RPW - Refining & Petrochemicals World

What RPW - Refining & Petrochemicals World does

RPW - Refining & Petrochemicals World is a B2B event-driven community platform serving the downstream refining and petrochemicals industry across Asia. Founded circa 2013 and operated by Poseidan, the company is headquartered in Shanghai, China with a team of 6 employees. It curates a community of 2,000+ members drawn from 50+ countries, and has hosted 40+ events across 7+ countries, accumulating 9,000+ attendees over 8+ years of operation. Its flagship event series include RPW Asia, RPW China, RPW Thailand, and RPW Indonesia, with a virtual edition (RPW Asia Virtual) launched in 2022.

The platform's core product is a series of in-person and virtual conferences that combine conference programming, exhibition-style sponsorship, and structured 1-2-1 business meeting matching between delegates and solution providers. The technology stack is conventional event-management tooling rather than a proprietary AI-driven platform; the differentiator is the curated network of senior refiners, petrochemical operators, and technology licensors attracted to the events. Membership is free for industry participants, with the company monetizing through event sponsorship packages (with Platinum/Gold/Silver tiers) and delegate registration fees. Major recurring sponsors and partners include Honeywell UOP, Hexagon PPM, Axens, ExxonMobil, Shell, PT Pertamina, and PTT Energy Solutions.

RPW has extended its monetization beyond events with the launch of "The Downstream Waves" research report series, providing year-round content and industry analysis. The business model is therefore a hybrid of episodic event sponsorship revenue and recurring content/research revenue, with geographic concentration in China and Southeast Asia and a community footprint spanning 50+ countries. The company is privately held with no disclosed external funding and operates as a niche, high-trust intermediary in the downstream energy value chain.

Name

RPW - Refining & Petrochemicals World

Legal name

Refining & Petrochemicals World

Website

https://worldrefining.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Short description

RPW is a Shanghai-based B2B event and community platform serving the downstream refining and petrochemicals industry, operating 40+ conferences across 7+ countries with 2,000+ members and monetizing through event sponsorship and delegate registration.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industry Events & Conferences

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

akta.pro primary industry

Virtual/Hybrid Conference Production & Platform Management (THAHACAM)

Keywords

• Refining industry conferences
• Petrochemical networking events
• B2B event management
• Downstream industry community
• Business matchmaking services

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Event Sponsorship: Companies sponsor RPW events to gain logo exposure, speaking opportunities, guaranteed 1-2-1 meetings with decision makers, and specialized web page showcase. Various sponsorship tiers available.
2. Delegate Registration: Professionals pay to attend RPW conferences as delegates, gaining access to sessions, roundtables, networking zones, and 1-2-1 meeting tools.
3. Membership (Free): Free membership provides access to exclusive interviews, industry reports, conference materials, and networking with over 2000 members. Revenue is generated through member engagement leading to event attendance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

RPW organizes and hosts B2B conferences and exhibitions for the downstream refining and petrochemicals industry across Asia (RPW Asia, RPW China, RPW Thailand, RPW Indonesia). It runs a free industry membership community of 2000+ downstream professionals, produces exclusive interviews and industry reports, and provides a 1-2-1 business meeting matching service for event attendees and sponsors.

