegates savoured the salmon spring rolls from British Columbia, fresh berry pie from Nova Scotia, northern pike and delicate seafood from the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. A spectacular fireworks display brought the evening to a close. The Dewhurst Lecture preceeded the Closing Ceremony and was delivered on behalf of Mr Pierre Jacquard, Chairman and CEO, Institut Français du Pétrole.

GLOBAL ORGANISATION

Following the announcement of the newly-elected Officers of the World Petroleum Congresses at the Permanent Council meeting held on June 14th, retiring President Ir. Dirk van der Meer was clearly proud of the progress the WPC had made in recent years in becoming a truly global organisation. The WPC has grown from 26 member countries to 59 during the presidency of Ir. Dirk van der Meer.

"We have elected members to the Executive Board from all continents", he said."There has been a great internationalisation of our organisation. It is visible in those countries that are actively involved in the Congress. At the 16th WPC, 47 countries were represented by speakers, presenters, posters, chairmen or vice-chairmen of sessions, a very widespread distribution from the important oil nations of the world." Van der Meer reiterated the neutral, non-political nature of WPC and said, "In the WPC we do not make a distinction between OPEC and non-OPEC countries." He said that WPC is a very vibrant organisation with a diverse set of stakeholders coming from vastly different cultural backgrounds. In his reflections on his many years with WPC he said, "The WPC has given my wife and me the opportunity to travel widely. We have been very privileged to be able to visit countries that were willing to show the best they had. We look forward to travelling now at our pace, and meeting our old friends on a personal basis."

WPC Committee Meetings
A number of the committee meetings in Calgary started before the Congress.

The first was the Scientific Programme Committee meeting. A number of points were raised and in particular the selection of forum chairs. Many considered that forum chairs should be allocated on subject areas based on their expertise not necessarily on their country of origin. It was agreed that this would lead to better quality presentations but the committee felt that as many countries as possible should still be involved. It was agreed that the new SPC should look carefully at the incentives (possible reduction in registration fees) for Chairs, Vice Chairs and authors. In addition their responsibilities should be made clear before they take up the post. It was also agreed that the guidelines (green book) were no longer appropriate for an electronic congress and should be reduced to a few concise pages. Due to the reduced timing of the next Congress the SPC would have to react quickly and that members should all have working email addresses. The Brazilians suggested that an SPC meeting should be held as soon as possible after he Congress and that it could take two days if necessary to complete the work. It was also hoped that the structure of the congress, themes and titles could be discussed by email prior to the first meting. It was also suggested that an EB meeting (or a number of postal votes) would have to be held very soon after Christmas to approve the recommendations of the SPC. The National Committees were well represented in the Global Business Opportunities Center and it was envisaged that more countries would take advantage of this next time in Rio. The meeting felt that the SPC members needed to be told of their tasks and responsibilities from the start and that they would be accountable for a number of activities to report back on at each meeting.

THE PERMANENT COUNCIL MEETING

June 14th 2000 at the Palliser Hotel, Calgary Dirk van der Meer, WPC President, thanked the Canadian hosts of the meeting for all of their efforts. He also introduced the new Director General and Executive Secretary and reminded everyone that the secretariat had moved. The President also welcomed the new PC members. Since the last PC meeting Uzbekistan (1998), Gabon (1998), Congo (1998), Bolivia (1999), Belgium (1999), Qatar (2000) and Colombia (2000) have been elected by vote of the PC as full members.

Vietnam also confirmed its resumption of membership earlier in the year and automatically became a member since formalities had already been completed. During the same period Oman and Malta have withdrawn from membership. The current membership consists of 59 countries. He reported that this was his final meeting and over the last few years the committee had voted a number of times by email and this had worked well. It was reported as a hectic 3 year period and the President thanked Carlos Bechelli for standing in for him as acting President on a number of occasions. He also stated that the SPC had produced a good technical programme.

Jim Gray reported that there were delegates from 97 countries. There had been an excellent response from National Committees to take up the offer of free national booths within the Global Business Opportunity Centre and it was 100% booked. Total participants were 4748 but this included accompanying persons and media. He stated that the total spend for the Congress was around $10million (Canadian) and due to the success of the Congress there was likely to be a surplus of funds. They are thinking of a worthy cause that could be used as a legacy of some kind. The electronic method of collecting and presenting papers was judged to be a success with 95% of the papers appearing in the preprints issued to all delegates on CD ROM.

