Titan's white knight GZE orders six drilling rigs as part of expansion
GZE beefs up drilling equipment capacity as it seeks to expand into offshore oil and gas under Beijing's 'maritime silk road' development plan
Fuel and metals trader Guangdong Zhenrong Energy (GZE), the white knight of insolvent Hong Kong-listed Titan Petrochemicals, is beefing up its drilling equipment capacity and is seeking to expand into offshore oil and gas development to heed Beijing's "maritime silk road" development strategy.
GZE has placed orders for the construction of six drilling rigs, which are intended to be deployed in potential oil and gas projects it may invest in, according to chairman Xiong Zhaohui.
"We are at the forefront of the maritime silk road initiative and set an offshore development strategy two years ago that ranges from upstream oil and gas development, drilling rig construction and downstream logistics," he said. "We will target the vast markets of China, the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean."
The revival of the so-called maritime Silk Road, an initiative to revive an ancient trade route running from China through Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean to Europe, was proposed by President Xi Jinping last year.
GZE, whose turnover jumped to over 100 billion yuan (HK$126 billion) last year from 18.8 billion yuan in 2010 as trading volume and business scope expanded, is deploying its resources into upstream development.
Of the six drilling rigs it ordered, two are with Singapore's Keppel - the world's largest drilling rig maker by market share - and four with a mainland shipyard of state-backed China Shipbuilding Industry.