al manhal

A magazine exploring the oil and gas industry

A fount of knowledge

Issue two 2014

Enchanting : Wadi Shab

02 10 12 Solar renewable Omani jobs A day in the energy: past, for skilled Omani life of... present and future workers

“In a time of increasing importance of the role of media in contemporary life of communities and peoples, it is necessary to work on the development of Omani media, to lead message in the development of the capacity citizen and awareness in turn in the building and his country, and also it contributes to the consolidation of the relations of friendship and cooperation with the international community”

His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said Dear Readers, Welcome to issue two of al manhal for 2014. As ever, we have a range of features which we hope will enrich your knowledge about Oman’s oil and gas industry and the important role PDO plays within it.

Production Manager a brand new feature series – My Oman – that celebrates the Karima al Shahaibi incomparableTurn to the beauty centre of our pages country. and you’ll This colourful also find addition the first to ofal manhal is produced in association with PDO employee and keen Graphic Design Mohammed al Mahrazi natural wonder to be captured by his lens. photographer Mohammed al Mahrazy, with Wadi Shab the first Design Consultants Our main industry topic this issue looks at the potential for solar United Media Services LLC renewable energy to power the oil and gas sector, spotlighting the successful launch of PDO’s solar steam generation pilot at Amal Translation & Editing and revealing plans for an exciting new solar power project. Saleh al Alawi, Yaqoub al-Mufargi, Ikhlas al Waili & Mohammed al Arymi Our next topic concerns business ethics – an issue that has been high on Oman’s agenda. We look at a few of the ways Printer PDO is helping to ensure its staff ‘do the right thing’ as well as Loay International LLC pinpointing some of the wrong turns that can lead down the path to corruption. Advisory Board Suleiman al Manthari, Our ever-popular Day in the Life feature is a little different this External Affairs and Communications time around. We’ve put Well and Reservoir Management Planner, Manager, PDO Hussain al Noumani in the hotseat, but instead of focusing on Abla al Riyami, his daily work routine we’ve taken key milestones in his PDO In-Country Value Director, PDO career, to underline the possibilities for personal and professional Intisaar al Kindy, Exploration Director, PDO Dr. Saleh al Anbouri, growthLast, that but the certainly Company not offers least, its we high turn fliers. our attention to the important work PDO is doing – in partnership with the government Ministry of Oil and Gas and the contractor community – to provide thousands of good job Dr. Rashid al Maamari, opportunities for young Omanis within the oil and gas industry. Sultan Qaboos University Prof. Sobhi Nasir, We hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed Sultan Qaboos University preparing it. Also, have you noticed our new look and feel? We always welcome your comments and feedback so feel free to contact us using the details on the right side of the page! Address editorial correspondence to: Corporate Communications PDO, P.O. Box 81 Regards, Muscat 100, Oman [email protected] Team al manhal

© 2014 Development Oman Articles from al manhal permission on condition that: the text be neither edited nor abridged; the magazine andmay Petroleumbe reprinted Development without specific Oman Distributed every quarter to Sultan be credited; and a copy of the reprinted article be provided Qaboos University, local private and to al manhal’s managing editor. government colleges, and schools. Contents 02 Solar renewable energy: past, present and future

Ethics: why it’s everybody’s energy pilot now successfully up andWith running, PDO’s first al manhal major solar looks at business the future for solar power in the With governments and wider society oil and gas industry. demanding the highest standards of ethics from the business world, PDO is stepping up its efforts to ensure staff ‘do the right thing’. 08 12 Omani jobs for skilled Omani workers 14

A day in the life of... 16 Enchanting Oman: Wadi Shab 02

Solar renewable energy: past, present and future With PDO’s first major solar energy pilot now successfully up and running, al manhal looks at the future for solar power in the oil and gas industry.