The Chairman of the SPC reported that the Congress had changed from a technical to a more trend-setting event. There was increased importance of business issues and increased relevance of posters. The electronic communications for the congress had been implemented successfully and the Interactive technology Session was looking very good, and would enhance the standing of the posters. The programme was now divided into four blocks instead of the nine used previously and this was also deemed to be a success. There was now a legacy of material, held by the London office both in written and electronic form that would aid the organization of future congresses. The electronic collection of papers would also help in the production of the Proceedings. Forty-seven countries were represented within all of the technical sessions.

The chairman recommended that the future congresses should embrace the electronic initiatives started at Calgary as this would also help for a quicker preparation of the programme. The posters should also continue to be an important and integrated part of the event. The Director General reported that since the last meeting much of the activity has been taken up with issues associated with the Calgary Congress and in particular the technical programme. In addition, and forming the majority of the report a number of issues have been progressed as recommended by the Development Committee. It was reported that there are a number of other countries in the process of putting together National Committees prior to requesting membership and these include, Bahrain and Ireland. We are also, in co-ordination with the Development Committee, in touch with a number of potential new members. Three contacts had been made during the Congress, Trinidad, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. These would be followed up by the Director General. It was reported that since the last EB meeting Qatar and Columbia have been elected as WPC members by postal vote of the PC. Also, the secretariat have moved offices and notified everyone of our new contact details. Updating the membership database and the WPC Directory is an on-going activity. The latest records will be available in Calgary for checking. The DG stated that the directory and the "inbrief" will be updated soon after the Calgary Congress and the latest versions will then be available on-line as well as in booklet form. It was felt that a lot could be achieved via the web site, which is in the process of being updated and a totally new version will be launched very soon after the Calgary Congress. Once this has been completed it will be updated on a regular basis and all of our publications will be available on-line.

The web site address is, www.world-petroleum.org The DG reported that the home page will also be the vehicle for some of the "Way Forward" activities suggested by the Development Committee. It was reported that an institutes and associations meeting had been organised as well as a national Secretaries meeting to take place during the Congress. Many people attended these meetings and a similar exercise was being planned for Rio. Another aim, discussed at the last Development Committee meeting was the organisation of specialist workshops and smaller meetings. It was agreed that this was a good way forward as long as the expenses for the meeting were covered within the member country and were not an additional expense on the WPC Secretariat. Dr Wang Tao presented his plan for a regional meeting (in China in 2001) at the last DC meeting in February 2000 and this was subsequently approved at the first EB in Calgary. The Committee thought this was a good idea and an ideal opportunity to link and provide some continuity between congresses. It was stated that the organisation and funding would be from the host country but would be under the auspices of the WPC and adhere to its rules and regulations. The EB committee approved the proposal on condition that its dates did not clash with the WEC meeting or subject the SPC committee to any major workload.

The Director General reported on his annual meetings with the following organisations; World Energy Council (WEC), International Union of producers and distributors of electrical energy (UNIPEDE), The Uranium Institute (UI), World Coal Institute (WCI), Forum and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), International Association of Energy Economists (IAEE). Recent items discussed, at these very constructive meetings included, avoiding clashes with future Conferences/Congresses and areas for future co-operation. Anibal Martinez presented an update of his report to the meeting (now also on the website. He thanked the member countries for the comments received at the end of 1999 and said that phase 1 and 2 of the work (started in 1980) was now complete. He reported that this work was now a joint undertaking between three organisations. The WPC, The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG). John Colligan (SPE President) and Dan Adamson (Executive Director) were also present for this portion of the PC meeting and welcomed the continuing collaboration between the organisations.

The highlight of the meeting was the election of the officers for the Next Congress Cycle. After two rounds of voting Eivald Røren (Norway) was elected as President. After two rounds of voting Wang Tao (China) was elected as Senior Vice President. After a single round of voting, József Tóth (Hungary), Mohammed Laouadi (Algeria) and Pedro Nicolas Baridon (Uruguay were elected as vice presidents. Peter Ellis Jones (UK) was elected to the position of Treasurer by acclamation The Brazilian Organising Committee thanked Canada for its assistance to date. A presentation was made showing the timetable and facilities for the Brazilian Congress. They reported that $700,000US funding for the Congress was already in place from CTPETRO (a government science and technology fund). The logo, Congress infrastructure and planning milestones were presented. Varig had also been selected as the Congress airline. The contact details are as follows:

