China Oilfield Services (COSL) is an

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

field services company. It is a majority owned subsidiary of Chinese state owned company

CNOOC China National Offshore Oil Corporation, or CNOOC Group ( Chinese: 中国海洋石油总公司 Pinyin: ''Zhōngguó Háiyáng Shíyóu Zǒnggōngsī''), is one of the largest national oil companies in China, and the third-largest national oil ...

Group. It also has a listed sister company in Hong Kong,

CNOOC Limited CNOOC Limited () is China's largest producer of offshore crude oil and natural gas, noted as such in 2010. It is a major subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and has been listed in Hong Kong since February 2001. It w ...

. China Oilfield Services usually purchases off shore vessels (OSVs) and operates them in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

in off shore projects of CNOOC. It also operates in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

Overseas

COSL's overseas revenue surged 133% year on year in the first half of 2015 to 209.8 million yuan, driven by demand for its services in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

and the

. COSL had an office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia briefly in the early 2000s when it had its first western Vice President, Alan Good, a British born Oilman who helped launch the company internationally and pushed for further growth in the international sector. COSL also maintains an office in Houston, TX as COSL America

Stock

Globally, the number of listed players in the oilfield services sector is just over 100, with a combined

market capitalisation Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders. Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by t ...

of about US$250 billion. The top five account for 40% of the industry's market capitalisation. The two largest companies in this sector are Schlumberger with a 2007 year-end market cap of US$117.6 billion and

Halliburton Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation responsible for most of the world's hydraulic fracturing operations. In 2009, it was the world's second largest oil field service company. It has operations in more than 70 countries ...

with a 2007-year end market cap of US$33.4 billion. According to Mr Chen, US firms tend to be the most expensive with enterprise values running two to three times

book value In accounting, book value is the value of an asset according to its balance sheet account balance. For assets, the value is based on the original cost of the asset less any depreciation, amortization or impairment costs made against the asset. T ...

s, compared with one or less in Europe and Asia. COSL claims a 95% share of China's market for

offshore drilling Offshore drilling is a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled below the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently extract petroleum that lies in rock formations beneath the seabed. Most commonly, the te ...

services, 70% of the marine support and

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...

market, 60% of the well survey services market and more than 50% of the seismic data collection market. Globally, about 15% of oil companies' capital expenditure goes to exploration, 35% to field development and 50% to production. COSL posted a 22.7% year-on-year rise in interim net profit to 555.9 million Yuan, ($115 million).

Acquisitions

On 23 September 2008, COSL acquired Norway's

Awilco Offshore Awilco Offshore was a Norwegian drilling rig owner. In 2008 the company operated five jackup rigs and two semi-submersible accommodation rigs, with several others on order. Awilco was founded in 2005, headquartered in Oslo and was listed on the Os ...

ASA (AWO) for 17.1 billion yuan (2.51 billion U.S. dollars), which is to be merged into COSL Drilling Europe AS, a wholly owned subsidiary of COSL. The deal received backing from the relevant government departments of Norway and Statoil, the state oil company of Norway. The deal increased the number of COSL's operating rigs to 22 from 15 and created the world's eighth largest rig fleet.news.xinhuanet.com
/ref>

References

{{authority control Companies formerly in the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index Companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Drilling rig operators Service companies of China Government-owned companies of China China National Offshore Oil Corporation