National Petroleum Council (US)
Us federal oil and gas advisory and advocacy committee
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Through World War II, Fuel and Petroleum
Purpose
According to its own statements, the NPC formulates recommendations for the U.S. Secretary of Energy, conducts in-depth studies on key energy policy issues, and brings together a cross-section of the energy community—voices from industry, academia, environmental protection, indigenous communities, and the public interest.
NPC Reports
The NPC prepares publicly available reports which are the result of studies conducted at the bequest of the Secretary of Energy by subject matter experts. Since its inception in 1946, the Council has prepared over 200 reports.
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History
The councils origins date back to the collaboration between the U.S. government and U.S. industry during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Harold L. Ickes as "Petroleum Coordinator for Defense," charging him with coordinating the supply of petroleum—specifically military fuels—which was of vital importance to the war effort. Ickes recognized the critical significance of petroleum and established the "Petroleum Industry War Council" with the following mandate:
...mobilize most effectively all resources and abilities of the petroleum industry to deal with the emergency conditions under which the industry must operate, and to provide a competent, responsible and representative body.
— Harold L. Ickes
Roosevelt's successor praised and acknowledged the close cooperation between government and industry after the end of World War II. Truman thus transformed the Petroleum Administration for War, no longer needed after the war, into a new organization with new responsibilities:
...steps should now be taken to assure coordination in peacetime of the Federal Government's many interests in petroleum, petroleum products, and associated hydrocarbons.
— Harry S. Truman, 1946
Thus, the council was established in 1946 at the request of President Harry S. Truman.
In 1977, its role was transferred to the (then) new Department of Energy (DOE), and the council is now formally chartered as Federal Advisory Committee with private funding.
Committee
The NPC consists of about 200 members, organized and appointed by the Secretary of Energy. Individual members serve without compensation as representatives of their industry as a whole, not as lobbyists for specific companies. The committee is organized to reflect the geographic extent of the oil and gas industry while also covering all industry sectors and representing both large and small companies.