'New Iron Man' leads overseas oil expansion

Determination has won petroleum pioneer Li Xinmin recognition at home and abroad

Editor's note: This story is part of a series in which China Daily looks at how delegates to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China are spreading the congress' message at work and in their daily lives.

Just as "Iron Man" Wang Jinxi braved the Daqing Oilfield in Heilongjiang province in the 1960s, his successor Li Xinmin is paving the way for his peers to tap resources overseas.

Wang, who led his fellow workers to drill one of China's earliest crude oil wells in Daqing, had to cope with an extreme environment. Likewise, Li faces complicated challenges in foreign lands.

After graduating from Daqing Petroleum Technical Secondary School in 1990, Li was recruited to work for China National Petroleum Corp's No 1205 drilling team, which Wang once led, at the Daqing Oilfield.

"From the first day, I was determined to do my best," Li said. However, he did not do well initially due to his slender frame.

Li, who weighed only about 50 kilograms at the time, was not strong enough to complete some operations to required standards.

So he tried harder and practiced the skills repeatedly during his spare time. In only six months, he was qualified to work in six different positions in the team.

In recognition of his hard work and major achievements, Li was promoted to director of the team in 2003. Two years later, Li heard that the Daqing Oilfield was involved in international energy cooperation projects.

"It was the old team leader Wang's greatest wish to drill crude oil wells in foreign lands, and I believed our team had the ability to expand into overseas markets," he said.

In February 2006, a 35-member team led by Li set out for Sudan. Before departing, Li carried out lots of research.

"I had prepared for the challenges, from the extreme natural environment to the chaos caused by war," he said. "But when we landed in Melut, we were overwhelmed by a series of unforeseen difficulties."

Sudan, with a tropical desert climate, is extremely dry and hot. The huge temperature differences between Daqing and Melut were extremely challenging.

"There were mosquitoes, and also other insects that we had never seen in China," Wang said. However, greater challenges lay ahead.

When the ship carrying all the equipment arrived in Port Sudan at the beginning of March, Li was dismayed to discover the equipment had been seriously damaged in a storm during the voyage.

To gain a clear picture of the extent of the damage, he and five colleagues checked 102 trucks of equipment in six days, a task that normally would have taken a dozen people at least two weeks. Then they transported the equipment 1,600 kilometers to the oilfield in 17 days, a week less than normal.

Two diesel generators out of a total of three were badly damaged, which meant the drilling could not start because it required two generators working together.

"There were only two weeks left before the start date in the contract," Li said.

"We did not have time to wait for new equipment or maintenance crews. No matter how difficult, we had to start the drilling on time. The reputation of No 1205 drilling team was at stake."

In the following days, Li visited all the Chinese drilling teams he could and finally found a diesel generator of the same brand that had been taken out of service because it was in need of repair.

After a dozen days of maintenance and modification under the guidance of domestic experts by telephone, the borrowed generator started.

To prevent the old generator from overheating and damaging its electric motor, they had to keep pouring cold water on it.

Finally, the team successfully drilled its first crude oil well overseas in April 30, 2006.

In the following five years, Li's team drilled 60 wells, which made a considerable contribution to the company's overseas development. The team set 23 records and twice received the highest honor for drilling from the Chinese government.

In 2009, China National Petroleum Corp began to develop oilfields in Iraq. Due to his extensive experience overseas, good coordination skills and the ability to deal with emergencies in international environments, Li was chosen to be the manager of the Halfaya oilfield project in October 2010. However, Li found the situation in Iraq to be even more complicated.

"The city was in a state of devastation and tank wrecks could be found everywhere with black smoke billowing into the sky," he said. "The natural environment is not good, either. We often endured sandstorms that came without warning."

Before starting drilling work, Li only had access to some geological information from more than 30 years ago, which lacked key data.

After constant exploration and research, the team discovered an oil layer and successfully drilled several wells in a short period, bringing it recognition in the local market for its members' technical skills.

Even through the international oil market has continued to slump in recent years, Li's team has achieved new drilling contracts valued at 630 million yuan ($95 million), accounting for half of the Halfaya oilfield.

In July 2011, Li was awarded the title "New Iron Man" by China National Petroleum Corp.

"I feel honored that I have inherited the spirit of my predecessor, Wang, and followed in his footsteps." he said.

On Nov 12, when Li returned to his post in the Middle East after attending the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China as a delegate, he began to share his experiences and reflections with all the Party members in the company.

"I was encouraged to hear of the achievements mentioned by General Secretary Xi Jinping," Li said. "I wanted to communicate the spirit of the meeting to my colleagues overseas."

In the following week, he told more than 500 members of the branch about the Party's theories and policies and how socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era.

However, Li said he regrets he has not been able to spend more time with his family. In the past decade, he has only celebrated Spring Festival with his family five times, and has only attended one parent's day at his son's school.

"Fortunately, I have received unceasing support from my family," he said. "I love them deeply, though I am not good at expressing it."

Contact the writers at zhouhuiying@chinadaily.com.cn