Saudi Expats Beware! The Saudis are after Your Money!

When the news broke last week, it spread throughout the global expat community like wildfire. And what caused this furore? It appears that the celebrated Adel Fakieh, Minister of Labour, announced that the government was considering capping the remittances of expatriates to their home countries. In layman’s terms, the Saudis are going to put a limit on the amount of money you can send home. Surely not, I hear you say, but it’s the truth – well, it is at the proposal stage – but there is no doubt it, they’re coming after your money!

The government had raised the issue because it was/is concerned that the 8 million expat workers in the kingdom are not spending the bulk of their incomes inside the country which it says is hurting the Saudi economy. Oh dear, it’s hurting their economy! And what does all this money total? Remittances from Saudi Arabia to other countries last year were reportedly around SR100 billion ($27 billion).

What all this boils down to is the Saudi economy is on shaky ground. Okay, it may have the biggest oil reserves in the world but if we are entering a recession, there won’t be the same demand for oil and oil sales will drop and therefore a drop in oil revenues into the country. So one way to reduce the balance is to stop expats sending all their money home thus forcing them to spend more money in the country. Is this real? Can the massively, stinking rich Kingdom of Saudi Arabia really hurting that bad?

What annoys me is that if it hadn’t been for the efforts of the millions of foreign workers in the country, Saudi Arabia would be a backward State on a par with any country in sub-Saharan Africa. As one who spent five years in Saudi, I feel that in a miniscule way, I also contributed to the development and success of the country. But if I were still working there, and if this madness is passed into law, then I’d be on my bike to hell out of there! I mean Saudi Arabia is generally regarded as one of the worst countries for an expat to make a living. And to have to put up with having limitations on how much of your salary is sent home, then I think I’d be looking for alternative employment.

One Saudi commentator summed it up thus: “According to 2010 statistics, there are about 8.4 million foreign workers in the country, representing 31 percent of the entire population. A total of six million workers are employed in the private sector. This shows the extent to which foreign workers are contributing to the growth of the Saudi economy,” he said. “The Minister of Labour has not clearly outlined what is going to happen, whether it is a system to monitor all bank accounts of foreign workers and capping financial transfers, or whether it will be some form of legislative oversight to prevent violations of the country’s labour laws.”

Is this all about greed, then? It sure as hell is and as is the case with all those Middle East Kingdoms/Sheikdoms - whatever you want to call them - the ruling families absolutely glorify in unbridled riches beyond most of our dreams. So let's put it into perspective. Saudi Arabia's current weekly revenues from the sale of oil could reach more than $14.5bn a week if world crude prices continue their upward trajectory and reach a level of $120 a barrel, as predicted by Goldman Sachs.

Saudi crude production hovers around 10.7 million barrels-per-day (bpd) but by the end of this year, sustainable capacity is due to be increased to 12.5 million bpd.

Peter Burnett chief executive of UBS Investment bank in the Middle East and North Africa, which has just received a licence to operate in the kingdom, says: 'They have petrodollars flowing in and are in the process of enormous wealth creation.'

Saudi's GDP increased to 11.9% this year and this is reflected in Saudi oil exports reaching SR1.13 trillion ($302 billion), and non-oil exports to total SR150 billion ($40 billion) in 2011. This is the highest oil export figure for Saudi Arabia in its history. In other words the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is enjoying a daily income of $1 billion a day! But, guys, they still want your expat money - so the choice is simple, if this voracious law is passed, you either stay in the Kingdom and maybe only send back about 80% of your earnings, or you do the sensible thing, find alternative employment and do a runner . . .

The ‘Eyes’ Have It - Saudi Style

Just when you think you’ve seen and heard it all, along comes another attention-grabber that leaves one shaking one’s head. This one comes from the great KSA, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I mean, you’ve really got to hand it to the Saudis when it comes to anything regarding the fairer sex. Here is the headline that grabbed my attention:

‘Saudi Women with 'Tempting Eyes' May be Forced to Cover them Up’

I mean, you couldn’t make it up! The British Daily Mail got in on the act with: ‘Saudi women with attractive eyes may be forced to cover even them up, if resolution is passed.’ So what’s it all about? Well, seemingly, there’s this codger, Sheikh Motlab al Nabet from the sensationally-named Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, who has promulgated this action. And what caused this Government watchdog to propose such extreme action? One report on the Bikya Masr news website suggested the proposal was made after a member of the committee was attracted by a woman’s eyes as he walked along a street, provoking a fight. Deary-dear, caused a fight, huh? Just as well she wasn’t walking along the street in a bikini - that might have caused a riot! Tut-tut! The woman in question was walking with her husband who ended up being stabbed twice in the hand after the altercation. Wait a minute, what’s an armed Saudi man doing on the street anyway?

But then it segues from the ridiculous to the downright chronic. In the same week the BBC carried this item: ‘Saudi cleric favours one-eye veil.’ The codger that came to the surface with this gem is Sheikh Muhammad al-Habadan. He suggested that Saudi women not only wear a full veil, or niqab, but one that reveals only one eye. Excuse me? Here is another purist who shudders to wonder what he might think if he caught the slightest glimpse of a beautiful woman’s eye - it reminds me of the lyrics to that Dr Hook song back in the 80s: ‘Sexy Eyes’ . . .

