Far East Expansion

 

For over 30 years, Link Oil & Gas Professionals has helped clients in the oil and gas industry find the people and skills they need to resource projects. They have built their success on rapid response: placing oil and gas professionals seamlessly across the globe and offering the best talent from local and expatriate workforces. With offices in Houston, US, Manchester, UK, Dubai, UAE, Doha, Qatar, Perth, Australia and now Beijing, China, Link covers three major global regions: the Americas; Europe, Africa and the Middle East; and Asia.

 

Through these regional offices and local partners, Link supports contracts in more than 30 countries, for leading multinational oil and gas operating companies, including BP, Shell, ConocoPhillips, Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Marathon Oil, BG, Anadarko, QatarGas, RasGas and ADNOC, holding worldwide preferred status for a number of these clients.

 

“Our clients are active all over the world, so we have made a point of having an overseas presence in different regions, to be close to them,” says Andrew Moreton, Senior Operations Manager, Asia at Link Oil & Gas Professionals. “Having a local presence means that, in addition to providing high-quality consultants, we can support our clients in all aspects of briefing, relocation support, visas, payroll, overseas taxation, transport, accommodation and medical issues.”

 

 

By 2008, Link was starting to get more involved in Downstream Projects and saw that this market was developing quickly in China. It was becoming clear that a regional head office in Perth was not enough if the company was serious about pursuing new projects in Northern Asia.

 

“As we became more convinced that we needed to be more active in China, we had the opportunity to attend the UK Trade & Investment Oil & Gas Roadshow, in 2007,” says Andrew. “There we had a one-on-one discussion with the UK Trade & Investment Oil & Gas Representative from Beijing about the market in China and how we, with an Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS) report, might find a local support partner. Her view was that we would only have limited success with a local partner but could be very successful on our own, given our track record with the oil and gas majors, and having won the Queen's Award for Enterprise, International Trade in 2007.”

 

 

Having carried out some initial research internally, Link turned to UK Trade & Investment’s High Growth Markets Programme for feedback on the pros and cons of setting up an office in Shanghai versus Beijing. The UK Trade & Investment team also put the company in touch with the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) and the Chinese Embassy in London who were able to offer additional practical support.

 

Link commissioned an Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS) report, and CBBC and UK Trade & Investment worked together to identify opportunities for the company in China. The company also joined the Export Market Research Scheme, which included a 50 per cent subsidy towards the cost of two trips to China in 2008, to carry out further research and meet with existing and potential clients.

 

“UK Trade & Investment and the CBBC gave us professional assistance, and helped us to identify international trading opportunities through their programmes,” says Andrew. “The funding we received was of course useful, but more than that it showed us that we had strong support back home for our new venture.”

 

 

After the second visit to China, Link decided to set up a new regional head office in Beijing. UK Trade & Investment was able to supply the company with the names of local advisers to help with the practicalities of doing this. The company decided to become a wholly owned foreign enterprise, which would give it full control over its future, and allow it to provide local nationals as well as expatriates to its clients.

 

Registration of the company was completed at the end of 2008, and the Beijing office is now up and running. Link has already secured contracts with Chevron to support their Chuandongbei Gas Project in central China and with ExxonMobil. With UK Trade & Investment’s help, the company is now planning to hold an official launch party at the British Ambassador’s residence in Beijing, to raise its profile.

 

“Holding our launch party at the Ambassador’s residence will show that, as a company, we are well thought of by the British Government and the local Embassy,” says Andrew. “This can only serve to promote us in a favourable way, and we are looking forward to a bright future in China.”

 

 

China is one of the world’s most rapidly growing economies, with GDP growth figures of around nine per cent per annum since the mid-90s. Trade between the UK and China has grown by 600 per cent in the last ten years. 

The UK is one of the largest EU investors in China.  Key sectors where Chinese demand for British expertise is likely to be particularly strong include financial services; energy; ICT; healthcare; water; aerospace; automotive; construction; retail; telecoms and chemicals.

Most of UK Trade & Investment's services and general enquiries for China are now dealt with by our UK Area Advisory Group for China, the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC).

 

For further information please contact:

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7802 2000

Email: enquiries@cbbc.org

 

 

Company: Link Oil & Gas Professionals

Country: UK

Industry: Business services

Website: www.linkoilandgas.com