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Oil drilling industry had two inherent risks. One was financial risk that was derived from intensive capital requirement and cyclic fluctuation. The other was operating risk that was involved with employees¡¯ hazardous working environment below the earth.
In spite of these serious risks, Noble Corporation (Noble), one of the major drilling companies, did not, however, regard these risks as threats to its operation, but considered them opportunities for competitive strategies. First of all, Noble extraordinarily focused on Health, Security, and Environmental (HSE) issues. As a result, Noble established strong customers¡¯ confidence coupled with development of its reputation as an outstanding drilling company. Secondly, with strong HSE which reduces Lost Time Incident Rate (LTIR) and strategic acquisition over the world, Noble was able to position itself as a cost leader. Finally, by monitoring the trend of oil and gas drilling market thoroughly, Noble was always able to move to next market, from land to offshore, and again to deepwater market.
To execute these strategies, the following three tasks were critical, each of which worked synergistically within virtuous cycle structure. 1) Excellence in HSE issues; HSE was the key factor to succeed in this industry for many reasons. Excellent HSE provided effects of increasing revenue and reducing cost, which eventually led to high profitability. As E&Ps were not free from drilling company¡¯s safety accident, E&Ps preferred drilling companies which had high HSE record. Therefore, Noble¡¯s excellence in HSE was the key factor to increase its revenue. This high HSE also decreased LTI, which eventually reduced the cost, 2) High utilization of th ...