“Sexy eyes, moving 'cross the floor, couldn't want for more, sexy eyes
Sexy eyes, getting down with you, I wanna move with you, sexy eyes . . .”

Look, would somebody mind telling the Saudis that a woman’s eyes are one of her most provocative and sensual attributes. It’s every woman’s human right to show her eyes, to augment the look with cosmetics if she wants. And if a Saudi man cannot handle that, then he should look away. Nobody is forcing him to look at her eyes.

Now all of this begs the question, what about the 1 million plus non-Saudi expatriate women living in Saudi Arabia? They don’t cover up their faces so what is the difference between a Saudi man ogling the eyes of, say, a Filipina girl and a Saudi girl? Answer? There’s absolutely none!

Yes, it looks as though the ‘eyes’ have it this time!

Is it Time to Get out of the Middle East?

This is a question that dogged me many, many times when I worked in the Middle East between 2007 and 2010. I mean, I had three great contracts, initially in Kuwait, then on to Qatar for a year and then Oman. But why the disquiet? Two words sum it up: Israel and Iran. Even back in early 2007, Israel had already 'bombed' a so-called nuclear site in northern Syria but that whole episode fizzled out like a damp squib. But the potential bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities by Israel has reared its ugly head again.

Just last week, Mr Meir Dagan, the recent head of Mossad, the Israeli Secret Police, warned of grave consequences if Israel bombs Iran. This was in light of reports that Israeli fighter jets had conducted exercises over the Italian island of Sardinia. Their training programme included attacking distant targets, conducting midair refuelling and thwarting surface-to-air missiles. A vertical vapour trail was widely visible in the sky that afternoon as the military tested a newly developed Jericho 3 ballistic missile that can presumably also carry nuclear warheads up to 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles).

Serious stuff, no? But it was the report that I read in the on-line version of the Guardian newspaper that really put my nerves on edge. It reported that ‘Britain's armed forces are stepping up their contingency planning for potential military action against Iran amid mounting concern about Tehran's nuclear enrichment programme.’ Really scary stuff. When I read this I thought oh surely not, surely we're not going to get sucked into another disasterous adventure by hanging on to the coat-tails of the United States!

The British Military of Defence (MOD) believes the US may decide to fast-forward plans for targeted missile strikes at some key Iranian facilities. British officials say that if Washington presses ahead it will seek, and receive, UK military help for any mission, despite some deep reservations within the coalition government. And if that wasn't enough, I then read that, British military planners are examining where best to deploy Royal Navy ships and submarines equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles over the coming months as part of what would be an air and sea campaign.'

I won't go into the intricacies of Iran's nuclear activities; this is for more erudite mouthpieces than me to consult with, other than to say there seems to be inexorable proof that the Islamic state is up to no good.

If, and it's a massive 'if', Israel should go ahead with this nonsensical attack against Iran then the consequences are too horendous to contemplate. So, from a layman's perspective what would it mean for us expats, and, more specifically, those who are in the Middle East? When it comes to the military ramifications, then who knows where that might end, but when it comes to the global-economic side of things, then we are in no-man's land. For one thing, the Iranians will close the Straits of Hormuz; that you can be certain. This small 34 mile opening to the Arabian Gulf witnesses 17.5 million barrels of oil and 3.5 billion cubic feet/day passing through on its way to Asia, Southern Africa, Europe and the Americas. All this energy is exported from Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia - so, big numbers, big business who pay hosts to 100s of 1000s of expats from every continent.

As mentioned previously the military scenario would be a regional and then a global disaster. Iran has proclaimed on many occasions that if attacked one of its immediate reactions would be to 'shut off' the Straits of Hormuz and attack all non-Iranian oil and gas transport ships in the area. Iran has also stated that not only Israel will come under fierce retailiation but also the Gulf states of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, because these states host US and British military resources. For instance America's 5th Fleet has it's base in Bahrain.

So what does all this war-mongering mean to the Western expat eking out a living in the Gulf? Well, the big unknown is, "when is this likely to take place?" The obvious answer is, no-one knows. On the face of it Iran presses on with construction of its 'peaceful' nuclear plants. We in the West continue to monitor developments from afar, Israel remains quiescent on the matter, and Britain hangs loose with a watching brief. For me personally, I think I would be looking for alternative employment soon. Luckily enough, I got out of the Middle East last year, having spent the two previous years in Oman. Once more, there is a problem because there just isn't the same number of energy job opportunities that there once was. And with the global economy on the brink of a double-dip recession, the question is whether one stays put in the Gulf and hopes the whole thing will fizzle out. The alternative is to shut up shop, sell your house, cash in all your earnings, and go live in the northern Himalayas on $10 a day for the rest of your life. It is an option!

The Eurozone and Expats - Is there a Problem?