When PDO’s Head of New Technology construction of the outer glasshouse that protected Implementation, Dr Syham Bentouati, received the the sunlight collecting mirrors. This glasshouse came from Holland, and featured a ceiling system that smile of satisfaction: the Amal solar steam pilot was was sealed to the metal frame using plastic. That upcall and on herrunning mobile – on phone time she and couldn’t on budget! help but flash a might be OK in a more temperate European country, The plant, which was featured in al manhal’s but in the baking Middle Eastern sun the plastic deformed, breaking the seal. The defect didn’t come 12 December 2012 – or 12/12/12 to give its more to light until the glasshouse sprang a leak during the auspiciousfirst issue ofshorthand. 2013, started From producingthere, steam on the plant was quickly brought up to withoutmajor storm the ofneed April to 2013, turn but off once the Amal works, steamdiscovered generation. it was quickly rectified yearfull speed of operation. and by 1 February 2013 the clock could start on its first complete what next? In fact, during that same storm By the time that year was over, the the overall integrity of the solar plant’s use of sunshine to generate steam process was underlined when steam was estimated to have saved it was the only operation in the almost a million cubic metres of natural gas, at the neighbouring area that didn’t need to be shut down same time reducing PDO’s carbon footprint by some due to the effects of the bad weather. 1,800 tonnes of CO . 2 Amal works – what next? From a technical perspective, the plant worked even better than anticipated, with the average So the concept of solar steam generation is volume of steam generated around 4% to 5% in proven. What next? The simple answer might be to excess of the contractual obligation. There were a few simply scale things up; to have solar power contribute learnings along the way; most notably relating to the

significantly to the steam at Amal or one of PDO’s 03 04

other thermal enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects. First the size of the solar plant would have to at least be However, there’s a major challenge in terms of the There are two significant challenges involved, though. footprint such a plant would occupy. At the moment, with and nightly steam requirements while the sun shines. its relatively limited, 50 tonnes per day contribution to doubled, to createSecond, sufficient an appropriate capacity to storagecover both medium daily the overall steam needs at Amal, the pilot would have to be chosen. There are solar facility forms a reasonably compact a few options out there, but one has site equivalent to a couple of football Solar energy been reasonably proven in real world pitches. To cover all of Amal’s daily needs conditions, namely molten salt. As its of around 5,000-6,000 tonnes, the solar in Oman name suggests, this is a form of salt that plant would have to grow to cover more becomes liquid when subjected to very than 200 football pitches. And this is not high temperatures, with this latent heat even a particularly substantial project by able to be extracted later as required. On a simpler level, thermal EOR standards: the equivalent project at Qarn the heat can also be stored in blocks of concrete, although Alam gets through 20,000 tonnes of steam a day! And then, of course, there’s the question of what happens at night. Steam injection is a 24/7 process in questionable.this is much less efficient. Even pools of water have been most applications and even though the Omani day is a proposed for heat storage, although again, efficiency is consistently long one due to the country’s equatorial Solar energy in Oman location, there are numerous hours of darkness when Given its mid-year publication date, you are no doubt the solar energy collecting mirrors fall idle. The straight- reading this issue of al manhal while sheltering from the searing Middle Eastern sun in an air-conditioned room gaps – the more challenging, but more sustainable, option is somewhere. As such a sunny country, Oman must be toforward introduce solution some is formto run of a heatgas-powered storage that boiler can to be fill fed in the by among the premier places for solar energy to take hold, the sun during the day then tapped during the night. right? 05

The simple answer is ‘yes’. As already mentioned, issues around solar energy should be thought of as show Oman’s equatorial location means it gets a better quality stoppers. Indeed, PDO is now pressing ahead with its of sunshine than many other parts of the world. The sun next major solar power pilot (see panel). The Company shines for a fairly consistent amount of time each day is also investigating the potential for solar desalination throughout the year, particularly when compared with plants, whereby the sun’s energy would heat salty water parts of northern Europe where the sun completely disappears for large stretches of winter time. to clean water. sufficiently to boil it, with the vapour then condensed back However, there are a few nuances that also need to Finally, solar energy is also being considered to power be considered by any organisation planning a large-scale an unconventional water disposal project that would solar project. And one of these is dust. If you look at a extract salt from the hyper-saline produced water typical satellite image of the Gulf region you’ll usually see a cloud of dust in the atmosphere, mostly sand that’s whipped a number of uses – for example, in drilling – but the trick up by the desert winds. The dust layer acts as a screen, of northern oilfields such as Fahud and Yibal. This salt has preventing a proportion (anything up to 5%) of the to maximise evaporation. radiation emitted by the sun from reaching the earth’s is to flow it into pools that are the optimal size and depth The message to be drawn from all these initiatives surface. This radiation is vital for solar heat/energy is that solar power is something PDO is taking very generation, so any drop-off reduces a plant’s overall seriously as it looks to meet future energy challenges as effectiveness. well as to reduce its environmental footprint. Oman as The dust creates another, more practical problem: a country needs every cubic metre of gas it can get hold whenever there’s a heavy dew or rainfall it mixes with the of. Diversifying the economy into new areas such as water and is deposited as mud on any solar panels facing manufacturing and petrochemicals depends on a ready upwards to catch the sun. This mud dries like cement, supply of gas, while closer to home, PDO’s EOR activities giving a major headache to the operational staff required – so essential to maintaining production from maturing to keep the panels clean. Remember where we talked Thus solar, as a clean, renewable gas substitute, makes trying to keep that clean. fields – must also be fed by copious amounts of gas. about a solar field the size of 200 football pitches? Imagine all sorts of sense provided it can be tamed effectively. While they represent important technical and Expect to see plenty more about cutting-edge solar operational challenges to be factored in, none of these technologies in future issues of al manhal. 06

