WINTER 2011/12 No181 in ISSUE 181 WINTER 2011/12
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WINTER 2011/12 No181 IN ISSUE 181 WINTER 2011/12 4 Yangtze Delta 10 Charged with 14 Let the Games 16 Maine pearl potential begin attraction Jiangsu Province and Perforating gun systems to The final countdown to the The acquisition of Dearborn in neighbouring Shanghai provide boost horizontal production Olympic Games has begun the scenic northeastern USA a fascinating backdrop for are central to Hunting’s Titan and, as the world stirs in enhances Hunting’s presence Hunting’s Wuxi facility, at the acquisition, which fits with the anticipation, we take a look at in high precision manufacturing heart of China’s burgeoning strategy to expand wellbore how London is preparing to for the MWD/LWD market economy products around the world stage this international event 20 Challenging 22 Take it to 23 Lean and clean 24 News from convention the limit The relentless drive to capture our community lean manufacturing efficiencies The United States’ recent An Australian drilling operation is proving successful in many advances into shale oil and gas saw Hunting Welltonic’s design situations, exemplified by the production have captured team step up to a challenge efforts of staff at the Sam international attention, leading Houston Parkway facility the way to similar initiatives in other parts of the world Hunting Review; the external house magazine of Hunting PLC 3 Cockspur Street, London SW1Y 5BQ, UK [email protected] Edited by Victoria Bailey and Georgia Langdon, Campaign PR. [email protected] Designed by Anthony B Ainley MCSD [email protected] Produced and printed by Duffield Printers Ltd [email protected] Cover Yuyuan Gardens in Shanghai Photo: David Hunting 2 A matter of balance There has been something of a sea change in perceptions about energy of late. While the quest for a low-emission environment feels intrinsically right, the political cantering after the bandwagon of the renewable sector looks set to be reined in by the practical needs of the ordinary citizen. It’s not just that the global financial crisis shook the more outlandish claims of the renewable outriders; the advent of the shale gas boom changed the landscape completely. Its sheer abundance in the US means that natural gas import terminals are now looking for export potential. In case it goes un-noted, bucking the downward trend, more than one in five of new private sector jobs since 2003 have been in the oil and gas sector. Where the US has benefitted, others aspire. China has particular energy needs, proven shale deposits and Hunting’s strategic positioning has led to the expansion of the Wuxi facility, which is orientated to domestic demand. In this issue of the Review we look at the context in which that investment has been made. Existing oil and gas technology and techniques are proven and combined with affordability. With this in mind, we welcome into the Hunting fold new members who have arrived during our busiest and largest ever acquisition period. It gives real pleasure to embrace this larger community which shares our sense of drive and purpose; we all have much to learn from each other. The Titan group and its perforating systems are introduced in these pages as are the folks from Dearborn, who specialise in precision MWD/LWD products. We look forward to covering more aspects of their activities in due course as indeed we do for other new colleagues also from the world of advanced manufacturing. In the meantime we round up with news from across our existing company and note the healthy section on well-earned promotions and new appointments. I’d like to reflect on the year gone by and also take this opportunity to wish all our staff, families and dependents, as well as our wider readership a happy and healthy start to 2012. 3 Hunting’s largest manufacturing facility is in the buoyant Yangtze Chinese province of Jiangsu. We look at the context in which this investment has been Delta made and how the industrial and cultural heritage of this region pearl is driving its prosperity 4 ome to Hunting’s newly opened Wuxi prosperity. Two southern cities, Suzhou and facility, China’s ancient region of Jiangsu Wuxi, in particular have undergone extensive His considered one of the country’s most development in recent times. With the help of economically, culturally and technologically a Chinese-Singapore government initiative in developed areas. Located in the Yangtze River the 1990s these areas were transformed into Delta, the province is an active hub of economic economic powerhouses and today are among development. This is most readily experienced China’s top 10 for gross domestic product. at street level with bustling retail centres, traffic filled highways and the ever present cacophony Shanghai rising of construction sites. In spite of a reported Shanghai, which borders Jiangsu to the hiatus, this economic boom is still underpinned west and the