IP Week (International Petroleum Week) is the annual conference of the global oil trading, refining, and energy finance community held in London each February and organised by the Energy Institute. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious petroleum industry gatherings in the world, dating back to 1928. Attendees include oil traders, refinery executives, shipping and tanker operators, commodity finance professionals, and energy analysts. IP Week is less focused on production and upstream than ADIPEC or CERAWeek; its primary audience is the downstream, trading, and financial side of the oil industry.

When is IP Week 2027?

IP Week 2027 is expected to take place in the week of 22–26 February 2027 in London, following its traditional late-February timing. The main conference day is typically the Tuesday or Wednesday of that week, with associated dinners, awards, and side events throughout the week. The Energy Institute confirms exact dates approximately 6 months in advance.

Why does IP Week matter for oil and fuel prices?

IP Week brings together the community that physically trades and finances the flow of crude and refined products around the world. Conversations at IP Week shape near-term market sentiment — particularly on refinery utilisation, crack spread expectations, tanker rates, and product arbitrage flows. The event occurs in late February, when the northern hemisphere heating season is ending and refiners are switching production toward summer gasoline grades — making it a natural point for market participants to assess the spring outlook. IP Week is also where major annual contract negotiations and strategic commercial discussions often advance.

IP Week 2027: International Petroleum Week London

Name: IP Week 2027
Start: 2027-02-22T08:00:00+00:00
End: 2027-02-26T18:00:00+00:00
Location: InterContinental London Park Lane / Energy Institute, London

Published 1 October 2026 · Updated 15 October 2026

Dates Week of 22–26 February 2027 (exact date TBC)

Venue InterContinental London Park Lane, London, UK

Organiser Energy Institute (EI)

Scale ~2,000–3,000 senior industry professionals

Focus Oil trading, refining economics, energy finance, shipping, product markets

IP Week is London's premier petroleum industry gathering — a concentrated week each February when the global oil trading, refining, finance, and shipping community convenes to assess the year ahead. Unlike ADIPEC (upstream and production) or CERAWeek (executive strategy), IP Week's audience is primarily the downstream and trading community: the people who move crude and products around the world and set the commercial terms that ultimately determine wholesale fuel prices.

For live wholesale and retail fuel prices, use the fuel price explorer. For crude price fundamentals entering 2027, see our analysis of the 2025 oil price crash and the OPEC+ production strategy 2026.

Expected agenda themes for IP Week 2027

Session theme	Key questions	Relevance to fuel prices
Crude price outlook 2027	OPEC+ strategy; US shale response; demand trajectory	Crude is ~40–55% of pump price
Refinery economics & margins	Crack spread normalisation post-2022; new ME capacity	Refinery margin is ~5–15% of pump price
Diesel market outlook	Middle East refinery wave; European demand decline; new supply vs. demand	Gasoil crack spread drives diesel pump prices
Tanker market & shipping costs	Suez disruption scenarios; Red Sea risk; VLCC rates	Freight costs affect delivered crude and product prices
Carbon and biofuels policy	EU ETS impact on refiners; SAF mandates; RED III	Carbon costs increasingly embedded in product prices
Energy transition & demand peak	IEA 2030 oil demand peak; EV adoption acceleration	Long-term pump price demand trajectory

The trading community at IP Week

IP Week's character is shaped by its trading-heavy attendee mix. Unlike conferences dominated by executives and policymakers, IP Week draws the commodity traders, freight brokers, and risk managers who execute physical oil transactions daily. Key attendee categories:

Physical crude traders: Vitol, Trafigura, Gunvor, Mercuria, Shell Trading, BP Trading, TotalEnergies Trading
Product traders: Teams focused on gasoline, gasoil, jet fuel, naphtha, and fuel oil arbitrage
Refinery commercial managers: European and global refiners hedging margins and sourcing crude
Shipping and tanker operators: VLCC, Aframax, and product tanker owners
Commodity finance: Banks and financiers structuring trade finance and structured commodity products
Price reporting agencies: Platts (S&P Global), Argus, ICIS — the institutions that publish benchmark prices

For context on how trading benchmarks are set, see our Brent crude glossary entry and our gasoil glossary entry.

Refining outlook heading into 2027

The refining market entering IP Week 2027 will be shaped by:

New Middle Eastern capacity: Kuwait Al-Zour and Saudi Jizan refineries approaching full run rate, adding significant distillate supply to Atlantic Basin markets. See our diesel price outlook 2027.
European refinery rationalisation: Continued closure pressure on older, less-complex European refineries as margins compress from new competition
Dangote ramp-up: Nigeria's 650,000 bpd Dangote refinery increasingly present in Atlantic Basin product flows. See our Nigeria fuel market analysis.
Biofuels compliance cost: RED III HVO mandates increasing the cost of European biofuel compliance for refiners and blenders

IP Week: a century of petroleum conferences

IP Week traces its origins to 1928, when the Institute of Petroleum (now the Energy Institute) began organising its annual conference. It has been held continuously — with wartime exceptions — for nearly a century, making it the longest-running major petroleum industry conference. Its late-February timing was historically chosen to coincide with the end of the heating season and the beginning of refinery maintenance ("turnaround") season, when the industry pauses to assess the supply situation.

For the broader conference calendar see our previews of CERAWeek 2027, ADIPEC 2027, and the OPEC Seminar 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is IP Week? IP Week (International Petroleum Week) is the annual London conference of the global oil trading, refining, finance, and shipping community, organised by the Energy Institute. It dates back to 1928, making it one of the world's oldest petroleum industry events. Its primary audience is the downstream trading and finance community rather than upstream producers. Held each late February, it marks the transition from heating season to summer fuel season in the refining calendar.: IP Week (International Petroleum Week) is the annual London conference of the global oil trading, refining, finance, and shipping community, organised by the Energy Institute. It dates back to 1928, making it one of the world's oldest petroleum industry events. Its primary audience is the downstream trading and finance community rather than upstream producers. Held each late February, it marks the transition from heating season to summer fuel season in the refining calendar.
When is IP Week 2027? IP Week 2027 is expected in the week of 22–26 February 2027 in London, following its traditional late-February timing. Exact dates are confirmed by the Energy Institute approximately 6 months in advance. The main conference day is typically mid-week, with associated dinners and awards events surrounding it.: IP Week 2027 is expected in the week of 22–26 February 2027 in London, following its traditional late-February timing. Exact dates are confirmed by the Energy Institute approximately 6 months in advance. The main conference day is typically mid-week, with associated dinners and awards events surrounding it.
Why does IP Week matter for oil and fuel prices? IP Week is where the physical trading and refining community — the people who actually move crude and products and set wholesale prices — gathers to discuss the year's outlook. Conversations on crack spread expectations, tanker rates, product arbitrage flows, and refinery utilisation at IP Week directly feed into commercial decisions that determine wholesale fuel prices. Its late-February timing is also market-relevant: refiners are transitioning from winter diesel/heating oil production toward summer gasoline grades, making it a natural assessment point for the spring price outlook.: IP Week is where the physical trading and refining community — the people who actually move crude and products and set wholesale prices — gathers to discuss the year's outlook. Conversations on crack spread expectations, tanker rates, product arbitrage flows, and refinery utilisation at IP Week directly feed into commercial decisions that determine wholesale fuel prices. Its late-February timing is also market-relevant: refiners are transitioning from winter diesel/heating oil production toward summer gasoline grades, making it a natural assessment point for the spring price outlook.