Well, is there a problem for us expats? Simply put, yes and no. Yes in that these days whatever happens economically in one part of the world can affect other areas of the world such is the interconnectedness of our modern fiscal world. On the one hand, no, because it depends on one's financial muscle; in other words is your budgetary house in order? It would be quite cynical of me to state that, what the hell, it has nothing to do with me. I sit here quietly earning a good living, daily per diem, wonderful apartment, insurance and medical cover and other expenses covering most of my outgoings, and all seems right with my world. So, should I give a damn about Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Italy and whoever next requires bailing out?
You see what afflicts the aforementioned countries is simple mismanagement of their economies. Okay, possibly 85% of all countries have to borrow to keep their economies going. Unless you are Saudi Arabia or United Arab Emirates, et al, the simple fact is that countries have to borrow due to public spending and income tax / Government bond sales deficits. It's a bit like a householder whose salary is not enough to fund his/her monthly outgoings. What to do? Borrow the extra money - simple as that.
With Greece the problem stemmed from years of unrestrained spending, cheap lending and failure to implement financial reforms that left the country badly exposed when the global economic downturn struck. This whisked away a curtain of partly fiddled statistics to reveal debt levels and deficits that exceeded limits set by the eurozone. Again, spending beyond its means.
With 'normal' people, they are in the same boat. In the UK, it was published yesterday: 1-11-2011, that private debt has ballooned to £1.3 trillion! That is a hell of a lot of debt. And you have to consider just how all this debt is going to be paid back. Unemployment in the UK has surged past the psychological 2.5 million barrier with no sign of abating. And if there are no jobs, people cannot pay off their debt, and the double whammy is that it cuts into the Government's income tax revenues.
And then there are us expats. I think if you were to walk down any high street in the UK today and ask passers-by how much money they thought expatriate workers earn, they wouldn't have a clue. In fact many of those window shoppers couldn't even tell you what an expat is. I could tell them that it was no guarded secret that the majority of expats do what they do to earn higher salaries than back home with the added bonus that it is tax-free. And yes, most of us enjoy other perks: free medical insurance and health care, free accommodation and air fares and in many cases a daily living allowance. I knew one chap who worked a 28-28 rotation job in Qatar who only spent about £100 a month of his own money. Mind you he was a bit of a loner and one got the impression that the thought of his spending money was a sin! This basically left him banking nearly his whole salary - quite remarkable.
In my own experience I detect a certain resentment amongst some segments of society who begrudge us the lifestyles we've been accustomed to. But what they don't appreciate is that at the end of the day, many expats are away from their families and friends for extended periods of time, sometimes working in hostile environments, but then we contribute to the local economies of the countries in which we work: there's car hire, in some cases car purchase, food and beverage sales, bar bills, clothes - you name it - we have to buy many things and in some cases paying more than UK prices.
Here in Baku, Azerbaijan where I work, the cost of living is about 25% higher than the UK. So there are pluses and minuses on both sides. So am I personally all that concerned with the Eurozone crisis? No, I am not because I don't have one single pound note tied up in stocks and shares or any other volatile investment for that matter. Keeping a tight grip on my personal finances is a high priority and a similar control on my spending is tantamount to living a clean, debt-free life. These are two prudent fiscal basics of expenditure that the Greek government has nonchalantly disregarded in recent times. It could beg the question, would I be going to Greece on holiday any time soon? Hmmm, I will leave that to your imagination.

Azerbaijan - Where is it? The Answer!

Well, I am back on the blog and have returned to the subject of Azerbaijan. I have now been working here for 10 and a half months and still enjoying my time here. Next week we shall be moving to a new apartment in downtown Baku and looking forward to that. Right, just recently there has been some confusion in various media and in local newspapers about the Caucasus and Azerbaijan - it's specifically about where it is and its relation to neighbouring countries.
Obviously I know where it is but I decided to do a Google search and see where other websites pinpointed the country. Shown below are some examples with the location in brackets ( ).

True Knowledge - www.trueknowledge.com - (Asia)

Wikipedia - www.wikipedia.org - (Eurasia)

Wikitravel - www.wikitravel.org - (Europe or Asia) -not sure!

Nato - www.nato.int - (Europe)

Contractors Unlimited - www.contractorsunlimited.com - ????

Juggle - www.juggle.com - (Eurasia)

Capial of - www.capital-of.com - (Europe)

Travelling Luck - www.travellingluck.com - (Southwestern Asia)

Confused? Well, let me put you out of your misery once and for all. Whilst doing further research I came across old faithful, the about.com website. Somehow I knew that if I kept digging enough I'd come to a definitive answer to the question: just where is Azerbaijan officially locted?

I will hand you over to the person of Matt Rosenburg at About.com Guide, who writes:

"I was asked today why I list Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan as Asian countries while some other websites list them as European countries. My answer was as follows... There’s no official definition of the boundary between Asia and Europe (nor between any continent for that matter) so the boundaries are merely traditional. The Caucasus Mountains have traditionally divided the two continents and these three countries are to the south of that boundary. I also feel that it is more appropriate to place these countries in Asia because all of Turkey east of Istanbul is customarily considered Asia and certainly their neighbor to the south, Iran, is an Asian country."

Well, Azerbaijan is, when going by physical boundaries, an Asian country. So, I am accepting it as such because when you think about it logically, Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union and it was classified as part of Asia. So, I am afraid Azerbaijan cannot characterise itself as European - but then it did win the Eurovision Song contest earlier this year! Still confused?