The web site for the congress is www.wpc2002.com The telephone number is +5521282-2002 The fax number is +5521282-2005 The Congress center has a 2500 seat auditorium, plus 6 additional rooms each capable of holding 600people. There are also 4 exhibition halls (40,000 m2), parking for 5000 cars and 60 buses

The Executive Board Meeting Friday June 16th at 09:00 a.m. in the Alberta Room, Palliser Hotel, Calgary The new WPC President, Dr. E. M. Q. Røren welcomed members and introduced the newly-elected Officers to the Board. He congratulated the Canadian Organising Committee on the success of WPC-16 and thanked the National Committees of WPC for their contribution to the Congress. Dr Wang Tao's proposal to host a regional meeting in China in 2001 (item 525 in the EB46 Minutes) was approved by acclamation. Dr Randy Gossen was the only candidate for the post of SPC Chairman and his nomination was approved by acclamation. The President reminded members that the Executive Board delegates the organisation of the Congress programme to the Scientific Programme Committee in accordance with the WPC Constitution and that this should be taken into consideration in the selection of SPC members for the Rio2002 Congress cycle. The SPC Chairman reported that planning for Rio 2002 was already in process and reminded members that the eight SPC candidates should be considered on the basis of their ability to commit hard work and time to the programme as well as the showing the appropriate level of expertise to enhance science and technology. He confirmed that Renato Bertani was the host country SPC member (BRASOC). The result of the vote confirmed the following eight elected members of the SPC: Richard Lanaud (France), Jens Weitkamp (Germany), Fernando Samaniego V (Mexico), Alexander. A. Holst (Netherlands), Finn Roar Aamodt (Norway), George N. Gogonenkov (Russia), Husain J. Al-Sunaidi, (Saudi Arabia), Nahum Schneidermann (U.S.A).

The appointment of Dr Francisco Pradas Perez as Development Committee Chairman was approved by acclamation. The President reminded the Board that limiting the number of members in the Development Committee would help to ensure efficiency within the workings of the committee. The DC Chairman stated that he would report on the appointment of DC members in due course, with the possibility of holding DC meetings in conjunction with the meetings of the SPC in September 2000 (Rio) and February 2001 (London). Members approved to hold EB meetings in London early in 2001 and in Shanghai in September 2001.The Treasurer proposed that the London EB meeting be held at the Institute of Petroleum on February 23rd 2001 to coincide with IP Week. The proposal was approved. Proposals to bid for hosting WPC-18 were submitted by Egypt (by fax to London Secretariat), Iran (confirmed by Mr Hosseini) and Turkey (by letter). The President stated that the deadline for the submission of the bids was 31st January 2001, and that the voting on the venue for WPC-18 would take place on 31st July 2001.

The Dewhurst Lecture
Dewhurst lecture Click on link for Microsoft Word document

Questionnaire Results
Only around 11% of the questionnaires handed out (368 from 3100 delegates) were returned and analysed. Under normal circumstances 11% is a very good sample. Unfortunately the questionnaires returned do not have a very good regional or occupational distribution so have to be recognised as a biased sample. The graph below illustrates the distribution of the delegates (who replied to the questionnaire) by their stated organisation and the pie chart by their country of origin.

Summary - Organisation

Although statistically the sample has to be recognised as biased it is still interesting to review the thoughts of 368 of our attendees. The delegates were asked to rate the following events where 5 was excellent and 1 was poor.

The table below indicates the average score per event. General Information

The Congress facilities 3.4
The accompanying persons events 4.1
Pre- and Post-Congress, technical and accompanying person tours 3.5
The OPEC Lunch 4.7
The Opening Ceremony 4.1
The Closing Ceremony 4.3
The Plenary sessions 4.5
The RFPs 3.9
The Forums 3.9
The Posters associated with the Forums 3.1
The Interactive Technology Session 3.7
The Global Business Opportunities Centre 4.2
Overall value for money 4.1
Business Information Relevance of the Congress to your work 4.2
The Congress as a way to make new business contacts 4.5

Overall the Congress was rated at being very good to excellent. It was also considered to be very good value for money and relevant to their work and was a useful place to make new business contacts. The results for the events for accompanying people were generally good. Out of 368 replies any average above 4 has to be seen as excellent. The lowest score achieved was for the posters associated with the forums and that still rated over 3 where 3 is average. The highest score went to the OPEC lunch followed by the plenary sessions and the Global Business Opportunity Centre. The Congress facilities were considered above average. When filling out the questionnaire many respondents had not been on the post congress tour so the scores given were obviously based on their expectation. Not everybody filled in data on the tours.

