What is DHL’s current involvement in the shale gas industry across Europe?

 

DHL have a strong portfolio of operations in unconventional gas, we have operations in the U.S, particularly in the midstream area, and in Latin America, where we are undertaking international rig move management. In Europe, we are operating with shale gas in Ukraine, and similarly in Asia Pacific, in both China and Australia.

 

Our contracts span the supply chain over a whole range of supply chain services including, international inbound forwarding, upwards costs, pipeline management, domestic and people transportation and health, safety, security and environmental services, particularly associated with the management of sub-contracted transportation providers.

 

The shale gas industry is a very important sector for DHL.

 

What types of energy companies does DHL support?

 

DHL provides a range of supply chain management services to the oil and gas industry, including logistics to managing integrated inbound supply chain to support major capital contract infrastructure, inbound to operations and MRO which is maintenance, repair and operations supply chain management, rig management and support, which is moving them internationally but also moving them in-country or in-region from one location to another and finished product logistics. In particular we provide integrated logistics and transport services, so we act as a control tower managing DHL aspects of contractor operations.

 

In terms of the types of business we support that includes, national oil companies, international oil companies, in particular the international company majors, service companies and drilling companies.

 

Is DHL looking to initiate activity in the UK shale gas industry?

 

DHL is interested in working to support the UK shale gas industry.

 

On the subject of extraction processes, currently there is no decision on whether a particular country moves forward with a particular extraction process, for example with ‘fraccing’.

 

Energy companies themselves will work with governments and if the governments decide to develop unconventionals then there is a real means for professional logistics services to reduce the community and environmental impact, and that’s because the logistics required for unconventionals are much greater than for conventional oil and gas activity.

 

DHL designs optimal logistic solutions, in particular that focuses on reducing the impact of the local community and promoting the use of the local content, which frequently will result to new opportunities for the environment and local communities. Logistics solutions for ‘fraccing’ operations can record the difference in terms of monitoring the local community impact in a professional and safe way and portray an appropriate corporate image for our clients, the oil or service companies.

 

DHL are certainly involved in ‘fraccing’ but our work with unconventionals comes once that decision has been made to proceed.

 

How do you feel the shale gas sector is currently developing in the UK and Europe?

 

In terms of the pace of development in the UK and Europe it is very naturally dependant on environmental policy, in that respect the decision has been taken on an environmental level.

So our plan once that decision has been made to move forward, we see the real need and eventual opportunity to provide professional logistics services, services which can support those businesses to reducing the impact on the local community and on the local environment.

 

So the pace of development is very much dictated by environmental policy but once the decision is made we will see development at a reasonable pace.