October 2002
Columns
Drilling advances
17th World Petroleum Congress. From September 2 – 5, Rio de Janeiro’s huge Riocentro complex was the site of the 17th WPC, last held in Calgary in 2000. The WPC Conference was held in conjunction with Rio Oil & Gas Expo 2002, one of the world’s five largest oil industry exhibitions. This combined venue made for four days of concentrated emphasis on politics and the petroleum industry, from pumping a 20-bopd oil well in northeastern Brazil, to supplying the world with hydrocarbon energy for the next 50 years – without disturbing the environment in the process. English was the official language of WPC, but Portuguese dominated the exhibition.
