What is IP Week (International Energy Week)?

IP Week — now officially called International Energy Week — is the Energy Institute's flagship annual conference, held every February in London. Originally the Institute of Petroleum's (IP) annual conference (the 'IP' name persists as shorthand), it brings together energy industry executives, traders, government officials, and analysts for a week of conference sessions, networking dinners, and deal-making. Key events during the week include the Energy Institute Annual Conference, the Wells Lunch, the UK Petroleum Industry Association (UKPIA) dinner, and various sector-specific roundtables. Attendance is typically 2,000–5,000 professionals from the upstream, downstream, trading, and finance sectors.

What were the key themes at IP Week 2025?

IP Week 2025 (February 17–21, 2025) key themes included: (1) UK North Sea Future of Energy — the Energy Profits Levy (windfall tax) impact on North Sea investment, licensing moratorium debate, and Rosebank field development uncertainty under the new Labour government; (2) Global energy security — Europe's progress diversifying away from Russian gas, LNG infrastructure investment, and storage adequacy for winter 2025–26; (3) IRA competitiveness — US Inflation Reduction Act subsidies drawing clean energy investment from Europe and the UK; (4) Downstream transformation — UK refinery capacity (Grangemouth closure decision, Fawley expansion), biofuel mandates, and HVO supply chains; (5) Energy transition finance — cost of capital for clean energy vs continued upstream investment.

How does IP Week affect UK fuel prices?

IP Week does not directly set fuel prices, but the conference signals from UK and international energy executives, refinery capacity announcements, and North Sea investment outlook discussions affect medium-term UK fuel supply. UK North Sea decline (production has been falling since 1999) means the UK is increasingly dependent on imports of both crude oil and refined products. Refinery capacity announcements (the Grangemouth closure decision, Essar's Stanlow, Essar/Prax challenges) affect the UK's domestic refining capacity and the margin between wholesale product costs and pump prices.

IP Week 2025 — International Energy Week

Name: IP Week 2025 — International Energy Week
Start: 2025-02-17T09:00:00+00:00
End: 2025-02-21T18:00:00+00:00
Location: InterContinental London Park Lane

Published 1 January 2025 · Updated 19 October 2026

EventInternational Energy Week (IP Week) 2025

Dates17–21 February 2025

VenueInterContinental London Park Lane, London, UK

OrganiserEnergy Institute

Attendance~2,000–5,000 energy professionals

IP Week — the Energy Institute's International Energy Week — is the UK's premier annual energy industry gathering, held each February in London. The 2025 edition took place against a backdrop of significant uncertainty in UK energy policy: a new Labour government had taken office in July 2024, the North Sea windfall tax (Energy Profits Levy) was being extended, and the Grangemouth refinery and petrochemical complex faced closure decisions. These structural UK energy issues dominated the downstream sessions, while global themes of LNG supply, IRA competitiveness, and the energy-transition trajectory set the broader conference context.

For the 2026 edition, see our IP Week 2026. For 2027, see our IP Week 2027 preview. For UK petrol price context, see our UK petrol prices 2026.

Key themes at IP Week 2025

Theme	Key issue discussed
North Sea investment climate	Energy Profits Levy extended; licensing pause; Rosebank legal challenge; operator capital reallocation
UK energy security	Gas storage adequacy; LNG import terminal utilisation; Norway pipeline reliability
IRA (US) competitiveness	European clean energy investment flowing to US; UK government response options
UK refinery capacity	Grangemouth closure; Stanlow (Essar) financial challenges; HVO mandate impact on refiners
Energy transition finance	Cost of capital differentials; green premiums; transition risk in oil major portfolios

North Sea: the 2025 investment climate

A dominant IP Week 2025 topic was the deteriorating North Sea investment environment under Labour's extended and increased Energy Profits Levy:

The Energy Profits Levy was raised to 38% in November 2024 (from 35%), taking North Sea effective tax rates to approximately 78% — among the highest in the world for comparable basins
Shell announced acceleration of planned North Sea divestments; TotalEnergies and other operators signalled reduced UK drilling activity
The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) issued a stark warning that without investment, UK North Sea production could fall by more than expected, increasing import dependency and UK energy security risk

This matters for UK fuel prices: declining domestic crude and condensate production reduces UK refinery throughput options and increases exposure to international product import prices. For UK fuel price detail, see our UK petrol prices 2026 analysis.

UK downstream at IP Week 2025

The downstream petroleum sector — refining, fuel distribution, and retail — featured prominently given major structural challenges:

Grangemouth: PetroIneos announced the phased closure of Grangemouth refinery (Scotland's only oil refinery) by 2025, transitioning the site to an import terminal. Scotland will lose domestic refining capacity and become entirely dependent on imported refined products
Stanlow refinery (Essar): Financial and operational challenges at Stanlow (UK's second-largest refinery) raised supply security concerns discussed at multiple IP Week sessions
HVO mandate expansion: The UK's E10 petrol mandate and growing HVO blend requirements create new supply chain challenges for refiners and blenders. For HVO context, see our HVO renewable diesel guide

Frequently asked questions

What is IP Week (International Energy Week)? IP Week (International Energy Week) is the Energy Institute's annual conference, held every February at the InterContinental London Park Lane. It is the UK's premier energy industry event, drawing 2,000–5,000 upstream, downstream, trading, and finance professionals. The 'IP' name originates from the Institute of Petroleum, which merged into the Energy Institute in 2003.: IP Week (International Energy Week) is the Energy Institute's annual conference, held every February at the InterContinental London Park Lane. It is the UK's premier energy industry event, drawing 2,000–5,000 upstream, downstream, trading, and finance professionals. The 'IP' name originates from the Institute of Petroleum, which merged into the Energy Institute in 2003.
What were the key themes at IP Week 2025? Key IP Week 2025 themes: North Sea investment under extended Energy Profits Levy (78% effective tax rate, operator withdrawals); Grangemouth refinery closure decision; UK energy security post-Ukraine; IRA (US) competition drawing European clean energy investment to the US; and HVO/biofuel mandate supply chain challenges. UK downstream resilience was a dominant concern.: Key IP Week 2025 themes: North Sea investment under extended Energy Profits Levy (78% effective tax rate, operator withdrawals); Grangemouth refinery closure decision; UK energy security post-Ukraine; IRA (US) competition drawing European clean energy investment to the US; and HVO/biofuel mandate supply chain challenges. UK downstream resilience was a dominant concern.
How does IP Week affect UK fuel prices? IP Week signals UK industry investment intentions and refinery capacity trends. Grangemouth's closure means Scotland now relies entirely on imported refined products, raising supply costs. North Sea production decline increases UK crude import dependency. Reduced domestic refining capacity raises UK exposure to European wholesale product prices — creating a potential medium-term upward pressure on UK pump prices versus a scenario with stronger domestic refining.: IP Week signals UK industry investment intentions and refinery capacity trends. Grangemouth's closure means Scotland now relies entirely on imported refined products, raising supply costs. North Sea production decline increases UK crude import dependency. Reduced domestic refining capacity raises UK exposure to European wholesale product prices — creating a potential medium-term upward pressure on UK pump prices versus a scenario with stronger domestic refining.