ISTANBUL (Sputnik) — The 22nd World Petroleum Congress (WPC) 2017 opened in Turkey’s Istanbul on Sunday.
The Congress, which will conclude on Thursday, expects 50 ministers, 500 policy makers, 500 CEOs and 5,000 delegates from 100 countries, as well as 20,000 exhibition visitors. The event is conducted by the World Petroleum Council, which is a non-advocacy, non-political organization with charitable status in the United Kingdom and has accreditation as a non-governmental organization from the United Nations.
Such prominent politicians and executives as Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, the secretary general of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Ben van Beurden, the CEO of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell and Bob Dudley, the head of the British Petroleum (BP) corporation, among others, will attend the event and make speeches at the plenary session.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak is expected to participate in the event, during which he may meet with Darren Woods, the CEO of ExxonMobil oil giant in order to discuss the dispute over Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project.
The previous 21st World Petroleum Congress took place in Moscow in 2014. At the closing ceremony, Novak handed the WPC Symbol over from Russia to Turkey.
