20th World Petroleum Congress First to Be Held in Middle East

Qatar has won the bid to host the 20th World Petroleum Congress (WPC) in 2011, widely recognized as the "Olympics of the oil and gas industry”. This is the first time in the WPC's 75year history that the premier event for the global oil and gas industry will be held in the Middle East.

Following the vote during the annual WPC Council meeting in Uruguay last week, Dr. Randall G. Gossen, the President of the World Petroleum Council, congratulated the representatives from Qatar, HE the Minister of State for Energy and Industry, Mohamed alSada, and Qatar’s WPC National Committee Chairman Abdulla Salatt. “We are pleased that Doha will be hosting the 20th World Petroleum Congress in 2011. It is long overdue that the Congress should be held in the region where the majority of the world’s petroleum resources are based. With the strong commitment and support from the government of Qatar, we look forward to a truly historic event for the petroleum industry in 2011.”

The WPC President also acknowledged the other participants in the bid and praised them for an excellent campaign. The Turkish city of Istanbul and Aberdeen of the UK were the two other candidate cities to host the 20th WPC. “We were delighted to have such strong candidates with Turkey, Qatar and the UK this time round. Their year long promotion of their bids around the world set a high standard for the preparation of the Congress and has invigorated and strengthened the World Petroleum Council’s role in the industry today.”

The World Petroleum Congress and its exhibition, held every three years, is regarded as the largest event of its kind for the oil and gas industry. The 19th WPC will be held in Madrid, Spain, next June and is expected to attract more than 4,000 delegates and 500 exhibitors. For a full programme and more information on how to register please go to our website.