Technology Corner 07

As al manhal went to press, PDO an electrical circuit, the electrons can had begun a study to assess the be captured in the form of an electric options for building a solar power current – that is, electricity. plant that would have a generating The amount of electricity capacity of 5MW. PDO is calling this produced is directly dependent on a pilot project, but that is a serious how much light strikes the panel, amount of power in its own right, in hence the need for it to be located in keeping with the Company’s ethos to as sunny a spot as possible and for it make such initiatives large enough to be kept spotlessly clean. to be meaningful in terms of impact, learning experience and capacity to While PDO’s pilot PV plant is a scale up. of the world’s largest plants of this The key to making such a plant type.significant Many size,of these it is aredwarfed located by insome the most effective is location: it needs United States, although China is fast to be in the best sun trap available, becoming a major solar power, with its somewhere that is protected as much as Hydro-solar PV Station possible from heavy in320MW Qinghai Longyangxia Province dews and wind- PDO prepares said to be the world’s borne dust, as well largest commissioned as being where the to build plant to date. maximum amount of ‘good’ solar radiation Oman’s Meanwhile, earlier touches down on this year India pledged earth. largest solar to build the world’s most powerful solar Although nothing plant. Located in the has been decided yet, power plant state of Rajasthan, there is a good chance this proposed behemoth that the generating would be spread over 77 square technology that will be deployed is kilometres, an expanse of land that’s photovoltaic panels, also known as bigger than Manhattan Island in the PVs. US. It is planned to have a nominal PVs contain groups of cells, capacity of 4,000 MW, equivalent to which are made from thin layers four full-size nuclear reactors, and of semiconductor material, usually should generate around 6.4 billion silicon. This semiconductor wafer is kilowatt-hours of electricity a year. specially treated to form an electric Such moves demonstrate that the global solar race is well and on the other. When light energy truly on, and the earth’s precious strikesfield, positive the solar on one cell, side electrons and negative are natural resources, not to mention its knocked loose from the atoms in the environment, look set to be the clear semiconductor material. If electrical winners. conductors are attached to the positive and negative sides, forming 08

Ethics: why it’s Committed to the THE PDO CODE OF CONDUCT everybody’s Adherence to the conduct is pivotal and a sure way to uphold our integrity and ethical values in everything we do.

