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.