Summary - Programme

Of the delegates who responded to the questionnaire, around 10-50% in each category had presented a paper so the feedback we do have, on this aspect of the Congress is perhaps more relevant. Most delegates thought that enough time was given to present papers and that the working days were not too long, although there was a preference to having more question time available. They felt that the plenary speakers were good value and that the RFP papers were of suitable quality. On the whole there was also a preference towards the 4 technical blocks, which were felt appropriate although a few wanted to see more. The results were 50/50 on whether 3 years was too long between Congresses, although an overwhelming majority would like to see a smaller event between Congresses. An overwhelming majority did not think that 4 days was too long and said that they were also prepared to go to the Rio Congress. The section of the form relating to the most and least useful forum did not contain enough data for a worthwhile analysis with less than 10% actually filling in this part of the questionnaire. When asked about new technical sessions/blocks the story was different with significant numbers of ideas being submitted.

Suggestions for new sessions/blocks

Suggestions for new sessions tended to aim towards splitting some of the sessions into more specific areas and giving topics such as e-commerce, natural gas , transport, renewable and energy efficiency, their own separate sessions. LCA and more policy, economics and legal aspects also seemed popular. The following is a complete list of the suggestions received:

• Advanced technologies
• Alternative fuels
• Clean development mechanism
• E-commerce and IT, GIS, MIS
• Economic instruments
• Economics (macro analysis)
• Education of the public
• End use in general
• End-use efficiency
• Energy efficiency generally
• Environmental block
• Gas hydrates
• Hydrogen production
• International agreements
• Joint implementation/CDM
• Legislation
• Life cycle, environmental analysis
• Logistics/economics
• Marketing/internet
• Methane emission reduction
• More plenary review papers
• Multiplex - overall systems analysis
• Natural gas - LNG, CNG, LPG etc
• No more required
• Petrochemicals -
• Policy and economics
• Poster session - more Process intensification
• Renewable energy and others
• Thematic workshops/short courses

Representative Sample of Questionnaire Comments

1. Have more time dedicated to the poster session during Congress time. Have them up all the time, all week
2. Avoid popular subjects being parallel to each other.
3. Ensure talks run to time particularly if running parallel sessions so that switching rooms is easy.
4. Need tighter controls from chairmen for a strict schedule
5. Plenary session needed more focus and took up too much Congress time.
6. Target plenary speakers more to specific topic stream.
7. More plenary sessions required they are excellent
8. Too many speakers in opening session, invited speakers should give an overview about state of the art technologies rather than past glories.
9. Congress could be broader
10. More time for Q&A after presentations. Needs more "cross-talk" between subjects. Place where active discussions on technical issues can take place.
11. Need even more time for networking and some free time for useful discussion. Shorter presentations/more discussion time.
12. Not enough time for discussion during technical sessions (would help if chairmen are more severe)
13. Poster session was not well organised and could be better quality; sharp contrast with exhibition by sponsors in GBOC
14. Do not allow other meetings to interfere with the presentation timing at the meetings.
15. Thematic workshops or short courses on particular topics would be welcomed, especially for newcomers in the field.
16. Have some input/debate from environmental organisations.

News from the Internet

Dates for the WPC Diary
2000 Spring meeting DC/CAC - 9-11th February 2000 11th - 15th June, 16th Congress, Calgary Canada.

New Directory
We are continually updating the dirctory which will appear soon on line. Weare also in the process of updating the printed version. Please let us know as soon as possible on any changes

Please !
It is important for future success of the Congresses that member countries do as much as they can within their own countries to publicise the Congress. This can be achieved in a number of way. Some of the most popular are Publishing the Congress on your website or providing links. Please link to www.wpc2000.com Advertising the event in any local newsletters. Distributing event details among members, local industry and government. Organising special events to promote business opportunities in Canada. Encouraging your colleagues to attend. Talking to you local press/media contacts Supplying information to relevant journals.

Member Countries
Current WPC members