Are You Afraid of Investing Your Money?

The previous blog was aimed at those who are contemplating life as an expat. This blog is dedicated to those well-heeled (hopefully) veterans of the suitcase, airport waiting lounge, visa hang-ups and dodgy taxi drivers. What is an expat veteran? For me, he/she has to have at least 15 years of experience as an expatriate under the belt. So, bearing that in mind, we’re talking people who have built up a palpable nest egg over the years. They have money to spend, perhaps who’ve gone on lavish vacations, aren’t afraid to invest in a decent wardrobe of accoutrements, and change out the automobile every couple of years. But underlying much of this ostentatiousness can be a fear of investing.

The fear of losing money is the main reason a huge percentage of the public struggles financially. But fear isn’t the real problem. It’s how people handle fear that matters. The much-celebrated investor, Robert Kiyosaki, tells us that the primary difference between rich people and poor people is how they handle the fear of losing money. Some people, when hit with a financial loss, give up. Others transform the loss into a win. As John D. Rockefeller said, “I always tried to turn every disaster into an opportunity.” Losers are defeated by failure. Winners are inspired by it. And I must confess to having come across many winners in my travels abroad. It’s very much like a game of chess; it’s 95% in the mind and 5% in making the move!

As mentioned above, many expats do tend to go over the top with buying big houses and posh cars rather than big investments. This is down partly to the fact that the vast majority of expats are contract workers who work from one job to the next - they enjoy the money so much that they get caught up in the ‘expat trap.’ Their overheads (and debts) force them into working abroad chasing the higher salaries to keep their ‘heads above water’.

Kiyosaki goes on to say that, “The primary difference between rich people and poor people is how they handle fear.” From my own point of view, the best way out of this fear of investments and, to a certain extent, the fear of money, is to diversify. Having a financial plan for security and comfort first are important. But if you have any desire to become rich, or just simply better off, then diversify. Better you put a lot of eggs in a few baskets rather than putting a few eggs in many.

As a one-time successful sports trader, I took the attitude that if the prospect of failure inspires you to fight and win, maybe you should challenge yourself to change your financial habits. Educate yourself and take some financial risks. The more education you have, the less risk there will be. It’s all down to market research. People in general are just too lazy to be bothered with investment diversification tending to keep their money in banks and building societies. I should point out that as I write this blog the Bank of England interest rate is stagnating at 0.5%. Nothing is going to fall onto your lap. You’ve got to work for it and when you do, the burden of fear will disappear by itself. The fact that the banks are paying such a low rate should be enough to strip off the vest of fear and invest prudently and diligently.

One should start with investing in mutual funds and unit investment trust funds (check it out here: http://fitzvillafuerte.com/mutual-funds-and-unit-investment-trust-funds-whats-the-difference.html) and then move on to a riskier type of investment – the stock market. If you start buying and selling stocks, then you might want to progress into Forex (foreign exchange) trading. And for those who are approaching retirement, and assuming you are of that ilk, you might want to contemplate moving into the hospitality industries: pubs, bars, restaurants, eateries, small hotels/motels or guest houses.

But, as I hopefully have explained clearly, it is all about overcoming one’s fears of investing your hard-earned cash to secure one’s future security and lifestyle.

You can be young without money but you can't be old without it.
Tennessee Williams

So You Wanna be an Expat?

Here are the pluses and the minuses . . .
Are you cut out to be an expat? Expat, in case of those who came into this world from a foreign planet, is short for ‘expatriate’. Expatriates are those fine breeds of bohemian spirits who decide to work in foreign climes. And it has been my experience of the expat life that you’re either suited to it or you are not.

I recall back in mid-1980 when I was working in Saudi Arabia, our flight landed sometime around 8:00pm – it was dark and as always the heat seemed to wrap itself around you like an electric blanket as soon as you stepped out of the plane. Anyway, we moved into the immigration area, and formed orderly queues to have our passports and visas checked. Behind me was this petulant, crabby Brit who, after listening to his diatribe of discontent for the previous 15 minutes, was entering the Middle East for the first time; in fact it was his first working trip abroad. To cut a long story short, and such was the utter disdain he had for the Saudi immigration process, that he decided there and then that he was gonna try and get the return flight back to Heathrow that very night. He had only been in Saudi less than an hour but he’d had enough! He hated the place!

Okay, this is an extreme case of a budding expat who obviously wasn’t of the mindset to face working abroad and who obviously did not do his homework before leaving Blighty. But remember, this was 1980, and back then there was no Internet, no e-mail, no SMS texts, in fact very little resources to check. So, to a certain extent, one was taking an even bigger gamble back in the 80s – you were either suited to life abroad or you weren’t.

The Pluses

So why the expat life – or not? Well, there is one simple common denominator when it comes to working overseas for a living: money, tax-free money. Let’s face it, if we were not coining in two, three or four times our salary back home, tax-free, then there would be no reason to go abroad. It’s a simple as that. So, let us put money as the Numero Uno – Number One - the Big Plus. The following positives about working abroad are deemed the same whether you are on single or married status.