PDO CODE business Commitment to People and Safety • Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) OF CONDUCT • Equal Opportunity • Harassment With governments and wider society w our commitment... • Substance Abuse Committed to People & Safety sho Make PDO proud. Committed to Fight Corrupt Practices et’s Committed to Safeguard Information & Assets L demanding the highest standards of Committed to Prudent Communication Committed to Fair National & International Trade Commitment to Fight Corrupt Practices ethics from the business world, PDO is • Anti-Bribery & Corruption • Conflict of Interest stepping up its efforts to ensure staff • Gifts & Hospitality • Money Laundering ‘do the right thing’. Poster valid till 31 August, 2011 Relationships keep the corporate world turning. People Commitment to Safeguard Information and Assets tend to do business with people they like, so developing • Intellectual Property • Data Privacy & Protection and sustaining strong bonds at an individual level can its anti-corruption efforts in recent years, tightening • Records Management • Protection of Corporate Assets bring years of rewards at a company level. legislation,In Oman, thegiving government more powers has significantly to the State enhanced Audit In the past, and in many places in of the Institution and tripling the numbers of civil world, maintaining that relationship with a gift servants tasked with investigating bribery Commitment to Prudent Communication • Business Communication & the Email Code here, a nice meal there, or trip to a major and corruption matters. The judiciary has • Personal Use of IT & Communications sporting event as a special treat, was seen also been separated from the rest of the • Public Disclosure • Financial Reporting as part and parcel of the job. But where is machinery of government, giving it more the line before such indulgence crosses into independence. darker territory, where the ‘treat’ becomes DO At PDO, formal business ethics principles Commitment to Fair National & an expectation, even one that stretches as far International Trade THE RIGHT have been in place since the early 1980s. In • Free & Fair Competition as hard cash? • Import-Export Control & Sanctions 2010, a new Ethics and Compliance team was It’s an issue that has vexed the business THING created; a dedicated resource that represented something of a rarity in Omani corporate circles world for years, but recently it has become a Let’s show our commitment. Make PDO proud. matter for governments, notably in the Middle at that time. The ethics and compliance function, East region, where a good proportion of the public which sits within PDO’s Legal Department, was discontent that prompted civil unrest in 2011 was tasked with things like managing business ethics systems Raoul Restucci concerned with a perception of high levels of corruption. and processes, handling investigations and reporting. Managing Director

Link to PDO-COC: http://sww.pdo.shell.om/sites/fd/FLG/default.aspx 09 ISTLE IQÉ H ÉØ°ü W dG E ≥ H ∏£ T J

¿¿ W

CG CG

i i

O

ƒ ƒ

L L ° °

S Since then, many improvements were S behavioural principles the Company

B B

∂

∂

«

« wanted them to comply with. At the same

T

introduced in PDO by the Compliance T

∏ ∏

Y Y

S S

É É U U

e e J team. This started with the introduction J time, a new ‘Blow The Whistle’ process was of an enhanced code of conduct, with mechanism for anyone witnessing or hearing aboutlaunched, suspect behaviour. offering a confidential reporting and corruption. Staff were reminded of the key increased focus on conflict of interest, bribery .OÉ°ùØdG íaɵàd ∂à°UôaNext É¡fEG up was implementing a more thorough system of investigating incidents, with a new committee It's your chance to stand up against corruption. established to decide the consequences of investigated THE PDO CODE OF CONDUCT matters, all of which are also reported to the State Audit Adherence to the conduct is pivotal and a sure way to uphold our integrity and ethical values in everything we do. Institution, Public Prosecutor or Royal Oman Police,

depending on the seriousness of the case. Training Commitment to People and Safety • Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) and communication campaigns were also launched • Equal Opportunity throughout PDO and the automatic/online reporting of • Harassment • Substance Abuse

potential conflicts was introduced, to comply with the Commitment to Fight Corrupt Practices The goal driving all of these parallel efforts is to use • Anti-Bribery & Corruption new legislation on conflict of interest. • Conflict of Interest the enhanced governance regime as a stepping stone • Gifts & Hospitality to changing employee behaviours, so that even also the • Money Laundering slightest unethical behaviour becomes as unacceptable as unsafe behaviours are within the Company in its Goal Commitment to Safeguard Information and Assets Zero and zero tolerance drive on safety. That’s a tough, • Intellectual Property long-term process, but PDO is pursuing it with vigour • Data Privacy & Protection • Records Management as it aims to retain its his role as the leading company • Protection of Corporate Assets driving best practices in the Oman oil and gas business.. Bringing business ethics to life for Commitment to Prudent Communication • Business Communication & the Email Code • Personal Use of IT & Communications PDO staff • Public Disclosure • Financial Reporting The primary mechanism being used to change attitudes is training. Each year, hundreds of employees undergo face-to-face fraud awareness training, a Commitment to Fair National & programme that peaked last year with no fewer than International Trade • Free & Fair Competition • Import-Export Control & Sanctions online training module will also be made available,

while1,300 individualsbespoke programmes attending courses. catering This for year, particular a new departments’ needs can also be arranged. Let’s show our commitment. Make PDO proud. Business ethics also features strongly on internal communications collateral, including screensaver

Raoul Restucci messages and a rotating series of campaign messages Managing Director that appear on the public TV screens dotted around the Link to PDO-COC: http://sww.pdo.shell.om/sites/fd/FLG/default.aspx

