Kuwait’s land area is only equivalent to Beijing, oil reserves account for about 10% of the world. For a long time, in this global large-scale oil producers competing stage, Europe and the United States occupy a dominant position, and there is no position of Chinese oil companies.
Today, the situation has changed: as of the end of the first quarter of this year, China enterprises in Kuwait to implement all kinds of engineering contracting projects 64, involving oilfield services, exploration, refining, housing, infrastructure, telecommunications and other fields, the total contract value of 13.7 billion EDTA 2Na
Chinese oil companies to enter the Kuwait market, through what kind of process? Working life in the desert, the Chinese oil workers are faced with what kind of environmental challenges? Reporter recently visited the southern part of Kuwait in the province of Ahmaddy Bourbon oil field, from which to find clues and answers.
With hard work to create performance, driving the Chinese oil equipment to the world
At noon, located in the desert area of the Burggan oil field temperature reached nearly 50 degrees Celsius, the surface temperature is as high as 70 degrees Celsius. The rolling heat wave challenges the limits of human existence. Surrounded by sporadic few camels, rarely seen other animals.
Sinopec International Petroleum Engineering Company bid for the oil drilling project is distributed here. In less than 10 years, from the “single-handedly” into the Kuwaiti market, and gradually break the European and American companies on the monopoly of drilling equipment, has now become the largest drilling contractor in Kuwait, China’s oil companies rely on the strength to win the market, To create extraordinary achievements, for the Kuwaiti oil production to make outstanding contributions.
2008, coincided with the outbreak of the international financial crisis, Sinopec International Petroleum Engineering Company Kuwait Branch General Manager Zhang Congbang led three teams to open up the Kuwait market. “First arrived in Kuwait, the law side is not enthusiastic about us, the Chinese people can complete the project on the high quality of doubt, I was thinking, we must break some of the world, for the Chinese oil companies name!” Zhang from the state reporter Frankly.
Zhang Congbang and his team first do is deep into the desert area, understand the competitors. Through the analysis, they found that Chinese companies and international well-known drilling companies, compared with a price advantage; compared with the local drilling company, a technical advantage.
In April 2009, in the fierce bidding competition, with 0.2% offer advantage, the Chinese company won the value of 860 million US dollars 15 drilling rig drilling contract, in one fell swoop into the Kuwait market.
Zhang Congbang memories, when the day and night even rotation, no time to cook, most of the time can only cook noodles.
Previously, the Middle East drilling market has been the world’s equipment in Europe and America, including the Kuwaiti National Oil Company, including the owners are required drilling equipment with a unified European and American equipment, top drive, sealers and other key equipment requirements more stringent. In this case, to promote China’s equipment to go out, Zhang Congbang led the team on the one hand take the initiative to contact with domestic manufacturers to understand the technical advantages of domestic equipment to help domestic manufacturers to establish and improve with the international quality control system, on the other hand, Technical parameters and data of domestic equipment with the Kuwaiti National Petroleum Company at all levels of management and technical exchanges and promotion, and invited the law to a number of equipment manufacturers in China, the field to understand the “Made in China” strength and level. “The Kuwaiti state oil company has agreed to introduce the Chinese equipment such as the sealer in the name of ‘trial’, and finally the quality and cheap Chinese equipment has been recognized by the party.
According to reports, the current introduction of the Kuwaiti market in China more than 4.3 billion yuan of equipment, equipment supporting localization of nearly 100%, not only to support the development of China’s oil equipment manufacturing enterprises, driven by China’s oil equipment to the world, but also broke the European and American equipment in the Middle East The monopoly.
“China ‘s manufacturing industry already has an excellent modern industry standard, and by using these machinery and equipment, our oil production is accelerating,” said Ayad Alkanda, vice president of Kuwait’ s National Oil Company, told this reporter.
“Every day from the drilling site back to the living area, covered with sand like unearthed cultural relics”
Work in the drilling site must wear helmets and sunglasses, the body covered with thick clothes, feet wearing thick shoes, in the sandy weather also wear facial towels. Do these protective, the reporter only 10 minutes in the field, the body is soaked, his face is burning hot feeling.
In the Kuwaiti and Iraqi border near the 282 well team, well captain Xu Jianxiong is commanding workers to drill operations. Reporters tested the temperature, up to 47 degrees Celsius. Xu Jianxiong said: “This is cool, the next two months, the maximum temperature will be 55 degrees Celsius.” Xu Jianxiong came to Kuwait in January 2015, due to a long time outdoors, the 80 after the Hunan young man with the same age People seem older than old.
Take out a bottle of 330 ml of mineral water, Xu Jianxiong said: “This water, we need to drink at least 20 bottles a day, because too much sweating, almost no need to go to the toilet.” This work environment for Human health is very unfavorable, the last return home leave, he found the kidney stones. Xu Jianxiong did not complain, “Since the choice to become an oil worker, I must do a good job!”
Sandstorm is also a severe test of the construction. The vast majority of Kuwait’s land was covered by the desert, into the dust storm season, the wind almost every day swept the sunny sand, it is suffocating and despair. In extreme weather conditions, most of the operations can only be suspended, but in some key production jobs, there are still workers to work. “Every day from the drilling site back to the living area, covered with sand like unearthed cultural relics, shaking clothes, falling sand full of twenty – three.”.
The technical strength of the enterprises in China to provide support for the realization of national strategy
In 2014 the international oil prices fell off the cliff, the global oil engineering services market suffered severe winter. Sinopec International Petroleum Engineering Company Kuwait branch contrarian, in the international bid again to get a 1.15 billion US dollars drilling contract, Sinopec overseas drilling the largest annual record, and became Kuwait’s largest drilling contractor. At present, the Kuwait branch has 53 rigs, accounting for more than 45% of the Kuwaiti drilling market share.
Kuwait, although rich in oil reserves, but the basic industry is weak, the lack of professional and technical personnel, Kuwait National Oil Company has always wanted to enhance oil production is powerless. In order to transform oil wealth into industrial capital and promote economic development, the Kuwaiti government has formulated a strategic target of 400 million barrels of oil production in 2020 and stabilized to 2030. The arrival of the Chinese petrochemical team, Kuwait to achieve national strategy to provide a huge practical support.
The number is the most convincing evidence: the rig start to accumulate 4249 drilling days in advance, equivalent to the Kuwaiti National Oil Company additional operations more than 100 production wells, the daily increase of 20 million barrels of crude oil; by the end of 2016, the cumulative completion of drilling 737 , Workover 2742, the average per well than the design of the well construction cycle ahead of 3 to 5 days, which means that every day 30 million barrels of crude oil. For Kuwait additional operations 200 production wells, and the equivalent of daily production of crude oil 300,000 barrels.
From the original three team to the largest local drilling service providers, Sinopec’s victory, the Central Plains, North China, Southwest and East China a total of five regional companies 53 teams, more than 3,000 Chinese and foreign employees work hard in Kuwait. To the first quarter of 2017, the cumulative new contract amount of 3.011 billion US dollars, as a symbol of cooperation in the project.
Chinese Ambassador to Kuwait Wang Di, said in an interview with this reporter, Kuwait is located on the Silk Road, Unicom, an important node, is the first response to “one side of the road” initiative and signed the relevant documents of the country, is China to build ” Important partner. “In the future, China will continue to cultivate new growth points for economic and trade cooperation to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the fields of oil and gas, energy, financial investment and science and technology, so as to make cooperation more So that the two peoples will benefit.