Participants of the Russian National Committee of the World Petroleum Council general meeting (plenum) in Moscow summed up the four-year cycle of the Association's activities, discussed future plans and made a number of personnel-related decisions.
Opening the meeting, Valery Yazev, Chairman of the Russian National Committee of the WPC, underlined that even total sanctions imposed on Russia, the World Petroleum Council remains one of the few international organisations that continues constructive interaction with the representatives of our country. In this regard, the activities of the Russian National Committee of the WPC become particularly important for the preservation and development of professional contacts in the oil and gas sector and for the promotion of our country's position on the international arena.
Vlada Streletskaya, Director of the Russian National Committee of the World Petroleum Council, presented the report on the Association's activities for the period from 2018 to 2022. She noted that maintaining Russia's stable position in the WPC is mostly the result of the active role that the Russian National Committee has played in the World Petroleum Council over the years. The Association's activities during the reporting period have also contributed to strengthening Russia's authority.
In June 2019, RNC WPC held the most successful youth forum in the history of the World Petroleum Council in St. Petersburg. This large-scale international event attracted 1,345 participants from 62 countries, who were offered an extensive technical and diverse cultural programme.
RNC WPC was actively involved in shaping the technical programme for the 23rd World Petroleum Congress, to be held in December 2021 in Houston, USA. Following a competitive selection process, seven Russian representatives proposed by RNC WPC were elected as heads of the technical forums at the 24th World Petroleum Congress to be held in Calgary (Canada) in September 2023. This result forms the prerequisites for the promotion of our country's position at the Congress.
The renewed RNC WPC Programme Committee has enormous expertise. The Programme Committee provides practical assistance to RNC WPC in preparing Russian participation in major international events. An expert online platform RusPetroleum has been established.
The experience gained by RNC WPC during the preparation and holding the 6th Future Leaders Forum of the WPC has enabled the Association to strengthen its youth activities. RNC WPC Youth Committee has been established and is successfully developing its activities. A number of high-impact youth projects are being implemented as part of the Energy League programme, including EnerGenious case-marathons, winter schools, mentoring programmes, and Golden Legacy scholarships. Preparations are currently underway for the VII WPC Youth Forum, which will be held in Almaty in autumn 2022.
The Plenum approved the report and endorsed the RNC WPC activities. They also heard and approved the reports and work plans of the Programme Committee and the Youth Committee of the RNC WPC presented by Academician Alexander Nekipelov, Chairman of the Programme Committee, and Grigory Krivilev, Chairman of the Youth Committee.
Due to the expiry of the terms of office of the RNC WPC leaders, the plenum took a number of personnel decisions. The authorities of Valery Yazev, Chairman of the RNC WPC, and Vlada Streletskaya, director of the Association, were extended for the next four years.
The participants of the general meeting observed a minute of silence in memory of A. Zolotukhin, who passed away in March 2022. Anatoly Zolotukhin made a significant contribution to strengthening the authority of the Russian oil and gas industry and developing international cooperation. For 19 years he represented Russia in the Executive Committee of the World Petroleum Council, and since 2017 he has been Senior Vice-President of the WPC. A.Zolotukhin was also Deputy Chairman of the RNC WPC.
Yuri Sentyurin, Ambassador at Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, was elected as a Deputy Chairman of the RNC WPC.
It was also decided to nominate Kirill Molodtsov, Chairman of the Editorial Board of the National Industry Magazine “Oil and Gas Vertical”, to the position of Senior Vice President of the WPC. K. Molodtsov has worked in the oil and gas industry for more than 20 years; in 2015 – 2018, he was Deputy Chairman of the RNC WPC. He played a significant role in the success of the 6th WPC Youth Forum as Deputy Chairman of the Organising Committee. The election will be held on 1 October 2022 in Almaty.
At the plenum, the Department of Subsoil Use and Natural Resources of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra was accepted as a member of the RNC WPC. "We have been cooperating with the Administration of the Autonomous Okrug for a long time and have implemented a number of joint projects. We see the initiative of the authorities of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra to become a member of the RNC WPC as a confirmation of the success of our cooperation and a possibility to develop our joint activities. Support of the Administration of Russia's largest oil region is very important for us," noted V. Streletskaya.
The participants of the plenum discussed a number of other issues related to the current state of affairs and prospective development of the Association.
RNC WPC Programme Committee is currently preparing a conference on "Social Responsibility of the Oil and Gas Business: Energy Transition, Ecology, Link of Generations" to be held on 14 September at the site of the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum. The conference proposes to assess new challenges and discuss a plan of action in the face of escalating sanctions. Among the speakers confirmed for the conference are Academician Alexey Kontorovich, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vasily Bogoyavlensky, First Vice President of Gazprombank Natalia Tretyak, and Chief Director for Energy at the Institute of Energy and Finance Alexey Gromov.