Company’s offices. The launch slogan for this programme 10

was ‘Say No To Bribery’, with the follow-up ‘Do The right Thing’ in circulation The slippery slope to corruption at the time of going to press. Looking ahead, PDO’s Gifts Hospitality and Travel corruption-busters • Gifts or hospitality should never influence imminent know they have more business decision-making processes or cause others to to do before the risks perceive an influence of ethical breaches can be minimised. However, nobody is under any illusions that there won’t and a man vastly experienced in dealing with these matters, he gave al manhal an still be the odd bad apple insightPDO’s into Head how of seemingly Ethics and harmless Compliance gifts is andTertius hospitality Stapelberg. can A overstep former police the line officer into in the barrel – nothing is something more dangerous to all concerned. ever 100% certain when people are involved. Such “Gifts and hospitality given too freely and regularly are a major driver of miscreants will simply be bribery and corruption, because once people get used to these small gifts it an ever-smaller, and ever becomes the norm, and that opens the door to any unscrupulous supplier more-scorned, minority. wishing to misuse the situation. And that’s the way it “When it comes to money being offered, the answer should always be ‘no’. should be. But that can be a difficult thing to say when the offer is on the table and there are only two people in the room. You might say no once, twice, maybe more times; but then there might be a situation where you need the money – say for an illness in the family. However, once you’ve taken it you’ve crossed a line that is very, very difficult to pull back from. And that’s the start of a corrupt relationship. “Worse still, the logic is that once you’ve accepted a bribe you are open to blackmail in future, so you are really at the mercy of the other party. They can exploit that weakness in a single meeting to have you under their control for the rest of your business life.” 11

Global anti-corruption initiatives As part of the global fight against corruption, a number of international compliance organisations have been formed that encourage public and private sector institutions to adopt more ethical and sustainable practices. Probably the best known is the United Nations Global Say NO Compact. It was founded in 2000 with nine principles centred around human rights, labour standards and environmental protection; withand a 10th, directly relating to anti-corruption, to Bribery subsequently added in 2004. This tenth principle states that ‘businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery’.

Transparency International, which publishes an annual . OÉ`````°ù`````Ø``````dG í```````aÉ````````c CorruptionAnother Perceptions well-known Index corruption-fighting that provides a comparative organisation listing is . á````cô````°û```∏```d ô``````î``a Qó```°ü```e ø`````c Stand up against corruption. of corruption worldwide. It is credited with putting corruption MAKE PDO PROUD. on the agenda at global institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, both of which now see corruption as one of the main obstacles to international development. The third major anti-corruption organisation is the Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI). This body was founded by a group of company CEOs in 2004 and today it falls under the auspices of the World Economic Forum. Originally focused on improving compliance practices, PACI has been devoting increasing efforts to foster a high-level dialogue between business and governments Say NO to on key corruption challenges. It counts , PDO’s Corruption major corporate shareholder, among its members. Don’t get hooked

Say NO to bribes. Make PDO proud.

Poster valid till 31 August, 2011 12 Omani jobs for skilled Omani workers PDO’s yearly operating budget runs into billions of dollars, but until recently just 18% of that money stayed inside Oman, with the rest being paid out for imported goods, services and manpower.

commitment to the national In-Country Value initiative (see almanhal issue 1, 2014 for more details).Now the Company is aiming to increase that ‘Made in Oman’ element to 32%, as part of its A key component of this new ambition will be made up by human capital, replacing expat workers with Omanis as part of the process known nationally as ‘Omanisation’. However, the vast proportion of oil and gas roles are skilled ones, and this threw up a problem: how to get contractors to employ Omanis when too few were available who possessed the required knowledge and skills? The answer is a ground-breaking initiative that has brought together government, PDO and

key contractorsMatching into a unique, Omanis mutually beneficial with opportunities partnership. Here’s how it works… Ask a contractor to employ a greater proportion of skilled Omanis in technical jobs and in the

now taking responsibility for training Omanis to take on technical roles, provided the contractor past the answer would often be “I can’t find any”. That won’t be the case in future, because PDO is prospective recruits are all young men registered as unemployed at the Ministry of Manpower, commits to employing that person for a period of at least two years after qualification. The

andto create for jobs more such opportunities as pipe fitters, for electrical Omanis, engineerswhile the latterand instrument only have technicians,to cover the schooltrainee’s leavers PASI aresocial targeted. insurance, It’s sincea win/win the training for PDO costs and are the underwritten contractors, helpingby PDO. theBetter former still, towhile fulfil undergoing its pledge training the individual still counts towards the contractor’s Omanisation target.