East China Sea to the east, by a vast, robust manufacturing base that runs is undoubtedly the region’s liveliest city. the gamut of industry. In the region’s self- Considered to be the commercial, industrial proclaimed commercial and financial capital, and financial centre of mainland China, this Shanghai, manufacturing still forms nearly 40 energetic metropolis is not only a hotbed per cent of the total output. of commercial activity but also a popular Under the rule of the Song Dynasty (960- destination for tourists seeking an exuberant 1279 AD), Jiangsu first emerged as a key centre urban experience. It is an interesting side note of China’s trade. In the following centuries that, as a political hotbed, it was also the birth the province continued to flourish - becoming place of the revolutionary Chinese communist synonymous with luxury and opulence and party. The distinctive skyline has been carved it remains one of the richest regions today. out by countless contemporary constructions, Significant financial reforms, introduced in while glittering new projects continue to emerge the latter part of the 20th century by Deng as if to celebrate the joy of development for Xiaoping, further established Jiangsu as its own sake - an expression of the city’s a prime example of the country’s growing investment in its ambitious infrastructure. 5 The estimated population in the Shanghai million container units in 2010, advancing the municipality is more than 23 million and the city’s ambition to become a global centre for developed area covers 6,000sq km. A seamless international shipping and associated marine transportation system is crucial to keep the industries. Automotive manufacturing has constant crowds moving and the city’s urban proved another key industry, which generates rail system, the Shanghai metro, is rapidly significant economic success and provides an expanding to accommodate rising demand. The important source of employment for Shanghai’s high speed overland network also links airports workforce. and other key cities, while regular pedestrian ferries cut a busy path across the Huangpu Wuxi Prefecture River - a useful alternative when taxis are Less than 150km inland is the city of Wuxi. scarce in the city. Dubbed ‘Little Shanghai’, it was founded by two Unlike many of its neighbours, Shanghai has fugitive princes 3,000 years ago. Agriculture, little ancient history. Only two hundred years rice, silk and fish formed the earliest of the ago the area was a simple silty corner of the city’s industries, which grew considerably Yangtze Delta where indigenous fishermen eked with the construction of the Grand Canal - a subsistence living, while a rapacious pack under the Sui Dynasty (581-618). Following of European colonists jostled for influence to the establishment of the People’s Republic of set up concessions to trade with an emerging China in 1949, Wuxi continued to develop with China. The resulting match of these cultures great aplomb into textile production and heavy ignited the region’s innate entrepreneurial zeal. industry although not without some growing Extensive commercial activity quickly followed, pains caused by such rapid expansion. interrupted but not extinguished by world war Today Wuxi is one of China’s top business and revolution, while accelerating in the last districts and has been designated an investment two decades as Shanghai has become one of the grade city, comprising two enormous, new fastest developing cities in the world. industrial areas in addition to the traditionally The city is also home to the world’s busiest evolved criss-cross of roads and canals that container port, which processed more than 29 congregate towards the historic city centre. 6 This is dominated by contemporary skyscrapers, Symbolising both the prosperity of the city and through the city of Wuxi, the Grand Canal of while the old market, canal-side buildings, its rich natural surroundings, the Wu custom China negotiates all of the east-west river alleys and bridges straddling these old celebrates holistic material, spiritual and systems. The numerous historical gardens, backwaters are being renovated. Conversions cultural creation. established by notable figures of the past, have also make good homes for trendy boutiques and Built close to the misty shores of Lake Tai, also been well preserved - enhancing the area’s a popular restaurant scene with a thriving arts Wuxi boasts both natural splendours and man- antique charm. community. This is also a popular quarter in made attractions and proves a major tourist which to play badminton at weekends. draw to the lower Yangtze Delta, welcoming In the zone thousands of visitors every year to this Wuxi’s economic development zone was first Cultural charm evocative fresh water lake. Rising up from the established in 1992 and is one of the country’s In addition to its brisk trade and thriving lake is the limestone bluff of Longshan Mountain main industrial parks.