Each year, the World Oil Awards Dinner benefits leading universities that provide education leading to a career in the petroleum industry. The 2008 beneficiary universities are Penn State University, Texas Tech University, The University of Alberta.

Since the inception of the World Oil Awards, thousands of dollars have been donated to the following universities:

Cranfield University
Delft University of Technology
Ecole du Petrole et des Moteurs
Great Socialist People of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Lousiana State University
Oklahoma State University
Rice University
Texas A&M University
The Colorado School of Mines
The University of Agostinho Neto – Angola
University of Aberdeen
University of Adelaide
University of Calgary
University of Ibadan
University of Oklahoma
University of Stellenbosch
University of Texas (Austin)
University of Wyoming
West Virginia University