Training the new recruits Once PDO has reviewed the list of potential recruits forwarded by the Ministry of Manpower, the likely candidates’ details are sent to one of the external training providers who have been tasked with running the programme. There are four such companies now involved, with a new supplier added recently to cope with the burgeoning success of the initiative. Each candidate undergoes a placement test and face-to-face session with the contractor, after which the successful ones will sign a ‘training for employment’ contract. The training itself begins with a foundation course that covers subjects such as English and maths, behaviour and work ethics, which is followed by the technical elements. This year health, safety and environment (HSE) training will also be factored in. When the training is successfully completed, the candidate goes straight to his or her job with the contractor. Upskilling, reskilling, dual skilling… In the past, one of the biggest issues with Omanisation at contractor level has been a tendency to meet the benchmarks through giving Omanis low- and unskilled roles, such as 13 drivers or helpers. PDO feels these employees should have a chance to better themselves, so as part of this initiative it is looking to upskill, reskill or dual skill them so they can take on better paid, more senior positions as technicians. New classrooms and training centres are their ‘day jobs’. Already, contractors have indicated that they’ll put some 1,800 Omani currentlyemployees being forward built for in thisthe programme,Interior, allowing a stunning unskilled success workers that willto fit not their just training provide around a new wave of skilled Omani workers but will also create space for further unskilled recruits as people move up and out of their current jobs.

Graduates can also get involved Graduates seeking work (and therefore registered with the Ministry of Manpower) are also able to join this initiative. Calling upon the knowledge of its own subject matter experts, PDO has devised a special, two-year accelerated experience programme in areas such as health and safety and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) which contractors have previously cited as lacking in suitable Omani candidates. Unlike the technical programme for school leavers, here the graduates sit with their employer from day one, acquiring on-the-job experience alongside an intensive training programme that provides successful participants with an internationally recognised accreditation, for example, the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH) qualification for health and safety. 6G welding – a new level of ambition Perhaps the most ambitious of all the elements to this programme is the plan to train Omanis in the extremely complex and prestigious job of 6G welder. This particular skill is encounter. PDO has some massive projects on the horizon, including the next phase of theits Harweel toughest enhanced to learn in oil the recovery welding (EOR) trade, projectcovering and every a ground-breaking difficult position new a welder initiative might at Yibal Khuff (to be featured in a future issue). These projects require large numbers of 6G welders, so during the next two years some 400 Omanis are going to be trained to meet thislearning manpower the trade, need, and the training first time is said a top-level to be going vocational well. training programme of this scale has been attempted in the region. The first batch of 200 trainees are already

Looking to the future; and how to get involved So far this broad-based programme has created more than 10,000 opportunities for or opportunities to train and upskill provided. For the future, a new initiative focused on drillingOmanis issince currently it got underwaybeing created, in 2011. to help Last more year Omanis alone there get into were this more booming than 3,500 discipline jobs within the oil and gas industry. The Super Local Community Contractors (SLCCs) are also getting more involved, putting their candidates forward to join the training programmes. If you are an unemployed school leaver or graduate and want to get involved yourself, make sure you are registered with the Ministry of Manpower and then contact the programme team at: [email protected] 14 A day in the life of... Hussain al Noumani, Well and Reservoir Management Planner

the ‘career in the life’ of Hussain al Noumani, to help underline the breadth of careerIn a break options from available the normal to those routine, joining we’re PDO. changing Hussain this has feature chosen to his reflect own path, with suitable guidance from managers and mentors along the way, and has most recently taken on the job of Well and Reservoir Management Planner

al manhal’s for the Company’s fields in the north of Oman. You can find out more about this specific role by referring back to first issue of 2010. 15