The next three pluses, although not in any particular order are: free flights, free accommodation and transport. With the latter, this might come by way of a monetary allowance paid monthly, or a yearly one-off payment. Added to this, some, but not all, contracts come with a per diem, a daily living allowance. As I write this blog, a decent per diem for a single status contract would be in the region of $35 – 50 per day. If you are on a married status contract with children, then perhaps the kids’ school fees will be paid. And last but not least, you are always covered by medical insurance.

Outwith the financial side of things, other pluses are the wherewithal to indulge in new cultures, meeting the locals, learning a new language and exploring the countryside. And if your expat contract takes you to say, Singapore, well you have at your disposal a richness and diversity of cultures, conventions and lifestyles that will both thrill and amaze you!

The Minuses

Okay, so what negatives should the fledgling expat be apprehensive of? Well, it depends where one ventures. It’s been my experience that there are the ‘good contracts’ and the ‘bad contracts’; if you are lucky enough to end up in Dubai working for a bank or real estate agency on single status, then the world’s your oyster: bars, discos, classy females, great eating joints, fabulous shopping. However, should you be offered a single status contract working in a remote training centre as an Instructor in deepest Nigeria, well you are entering a different world.

Ask any expat what is the biggest downside to working abroad and most, to a man (or woman), will tell you being away from family and friends and if you are married, your wife or husband (although this is not always the case)! Irrespective of your age, this is always the biggest inconvenience or stumbling block to moving abroad. Again it would depend on your marital status and home life.

Location, location, location, a mantra touted by the estate agents when buying your first property. As with buying your first or next property, deciding on your first contract location can be daunting. These days you can pop onto the Internet and do all your own research – there are countless expat websites with which to consult. But I can tell you for sure, even this cannot prepare you for the culture shock, as you step off the plane in a foreign land to take up your first expat contract. You see you have not arrived in your new country for a two-week holiday, you are here to work for a living come Hell or high water!

So, the potential bad bits? If you are moving to a warm climate: the Middle East, S.E. Asia, sub-Saharan Africa or South America, you’re either gonna love it or loath it. Unfortunately, many of us Brits just cannot hack the kind of heat and roasting climates of, say, the Middle East. If you end up in S.E. Asia, Indonesia for instance, you have a medley of mosquitoes facing you 24/7, swarms of flies to put up with, and a mind-boggling potpourri of every kind of insect known to man.

Then maybe the workplace isn’t all that it was cracked up to be. The penthouse flat turns out to be a basement apartment in a crumbling tenement block in the worst area of the city. The transport allowance promised when you signed the contract turns out to be a ‘personal driver’ who takes you to work and back every day. The per diem doesn’t cover your daily costs. And I can add a personal word of warning here – food and other costs in many of the expat hotspots around the world are going through the roof. There was a time when it was cheap for an expat to live abroad – not any more.

There can be language barriers. For instance, here in Azerbaijan, outside of the oil industry, very few Azeris speak English and this has been and can be an on-going problem. When it comes to the social side, if it simply doesn’t exist and there are few expats of your own nationality, then life can be difficult. Part of the expat life is gelling with other expats and building a community spirit but, if you are posted on a project in the Rub al Khali desert of central Saudi Arabia, you just are not going to have a social life.

Last but not least, there are your working conditions. After your living conditions, if these are not healthy and congenial, then you will find yourself slowly slipping down the ladder of despondency. And one must always remember, you are having to commingle and integrate with, not only the local workforce, but other Western expats and sometimes this can bring unforeseen pressures.

A Word to the Wise

When deciding on the expat life I would simply ask yourself this question: do I have the motivation and the desire to further my career and provide for my and my family’s future by leaving home and work abroad. If you can definitely answer in the affirmative, then go for it. Embrace the expat life and put up with the inevitable frustrations and move forward. On the other hand, if you have the smallest doubt about what you are doing then better to stay at home. To pack up your bags and take up the expat life is a bit like having a flutter on the horses; it can be a big gamble but as long as you latch on to a firm favourite, then your quid’s in - take your winnings and run!

Libya - Then and Now

It would seem that the whole world is waiting in anticipation for the downfall of that tyrant and military dictator, Colonel Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi, a man who has ruled with an iron fist the North African state for 41 years.

But this blog is not really about him but my reminiscences about Libya. It was around November 1985 when my contract with Huffco Indonesia came to a premature end. Working in Badak Gas Plant in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. The money was great, a fantastic job with friendly colleagues (Overseas Technical Service), a great social life and the climate, amazing. But all good things come to an end. It was when I arrived at my hotel in Singapore, where I would spend the night, before catching a flight back to London Heathrow the next morning, that I was handed a telegram at the hotel reception. And it was? My next assignment; a one year contract in Libya!

I recall flying back on that flight to the UK and wondering what it would be like in Libya. And it seemed just like days before I would be boarding a plane to Tripoli two weeks later to take up my new assignment. Me and my colleague would initially be based in a hotel in Benghazi before flying down to the Sarir oil field where most of our work would take place.

