Program Overview Plenary Sessions Technical Program U.S. Program WPC Excellence Awards Dewhurst Award

2021 Dewhurst
Award Recipient
Dr. Daniel Yergin

Pulitzer-prize winner, leading energy expert, and author of The New Map: Energy Climate, and the Clash of Nations, Dr. Daniel Yergin, will be recognized for his exceptional contribution to the oil, gas, and energy industry with the highest honor of the World Petroleum Council, the Dewhurst Award, at the 23rd World Petroleum Congress in Houston, USA. This distinguished lifetime achievement award will celebrate his role as a global authority on energy, international politics, and economics.

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About The Dewhurst Award

The World Petroleum Council (WPC) celebrates an outstanding individual for their scientific and technological excellence in the oil and gas industry with the Dewhurst Award. The Award is a tribute to Thomas Dewhurst (1881-1973), President of the Institute of Petroleum, who organized the first World Petroleum Congress in 1933.

The Dewhurst Award is presented by the President of the WPC to an inspirational leader who has made an exceptional impact on the global oil, gas and energy industry and has demonstrated unusually high achievements over their lifetime. With these accomplishments, the individual is asked to deliver the Dewhurst Lecture at the World Petroleum Congress. There have only been ten prior recipients of the Dewhurst Award in the nearly 90 year history of the WPC so far.

In 2017, the Dewhurst Award was
given to Rex W. Tillerson.

Rex W. Tillerson, 69th United States Secretary of State and past Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation, was recognized for his “outstanding contribution to the oil and gas industry” with the highest honor of the World Petroleum Council, the Dewhurst Award. This distinguished lifetime achievement award celebrates his exceptional leadership of the largest publicly traded oil and gas company in the world over the past 10 years.

Past Dewhurst Lecture and Award winners

1991 Dr. Saleh A. Al-Athel, President, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia

1994 Sir. Peter Holmes, Former CEO, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, United Kingdom

1997 Kenneth T. Derr, Chairman and CEO, Chevron Corporation, USA

2000 Pierre Jacquard, Chairman and CEO, IFP, France

2002 Euan Baird, Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Schlumberger, USA

2005 Lord Browne of Madingley, Group Chief Executive, BP PLC, United Kingdom

2008 Ali Al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Saudi Arabia

2011 Guilherme De Oliveira Estrella, Chief Exploration, Production Officer, and Member of the Executive Board, Petrobras, Brazil

2014 Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Attiyah, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Energy and President of the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority, Qatar

2017 Rex W. Tillerson, Secretary of State, USA

Thomas Dewhurst

Thomas Dewhurst, A.R.S., F.G.S., Hon. F. Inst. Pet., born in Blackburn in 1881 lived to the age of 92.

Thomas Dewhurst, a large supporter of the Institution of Petroleum Technologists, joined the organization before it was founded in 1913. He was first elected to their Council in 1924, became Vice President in 1931, and served as President for two sessions 1933-34 and 1934-35. During those 11 years he was an active member of various committees of their Council. During Mr. Dewhurst’s presidency at the Institution that the decision was made to convene the first World Petroleum Congress in 1933.

Thomas Dewhurst continued to be active in the Institute of Petroleum until 1958. For his services with the Institute, he was made an Honorary Fellow in 1954.