Shanghai, China: Gordon Souter has seen and played a lot of golf courses in his travels with British Petroleum and he admits he likes what he sees in Silport.

The Scotland native, currently the president and general manager of Shanghai Secco Petrochemicals Co (Secco), had previously lived in his native Glasgow, London and Tokyo. He moved to Shanghai earlier this year to take up the position as the head of the joint venture between Sinopec and BP.

The 14 handicap said golf was a big part of his childhood but he then gave up the game for about 20 years before his interest in the sport was rekindled.

“I didn’t start playing again until I was in my early forties. I have been playing quite solidly for about 10 years now. In Japan I played a lot of golf at the Oak Hills club just outside Narita (airport). I would love to get down to a single-figure handicap.”

Souter said Chinese courses were similar to those found in Japan. The standard was very high and the courses were well looked after.

“Chinese courses, from what I have seen, are a combination of what I have seen in Japan and Singapore. They are not fully Japanese. In Japan you can only play nine holes and stop for a meal. A lot of Asian countries are much more sensible in that you play the full 18 and then you have a meal.

“Silport is very good. It is kind of a punishing course because there is so much water around it and not much rough. You can be offline only marginally. A bad bounce and it can penalize you quite heavily. It is a tough course – but very interesting.”

Souter said the demand for energy was huge in China and BP had made the company one of its top priorities. Although the company has conducted extensive oil exploration in China, it was now focused on getting energy to the country.

“China is very deficient in oil. Something like 10 to 15 percent is their own crude while the rest is imported,” he said.

“Our target here is not really finding energy in China but more so bringing energy and products to customers because the demand here is growing phenomenally. The Secco product is all about producing plastics. It is petrochemicals but a lot of it is plastics. When an economy is taking off, the demand for petrochemicals is very high.”

The Secco petrochemical complex in Shanghai Chemical Industry Park on the north coast of Hangshou Bay, involves a total investment of US$2.7 billion. BP owns a 50 percent stake, Sinopec 30 percent and Shanghai Petrochemical Corporation the remaining 20 percent.

The complex will primarily produce naphtha feedstock and propylene. Derivative output will include polyethylene, polypropylene, aromatics, styrene, polystyrene, acrylonitrile and butadiene. Construction on the project started in March last year and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2005.

Other activities for BP includes the construction of 500 gas stations in Zhejiang Province.

“BP has gas in Russia and Indonesia and were trying to monotize that gas and bring it here into the China market.,” Souter said.

“China probably represents less than one percent of our business at the moment but we have very strong intentions to grow the business dramatically. We have invested something like the best part of US$4 billion here so we are hopefully looking to get a big share of what’s going on in China.”