Cutting my teeth in the drilling Supporting PDO’s commitment to excellence 13discipline years ago… TwoAside years from my ago… ‘day job’, for the past two years I’ve also PDO began supporting my personal had the role of Scheme Manager for the Chairman’s Awards development as soon as I joined the Company for Excellence (CAE), which is PDO’s way of honouring the Company’s best and most innovative teams. I also have my degree in chemical engineering, which I did responsibility for DALTA, which is short for the Dr Abdulla al atback the in University 2001. I received of Manchester a scholarship in the to UK. finish When off Lamki Award for Developing Talent and is given each year to the I returned to Oman I started work in production person who has done most to foster staff development within the Company. Both these initiatives are very rewarding to be work at the rig-site. I really enjoyed the drilling partchemistry, of the aprocess job that and took I metook out it intoupon the myself field to PDO, particularly among the Company’s management. I am gratefulpart of and to myhave boss done for great supporting things for me my in internaltaking them profile on. within I will with PDO’s support. In the end I moved full time probably look to work through one more awards cycle, then pass intogain the ‘Rounddrilling One’ department, drilling qualification, took and passed again the role on to someone else who can make it their own and use it as part of their career progression. In my spare time I do voice- me to be the chief PDO representative on the rig, overs for PDO communication videos and radio commercials on withmy ‘Round sole responsibility Two’ qualification for monitoring and that qualified drilling Oman FM. I have previously worked as a news anchor for Oman activities on behalf of the Company. TV from 2007 till 2012. I also continue to provide voice-overs for Oman TV documentaries.

A masters scholarship and then a Getting my feet under the table in my new Fivemove years into petroleum ago… engineering Today…job! Always keen to better myself, I applied for a Now I can bring the story right up to date, because I’ve just Fulbright Scholarship to take my Masters degree taken on my latest role within PDO, that of Well & Reservoir Management Planner covering the north of the Company’s that I’d been accepted for the scholarship, so in concession area. This is still quite a new position in PDO – I’m Augustin the that United year States. I left for In Texas 2007, A&M I was University, notified where I spent the next two years undertaking a Masters in Petroleum Engineering. PDO agreed to Injust a nutshell, the second the person Well & toReservoir fill these Management shoes – and Planner the prospect role is let me have a paid sabbatical during this period, tofills look me atwith all theequal Oil measures North Directorate’s of excitement activities and apprehension! from a bird’s provided I committed to coming back and working eye view, deciding where best to allocate resources so we can for the Company for a further three years. That maximise production. It’s a move away from a pure technical role into one more about management, but at this stage of my the Masters in my pocket I continued working in career I was ready for a new challenge. I have a mentor within drillingsuited me for fine! a while, When then I came in 2011 back I switched to Oman to with the the Company, someone I picked myself because we have such Petroleum Engineering department, working as a good relationship, and he has been very supportive to me in a Production Technologist focused on a group of making my mind up about my next career move. My message to any students considering a career at PDO is to come in with your fields located in the south of Oman. There’seyes open always to the room huge topossibilities try something you’ll new, find provided in front of you you, show and yournot to enthusiasm get fixated and on oneaptitude! career path at the expense of others. 16 Enchanting Oman: Wadi Shab Oman is not just a jewel of the Gulf region; it’s also one of the most beautiful countries in the world. For our next few issues, we’ve teamed up with PDO employee and keen photographer Mohammed al Mahrazy to bring that beauty to life on our centre pages. very familiar to you; others less so. All should be seenSome in person, of the naturalbut please wonders respect we these profile national will be treasures and ensure that others can enjoy them by taking nothing away and leaving no trace of your visit. of Oman’s genuine, must-see beauty spots. It is locatedOur some first spotlight40 kilometres falls onsoutheast Wadi Shab: of Dibab, one just off the main highway close to Tiwi village. From Muscat the drive is around an hour and a half. After parking, you take a small ferryboat across the big water pool at the entrance, which costs 1 rial per person (kids go free). pools, soaring cliff faces and lush greenery belying its desertOnce at location. the wadi, Visitors you will of allfind ages gorgeous will love blue to have a swim in the refreshing water, while it’s also possible to dive from the cliffs, although only if you know where the deeper pools are! Those who’ve been say the further into Wadi Shab you venture, the more amazing it becomes. And perhaps the highlight is a ‘secret’ cave – only accessible from the water and with a near-invisible entrance – that once inside opens up to reveal a gaps in the cave ceiling. waterfall lit by beams of sunlight flooding through A truly magical place.