Despite the global economic slowdown, China continues to grow, although at a slower pace. To maintain the pace of industrialization requires energy, particularly hydrocarbons. China has acquired E&P interests in in regions as varied as Kazakhstan, Russia, Venezuela, Sudan, West Africa, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Canada. Numbers of downstream and upstream facilities are increasing to keep pace with its rising oil consumption, driven both from industrial demand as well as a burgeoning transportation market (The passenger vehicle market is growing at a 7-10% rate over a base of 15 million cars on the road).
As the energy industry booms in China, so is the number of expatriates working in that industry. The country is undergoing high speed modernization and along with it, many cultural changes.
I lived in Southern China for a year as an expat manager at Schlumberger. It was an eye opening experience for me, both professionally and personally. My wife, who had accompanied me, still feels that it was the best foreign posting location for us. The standard of living was particularly high. We also forged some long term & close knit relationships with other expat families there.
However I would urge any expats to venture out of the “expat ghetto” and get to know the real China. Mandarin is the primary language spoken by a vast majority of people in China. The language can be a bit tricky for someone to pick up initially particularly if you’re not used to East Asian languages. Most taxi drivers do not speak or read English. The best solution is to have the address of your destination written in Chinese. I used to carry cards with common words written on it to help me move around the city. It is not that hard to develop workable Mandarin in a couple of months. However, if you are looking for fluency, I recommend attending a language school.
Finding out about expat life in China is easier these days with various online forums and communities. The new visitor can get some valuable tips through these forums. I recommend Dan Washburn’s blog Shanghaiist . Dan’s a freelance writer but has some interesting stories, and slice of life vignettes, and tips for the recently arrived resident in China.
If you are considering taking up projects in China, my advices is set aside all your preconceptions about the country and discover first hand the exciting, wonderful and the sometimes exasperating experience there.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
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2 comments:
We are pouring billions into bail outs of iffy situations. We need to pour at least a few of those billion in investing in America becoming more energy independent and the utilization of alternative energy sources. Nothing would benefit our society in the long run more than investing in it's energy independence. We need to utilize everything in out power to reduce our dependence on foreign oil including using our own natural resources.OPEC will continue to cut production until they achieve their desired 80-100. per barrel. The high cost of fuel this past year seriously damaged our economy and society. Oil is finite. We are using oil globally at the rate of 2X faster than new oil is being discovered. China and India will put an estimated additional 3 million vehicles on their highways by 2010 further depleting the supply. We need to take some of these billions in bail out bucks and bail ourselves out of our dependence on foreign oil.It would cost the equivalent of 60 cents a gallon to charge and drive an electric car. The electricity to charge the car could come from solar or wind generated electricity. If all gasoline cars, trucks, and SUV's instead had plug-in electric drive trains, the amount of electricity needed to replace gasoline is about equal to the estimated wind energy potential of the state of North Dakota Jeff Wilson has a really good new book out called The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence Now. He explores our uses of oil besides gasoline, our depletion, out reserves and stores as well as viable options to replace oil.Oil is finite, it will run out in the not too distant future. WE need to take some of these billions in bail out bucks and bail America out of it's dependence on foreign oil. The historic high price of gas this past year did serious damage to our economy and society. WE should never allow others to have that much power over our economy again. I wish every member of congress would read this book too.
www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com
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