My initial perceptions of Benghazi, which was reflected throughout Libya during this time, was a society and infrastructure in dire need of repair and rejuvenation. Most of the shops were half-empty, supermarket shelves sparse, streets strewn with garbage, crumbling buildings, and innumerable motor vehicles just seemingly several days away from the scrap heap. Even back then, when Libya was a distinguished oil producer, I often wondered, “where has all this oil wealth gone?” Answer? Well, not into the pockets of the people.

So I did my first trip of six weeks and then back home for two. It was sometime during my next working trip that there were rumours that America was planning bombing Libya for a myriad of reasons, mostly to do with funding terrorist organisations. However, it wasn’t until the 5 April 1986, when Libyan agents bombed "La Belle" nightclub in West Berlin, killing three people and injuring 229 people who were spending the evening there, that the U.S. decided to act. West Germany and the United States obtained cable transcripts from Libyan agents in East Germany who were involved in the attack.

I flew back to the UK during the last week in March - my colleague came up from Sarir to stay in the hotel in Benghazi - there was much paperwork to sort out befoe he went on leave in mid-April. I was sat having my dinner one evening, which must have been April 14, and watched news footage of American fighter bombers returning to their UK bases after bombing Tripoli and Benghazi. I recall the doom and gloom, fearing for the worst, and I was due to fly back to Tripoli several days later. Anyway word soon got out that there would be no more air strikes unless Gadaffi did something stupid. He never did. So, my company gave me the go-ahead to return to Libya. I will never forget getting off the plane at Tripoli airport. One couldn’t get moving for stern-faced security guards and dozens of armed troops patrolling every quarter of the airport.

Security guards and even local Libyans looked at us (mostly British oil workers) with disdain. They knew we weren’t American because Americans were banned from working in Libya. So they figured we were British and here the problem was because Maggie Thatcher gave Ronald Reagan the go-ahead to use British airbases for the attacks on Libya.

So getting through the airport was one of the scarriest of experiences but once outside, our driver was there to pick us up and drive us to Benghazi. It was then that many of us decided that the time was right to get out of that country.

And here we are, mid-August 2011, and what for Libya now? Watch out for another post soon, when things die down a bit.

So You Need an Azerbaijan Visa?

As most Europeans know, Azerbaijan won the Eurovision Song Contest last month. Okay, it wasn't the World Cup, nor was it the Euro Champions' League, but at least it put the country on the map. So, from what I gather, the country is going to be investing big money in the hosting of the song contest, what with upgrading the airport (which is pretty dire to be honest) and beefing up the city's infrastructure. However, this oil-rich state is going to have to do something about its mixed-up, archaic visa processing procedures.

Just before I arrived here back in November 2010 Azerbaijan had just recently changed its visa regulations for non-ex-CIS state citizens, meaning Europe, Britain, the Americas and the rest of the world. When I enquired as to why the change, no-body could answer this simple question. It is still to be answered. Anyway, I got my work visa and then started the process of acquiring visas for my wife and daughter. This process started in late December 2010 and, exactly 16 weeks later, their visas eventually came through - I'll repeat that, 16 weeks!

Okay, this is not the time or place to delve into what was a morass in terms of dealing with the Azeri embassy in London, but I feel it is warranted to report on where this country stands with issuing visas. There was an attempt earlier this month (June 2011) to introduce an e-visa system but this great innovation fell apart. It was discovered that nobody at the Azeri Embassy in London new what was happening and that nobody knew how long it would take to resolve the problem.

The authorities have made it clear that they want to attract more tourists to Azerbaijan; in fact they have named 2011, The Year of Tourism. But there's one main problem with this, to get a visitor's visa to enter the country, you need a LOI, a Letter of Invitation. But wait for it . . . this will set you back 400 manats (about £450.00), and this is a cost you won't read about on Internet websites. So be warned. Now, should you go ahead with this extravagant cost, here is another warning. The LOI only lasts for 30 days. Now, should there be some disruption in processing the LOI, and it runs over 30 days, then you will require another one and that will cost you another 400 manats.

So, unless you are coming here to work, in which case your company will take care of everything, then think twice and good luck!

Eurovision Song Contest - and the Winner is?

Azerbaijan! Who - where? I hear you say. I did not see the Eurovision Song Contest here in Azerbaijan as I had more important things to do and, looking back over the years, this awful mockery of the music genre has left me stone cold and feeling totally desparate for the human race. Let's put it this way, it's not on my favourite top 1000 TV programme listings.

I actually heard the news the next day while watching BBC World television. I must admit, I was astounded, in that I thought Azerbaijan, one of the least sexier countries in the West (is it in the West?) to win such a competition. So I will take my hat off to Ell and Nikki for a brash, nippy performance which I glimpsed on some Azeri television programme. But, let’s get real - this is the Eurovision Song Contest - a cornucopia of garishness, tastelessness and musical destitution. If you win this competition, where do you go from there? Did anyone, the day before the competition, remember last year’s winner? Did anyone even know what country hosted last year's competition? On both counts, I scored zero!

And anyway how can one call this the Eurovision Song Contest when they allow Israel to take part? Israel is firmly a Middle Eastern country. Russia, correct me if I’m wrong, is in Asia, so why was it in the contest? It is my understanding that those other two Caucasian countries, Georgia and Armenia are NOT European, yet they took part.

