Hilong Holding, the world's second-largest supplier of drill pipes used in oil and gas fields, expects overseas sales to exceed domestic numbers in three to five years as it continues expansion abroad and faces a tougher task growing domestic market share.
The Shanghai-based firm, which is 61 per cent-owned by entrepreneur Zhang Jun, may see export revenues account for half of total sales this year, up from 45.4 per cent last year and 42.6 per cent in 2010, investor relations director Wang Chen said.
'In the drill-pipes business we aim to maintain our number one position in China where we have a 34 per cent share of the market, and expand exports more aggressively,' she said. 'Our growth in overseas markets is faster than in the domestic market.'
Drill pipes are a key component, linking surface drilling gear to drill bits underground. Hilong has a 13 per cent share of the global drill pipes market, well behind the 47 per cent share held by United States-based National Oilwell Varco, according to industry research house Spears and Associates.
In the coating materials production and pipelines coating services business, Hilong has a 72 per cent share of the mainland market and 14 per cent of the global market.
It derived 49 per cent of its sales last year from drill pipes sales, 28 per cent from coating materials and services, and 23 per cent from oilfield drilling services.