The World Petroleum Council (WPC)

The World Petroleum Council (WPC) is a non-political organisation with charitable status in the United Kingdom and has accreditation as a Non-Governmental Organisation from the United Nations.

The World Petroleum Council includes over 65 member countries from around the world representing over 95% of global oil and gas production and consumption. The President of the World Petroleum Council has been Tor Fjaeran (Norway) since 2017. 

The main activity of WPC is dedicated to the promotion of sustainable use and management of the world’s petroleum resources for the benefit of all countries.

The WPC’s 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.

Any country wishing to apply for membership of the WPC should establish a National Committee incorporating a group of individuals representing the range of oil and gas interests operating within the country. The National Oil Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan (NOCRA) was established on July 8, 2005.

The World Petroleum Congress (WPC) is organised every three years by the World Petroleum Council, with the aim of hosting a global discussion of oil and gas issues. WPC is a well-known international platform for the efficient use of oil resources, the application of innovations in this field and the exchange of experience between oil and gas producers and consumers.

After a year of campaigning, the members of the Council choose the country that will host the next WPC by secret ballot, four years in advance during every Council Meeting.

The last, 22nd WPC, was held in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2017. The next, 23rd WPC, will be held in Houston, USA, in 2020. The 24th WPC will be held in Calgary, Canada, in 2023.

On January 9, 2019, Azerbaijan put forward its bid to host the 24th WPC of the World Petroleum Council, in 2023. Along with Azerbaijan, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina and Kazakhstan were also among the candidate countries. In the voting, held during the Council Meeting of WPC, which took place in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 23, 2019, Azerbaijan came second in the final with Canada by one vote (21-20). 

Recognising a need for the petroleum industry to have a focused platform at which it could address its leadership in responsible operations, international cooperation and to give sustainable development a higher priority, the World Petroleum Council decided to launch a new initiative, organising the World Petroleum Council Leadership Conferences in 2015 and 2019. The aim of these conferences was to bring together industry leaders to discuss and demonstrate the best available technologies and practices from around the world where the petroleum industry operates.
The 1st Leadership Conference was held in Tromso, Norway, and the 2nd Leadership Conference was held in Mumbai, India. The delegation of the Ministry of Energy attended this event and carried out campaigning to hold the 24th WPC in Baku.

The World Petroleum Council Youth Forum is held every three years, recognising the importance of involving more younger people in the oil and gas sector. The first Youth Forum was held in Athens, Greece, in 2004, and the last one was held in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 23-28, 2019.