So admitting these countries just makes a bigger mockery of what is already a banal event, embarassing to watch, hazardous to the ear.

I will end with a quote from Eldar, the male vocalist of the duo, who said backstage later: "We want to bring Europe together with our song." Well, Eldar, if you wanna bring ‘Europe’ together, then you’d better start by getting your country to sort out your problems with Georgia and Armenia, but specifically the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. This daft stand-off has been going on for 23 years with no signs of abating.

But as a Britsh expat living and working in Baku, I feel the winning of this competition will bring some cheer to a city that has witnessed several ugly anti-government demonstrations of late.

As per the Eurovision custom, the winner of the current year’s contest is invited to host the following year's - so will I be going? The answer? Nyet! (No!)

North Africa - Middle East Unrest

Regarding Libya - well I saw this coming many years ago in the early part of 1986. I had been working in Libya at a refinery in the Sirir oilfield, smack dab in the centre of Libya. Even back then, I heard rumours that the people hated Gaddafi and that he did nothing to help them, instead spreading the wealth amongst old cronies and other entities loyal to him. Even some ‘intellectuals’, middle-class petroleum professionals, echoed the same opinion of the hated dictator, but retained a ‘noble silence’ when it came to any criticism of their leader. Libya even back then was a human timebomb ready to go off at any minute. And yet here we are, a quarter of a century later, and the people have revolted against this weird, repulsive maniac. The thing is, is civil war around the corner?

Well, Tunisia has been liberated from the tyrant, Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak has been deposed. The question about the latter is, where has he fled? Some news reports tell of him being accepted by the Saudi regime. If that is true, then does that not put the Saudi royal family on a par with him? Answer? Yes!

If one looks at the other Gulf countries: Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the UAE, one can see similar trends to that of their North African counterparts: unelected, undemocratic regimes ruled by sheiks, princes and sultans. But even in the most lauded Abu Dhabi, a report in 2009 describes Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan, the half-brother of the Manchester City owner, Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan, participating in the torture of an Afghan grain dealer with whom he had had a disagreement. That’s just one instance of how these rulers - although I call them dictators - suppress the people and treat many like shit!

In the past four years I have worked on short-term contracts in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, and have visited Bahrain twice. Although Qatar, Oman and Bahrain could be said to be more liberal societies to that of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, one still senses an undercurrent of unrest. Before coming here to Azerbaijan to work, I did an extended contract in Oman. I found the Omanis a very peaceful, caring people, but I also was told about low wages, no social welfare and rising food prices. Even as a well-paid expat, I found food prices to be on a par with the UK - yep, nothing was cheap in Oman - well the petrol was cheap!

But I read with unbounded horror the other day that two demonstrators were killed on Saturday (26th February) in Oman’s second largest city, Sohar. The police also fired rubber bullets and tear gas at the demonstrators. And yet nearly every Omani I talked to during my time there raved that they had steadfast respect for the Sultan bin-Said Qaboos. However, there have also been several demonstrations in Muscat, the capital city ministries district that was keenly monitored by the ROP (Royal Oman Police).

So what does all this mean for the expat? Well, as I write this blog, hundreds of British expats have been evacuated from Libya. How many are still there, no-one really knows as most European embassies have shut up shop and left. The fear is, and I know this for a fact, should Bahrain descend into chaos, then the rest of the Gulf, including Iran could implode. This would affect oil prices, leading to a titanic economic earthquake the likes of which we have haven’t seen since World War 2. And amongst the chaos is Israel. The last thing the Jewish state wants, paradoxically, is turmoil amidst its neighbours. Israel has had its hands full in recent years dealing with Palestine and Hamas. So the Israelis are keeping a close eye on developments.

As for expats working in these countries, my advice to them is simple - start looking for another job because I personally feel that if Libya falls next, then the Middle East might totally collapse leading to God knows what. Better to act now. Even if I was working in the relative security of Dubai, I would still not feel at ease. We look at the Dubai landscape with all those glittering towers and infrastructure, the tourism, Emirates airlines, et al, and muse that this tiny emirate is a startling example of modern-day civilisation. However, this economic miracle was only achieved by importing thousands of migrant labour from the Indian sub-continent. These were/are paid something in the region of $20 a day, working a 10-hour day, in sweltering heat whilst their rulers bathe in air-conditioned palaces and rake in the profits from property sales.

Anyway, I shall end this blog by saying only this, if the rest of the Arab states deteriorate into tumult like Libya, then they will only have themselves to blame. After all, these sheiks and sultans were never elected and could be characterised by one word: dictators!

Bemused in Baku

Last month just about a couple of weeks of arriving in Baku, Azerbaijan, I wrote my first blog, Men in Black and Women in Shades. I stated in that blog that I would write a much broader one after I had settled in. Well, I have settled in okay in Baku but the place still leaves me confused - bemused. Read on . . .

This isn’t a boast but I have either visited or worked in 34 different countries. My expat working life has taken me to Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Singapore, Libya, Abu Dhabi, Newfoundland (Canada), Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and now, Azerbaijan. In all of these countries one could get a feel for a definite cultural / national ethnicity. Each has a unique identity. But try as a may, I just can’t find that same uniquness of identity in Azerbaijan.

