Submarine cable has gradually become a profit growth point

The “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” encourages the support of new energy construction. With the establishment of a large number of new energy projects such as nuclear power, photovoltaic, and wind power, special cables and submarine cables have ushered in new opportunities for development. It is understood that because of the higher requirements for wear resistance, corrosion resistance and transmission performance, the equal length output of submarine cables is much higher than that of ordinary cables. At present, submarine cables are mainly used in two fields: First, offshore oil drilling platforms; second, offshore wind energy transmission.

Submarine cables are also used in more important areas such as long-distance communication networks, commonly used between long-distance islands, and cross-sea military facilities. Although the use of submarine cables in general is more expensive than overhead cables of the same length, it is often more economical to use submarine cables to deliver electricity than regionally generated power stations, especially in offshore areas. The benefits are more obvious. Submarine cables are widely used in countries with more islands and rivers.

According to the “2012-2016 China Submarine Cable Market Analysis and Investment Value Study Report” published by Champion Consulting, it shows that the direction of future development of the submarine cable industry is relatively clear. From the current perspective, cable companies’ survival will still depend on orders from the national grid. One of the key points in the development of the “Twelfth Five-Year Plan” is the development of new energy sources, and the development of wind energy, especially offshore wind power, has great potential.

In the future, the market potential of submarine cables is unlimited.

The construction of offshore oil rigs will effectively drive the demand for submarine cables. Currently, there are two types of drilling platforms that can be divided into mobile and semi-submersible platforms. The former requires about 150 km of submarine cables, and the latter about 180 km. In addition, each platform can be divided into drilling platforms, production platforms, and living platforms by function. The demand for submarine cables for the three are approximately 200 km, 200 km, and 100 km, respectively. From the current exploration results, it can be seen that China’s shallow continental shelf contains abundant submarine oil and natural gas, and in the future these regions will inevitably build offshore oil drilling and natural gas mines.

In recent years, the military market is also the target of cable companies. Although the current domestic shipbuilding industry has experienced cold winters, orders from some of the heavy industry companies, especially those from fishery and maritime supervision, are still considerable. In the future, China's harmonious development of the ocean will put forward higher requirements for the design of wire ropes for official ships. This is undoubtedly a good thing for large cable companies with brand advantages and technological advantages.

Experts suggest that in addition to paying attention to cable quality, the development of submarine cable in China should also pay attention to the construction and development of the upstream and downstream submarine cable industry chain, and provide customers with a complete solution. At present, only a few cable companies in China can manufacture submarine cables, but basically do not provide laying services. In contrast, overseas cable companies such as Nexen, ABB and other giants provide complete solutions for the design, development, production, transportation, laying, maintenance, and supporting facilities of submarine cables. This is exactly the performance of the corporate gap.

China's submarine cable market is huge and demand is very strong. Submarine cables will become the profit growth point for enterprises in China's cable industry upgrading. However, from the design and development to the laying of submarine cables, each link will affect the performance of submarine cables, although our country At present, several companies can manufacture submarine cables of 220 kilovolts and below, but their insulation materials, soft joint technology and processes, laying, etc., must rely on foreign companies. Although there are professional installation teams in China, they are basically limited to shallow sea areas. Perfecting the cable industry chain, strengthening the research and development of raw materials, soft joints and other techniques and training their own installation facilities are the main problems faced by existing cable manufacturers in China.

The cable companies in China are mixed, and many companies have problems in production and management. As a result, the quality of products is low, and they do not pay attention to scientific research and development. The average investment in R&D funds is less than 1% of sales, which directly leads to a low cable market. Price competition and disorderly competition have resulted in the phenomenon of "poor goods expelling good products".

How to recover slowly in the global economy, China's cable industry has entered the era of meager profits, and in the increasingly fierce competition in the low-end cable industry, realizing the industrial upgrading of cable companies is the most realistic issue facing cable companies in China. one.