By Pratap John
Chief Business Reporter

Al-Ghanim (centre) with Ali and QNCC general manager Adam Mather-Brown addressing the WPC industry briefing at the QNCC yesterday. Picture: Shemeer Rasheed
The 20th World Petroleum Congress, to be held in Doha from December 4 and attended by 5,000 delegates, 500 speakers and 50 ministers, will be a carbon-neutral event, host Qatar Petroleum said yesterday.
The WPC and international law firm Baker & McKenzie have acquired sufficient carbon credits to offset the anticipated emissions associated with the event, which will be held at Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC), a green-technology venue.
The credits will be progressively retired to cover all the verified emissions from the WPC shortly after it concludes. The organising committee insisted upon strict criteria for any offsetting projects.
The event is also developing a detailed recycling plan in conjunction with Qatar Foundation to replicate at the QNCC (during the five-day congress and exhibition), the recycling operation currently being used at QF.
This is the first time since its establishment in 1933 that the triennial World Petroleum Congress will be hosted in the Middle East.
Addressing an industry briefing at the QNCC yesterday, Issa Bin Shahin al-Ghanim, chairman of the 20th WPC Organising Committee, said, “This is being designed to update stakeholders of the progress of the preparations for the 20th WPC as well as provide a comprehensive tour of the Qatar National Convention Centre.”
The theme of this year’s congress is ‘Energy Solutions for All: Promoting Cooperation, Innovation and Investment’.
The WPC is the largest event of its kind in the world and is hosted every three years by a member nation of the World Petroleum Council.
The 66-member council is the only international organisation representing all aspects of the petroleum sector and includes both Opec and non-Opec member countries, representing more than 95% of the global energy market.
Reda I Ali, WPC Organising Committee project director, said, “We are proud to confirm that the congress is set to be the biggest in WPC history. In parallel, the World Petroleum exhibition, which has been sold out for months is already the biggest in WPC history, by nearly 20% over the 19th WPC held in Madrid in 2008.” 
The WPC this year has also confirmed the support of more than 50 companies including some of the world’s biggest brands, as partners and sponsors of the event. This includes international oil companies and the national oil companies of several countries, as well as multinational leaders in analytics, law, marketing and communication.
The plenary sessions will bring together ‘influential industry leaders’ from around the world. The opening plenary will feature ministers from the region, including HE Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, the Minister of Energy and Industry; Mohamed al- Hamli, UAE Minister of Energy; Dr Mohamed Mohsen al-Busairi, Kuwait’s State Minister of National Assembly Affairs and chairman of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation; Dr Mohamed bin Hamad al-Rumhy, Oman’s Minister of Oil and Gas; Dr Abdul Hussain bin Ali Mirza, Bahrain’s Minister of Oil and Gas and Rostam Ghasemi; Iran’s Minister of Petroleum.
Following the opening plenary with oil and gas ministers from the Middle East, ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson and Shell CEO Peter Voser will be joining Dr al-Sada, in a high-level presentation on Qatar’s role in the future energy landscape.
Other prominent dignitaries include Robert Dudley (BP), Russia’s Energy Minister Sergei Schmatko, Christophe de Margerie (Total), José Sergio Gabrielli (Petrobras, Brazil) and Nobel Peace Prize winner FW de Klerk (South Africa).
For the first time in the congress’ history, the organising committee will be presenting awards to exhibitors based on the ‘three Rs’ – reduce, reuse and recycle. The awards will offer an opportunity for exhibitors to showcase their awareness of sustainability issues through the design and operation of their stand.