Product overview

RPW (Refining & Petrochemicals World) is a leading downstream community organized by Poseidan, offering a platform of interconnected services including annual industry conferences (RPW Asia, RPW China, RPW Thailand, RPW Indonesia), free membership with exclusive content access, 1-2-1 business meeting matching services, and research publications. The events serve as the primary offering, featuring hundreds of downstream professionals, expert speakers, and exhibition spaces, while the membership and content services complement the event experience by providing year-round access to industry insights and networking.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• RPW Industry Conferences Annual B2B conferences and exhibitions for the downstream refining and petrochemicals industry across Asia, including RPW Asia (600+ attendees), RPW China (600+ attendees), RPW Thailand (400+ attendees), and RPW Indonesia (400+ attendees). Each event features speakers, sponsors, exhibitions, networking zones, and roundtables focused on process innovation, petrochemical integration, digital transformation, operation optimization, refinery configuration, and safety excellence.
• RPW 1-2-1 Meeting Services Business meeting matching service that allows event attendees to view the full attendee list, schedule personal meetings with industry peers, and connect with downstream decision makers. The 1-2-1 Match Tool opens 15 days before events for registered attendees. Sponsors receive a customized meeting service with designated networking managers who reserve private areas and facilitate dialogue with required executives and companies.
• RPW Membership Free community membership providing access to exclusive interviews with industry leaders (Sinopec, Pertamina, PTT, Honeywell UOP, McKinsey), industry reports, speech videos, conference materials including post-event reports and brochures, and networking with over 2000 industry members from 50+ countries.
• The Downstream Waves Research report series delivered by the RPW Community Committee focusing on latest trends, voices, and insights on the global downstream industry. Inaugural edition covers pandemic impacts on the downstream sector.
• RPW China 2020 Report (2020-2021 Refining and Petrochemical Industry Development and Challenges Report [2020-2021炼油与石化行业发展与挑战报告]) Comprehensive industry report covering 2020 Chinese refining and petrochemical market developments, challenges, and strategic responses to pandemic and market overcapacity issues.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99% excellent rating from attendees at RPW Indonesia 2019
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• PoseidancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPoseidan is the parent professional event organizer company behind RPW. With a decade of experience, Poseidan connects various industry communities from energy and infrastructure sectors to biopharma and digital transformation. Every year, Poseidan holds more than 20 series of industry exhibitions, conferences and meetings, coordinates and arranges more than 3000 customized one-to-one business talks, and helps more than 1000 companies facilitate business matching.
• PT PertaminacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPT Pertamina is an Indonesian state-owned oil and natural gas corporation and official partner for RPW Indonesia events. Pertamina carries out refinery and petrochemical refinery management with 6 Refinery Units and total capacity of 1,046.70 thousand barrels.
• PTT Energy Solutions (PTTES)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPTTES is established in 2011 by four shareholders: PTT, TOP, PTTGC and IRPC. They capitalize extensive technical and operational expertise to enhance business performances of customers in Refining and Petrochemical industries.
• Thai Oil Public Company LimitedmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThaioil is an event partner for RPW Thailand with petroleum refining capacity of approximately 12,000 million liters per year, about 21% of Thailand's overall refining capacity and capable of meeting 35% of domestic petroleum demand.
• ARC Advisory GroupminorKnowledge PartnerKnowledge partner providing industry expertise and thought leadership content for RPW events and insights.
• Honeywell UOPmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatinum/Bronze sponsor for multiple RPW events, providing technology expertise and industry insights. Regional Sales Director Paul Allan participated as speaker.
• Hexagon PPMmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerSilver sponsor for RPW Asia Virtual 2022, providing process optimization and asset management solutions expertise.
• AxensmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerBronze sponsor providing refining and petrochemical processing technology solutions for RPW events.
• ExxonMobil Catalysts and LicensingmajorGTM or Marketing PartnerAssociate sponsor for RPW Thailand events, providing catalyst and licensing expertise for downstream processing.
• Shell Catalysts & TechnologymajorGTM or Marketing PartnerAssociate sponsor providing refining and petrochemical technology solutions at RPW events.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• World Refining Association: Runs flagship downstream/refining conferences (e.g., Downstream) with a similar value proposition of 1-2-1 meetings, operator attendance, and technology vendor sponsorship; directly comparable to RPW's RPW Asia/China/Thailand format.
• ICIS (Independent Commodity Intelligence Services): Provides petrochemical market intelligence and runs industry conferences targeting the same downstream operators, licensors, and technology vendors as RPW.
• Chemical Week: Long-running petrochemical intelligence and events brand with conferences targeting similar operator and technology vendor segments as RPW.

Broad incumbents

• S&P Global Platts Conferences: Operates large-scale global commodity/refining/petrochemical conferences and workshops; broader portfolio and global brand, but overlapping customer base and sponsorship pool with RPW.
• Argus Media: Runs petrochemical and refining industry events alongside its commodity price reporting business; overlaps with RPW on target sponsors and senior industry attendees in Asia.
• Reuters Events (Energy): Organizes large energy and petrochemical industry conferences globally; comparable B2B event-driven model with broader geographic reach than RPW.
• Informa Markets (Energy / Downstream events): Large global B2B events operator with downstream and energy event franchises; broader scale and portfolio than RPW, but overlapping downstream audience and sponsorship budgets.

Regional players

• Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC): Long-standing annual Asian petrochemical industry conference; competes with RPW Asia for regional petrochemical operator attendance and sponsorship dollars.
• GPCA (Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association): Industry association running flagship downstream/petrochemical forums in the Middle East; comparable model of association-backed events, but serving a different (Middle East) geography than RPW.
• AFPM (American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers): U.S.-focused refining and petrochemical industry association running major industry conferences; similar downstream audience but primarily North American membership.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about RPW - Refining & Petrochemicals World