In fact Azerbaijan is probably one of the lesser know countries in the world. When I told friends and relations I was going to Azerbaijan to work, each to a man or woman would say, “Where is that, Ian?” And you know something, it’s actually difficult to describe where it is. I could reply that it sits on the east coast of the Caspian Sea. I bet you that 95 out of every 100 people just don’t have a clue where the Caspian Sea is anyway!

So let’s dig a bit deeper. Azerbaijan is not in Europe yet it borders Turkey. It was once a Soviet State and it shares a border with Southern Russia. It has a border with Iran but it is not in the Middle East and also shares an Eastern border with Georgia - yes, I can hear you - where is Georgia?

So I suppose one could call it a Central Asian State but not Asian. See what I mean?

Here, the major language is Azeri, closely related to Turkish or Turkmen and when I flick through the various TV channels and I watch Turkish and Azeri programmes, the languages do sound alike. Of course Russian is widely spoken due to the ex-Soviet connection. Unfortunately, English is not widely spoken here and that just adds to the confusion of Azerbaijan. However, I have noticed that in the oil industry, where I work, English is spoken widely. But to go to the local shops and supermarkets or get into a taxi, you find yourself having to use sign language!

It’s a Muslim country but you rarely see a mosque. The Azeris I know just don’t want to talk about their religion. I’ve learnt that it is no big deal. Like any oil-rich state like Azerbaijan, there is the rich and the poor. Where I stay, on the 8th floor of an apartment block, I look down on what can only be described as hovels.

What about music? Well, again, confusion. Azeri music resembles what you’d hear in the Middle East - there is belly dancing and yet, again, if I watch Azeri music stations on TV, it’s all trance and hip-hop!!

For me Azerbaijan has an identity crisis - it has still to find itself. As for the Azeri people - I’ll leave that for another blog.

Salaries and Day Rates in the Oil & Gas Industries

When it comes to the exprat life, there is only one question: how many beer tokens does it pay, as an ex-colleague used to characterise it? Okay, there are other considerations: accommodation, flights, per diem, married/single/residential status, etc. But numero uno is: exactly what am I worth? In this blog I am only covering engineering in the oil and gas industries because this is the only industries I have known for the past 30 years!

Salaries in the oil and gas industries are usually very high - well that comes as no surprise. Other related positions in the industry too, are compensated well, but there's still a yawning gap between corporate salaries and those of engineering personnel.

Take that of a Chemical Engineer, one of the highest professions in oil and gas. Of course, a chemical engineer's salary would go up more than double in a time period of a decade or so of having started work. So he earns a very high salary by the time he is about 45-50 years old.

What is paradoxical here is that engineers with a bachelor's degree are given the highest salaries, then come those that hold doctorate degrees and only then those who hold master's degrees in engineering. This trend may occur because a bachelor is younger when he first joins work. Also, the normal trend is that he will not be interested to go into academia, research and education, once he starts working. So he demands a much higher wage than employees in the other two categories. So, there is this discrepancy in salaries in the oil and gas industries. However, this trend does not hold water overseas. It has been my experience that, for instance, in the Middle East, the older you are the more your experience is regarded and, thus, the salary or day rate reflects this.

Now we come to the complex / thorny bit of the subject. The salaries and day rates that engineers in oil and gas enjoy also depends on which part of the world they come from. Salaries for engineers are very high in the UK, especially in London and Aberdeen, 'The Oil Capital of Europe.' Recently I came across an advert for a Process Engineer (refinery) requiring minimum 15 years' experience. Salary? £50,000 per annum, of which the location was Aberdeen. Sounds good? Well, deduct tax and NI and what are you left with? £30,000? So you're gonna have to get by on £2,500/month!!

But let me give you my own experience. Let us take Saudi Arabia. I worked in Aramco when I went there. I was only in Saudi a matter of weeks when it became obvious that there was a tier system when it came to management, employment grade and pay. Here is the tier system:

Top posts: Saudi nationals
Middle management: Saudis, US nationals
Superintendent: US nationals
Supervisory posts: US and UK nationals
Operations supervisors: UK nationals
Engineering technicians: Filipinos, Egyptians and Lebanese (in that order)
Trades: Indian nationals

The salaries reflected the posts, of course, and I would describe it in terms of percentages. The Saudis were paid about 20% above the Americans. The Americans were paid about 30% above the British, etc. The British were paid about 40% above the Filipinos, etc. I recently worked in Oman and nothing has changed to that of Saudi Arabia.

However, I will never forget when my American supervisor arrived on the scene. I had been in Saudi for about a year, an experienced Engineer with a training background. I had a mechanical engineering degree (HND). This guy turns up on the job. After about a month I got to know him better. He had never worked in the oil and gas industries; didn't know the difference between a 3-phase separator and a slug catcher! His degree was in geography, or something, and he had never worked abroad before! Yet he came on the job as my boss - can you believe that? Why? Because of his nationality. He was an American and he HAD to be put in the post as my supervisor. Nice chap, granted, but should never have been there in the first place.

What was hard to take was that he was earning perhaps $36,000 a year more than me. And you know something - this is January 2011 and nothing seems to have changed.