Petrofacts Magazine - Oct 13

October 2013

Petrofacts

Petrofacts October 2013 | 2

Inside this issue
Log

4
Our record of the company’s news,
activities, new contracts and
milestones, with an introduction from
Group Chief Executive Ayman Asfari

Features

8 hours on Berantai
24
A unique view of daily life on
an offshore vessel

40
Kathy
Hogenson
Our new
Non-Executive
Director joins
us from Texas

16 arewell from a founder
F
Maroun Semaan talks about his
decision to step away from Petrofac
20 Made in Mumbai
The office where so many of our
projects start life
22
Our island story
Locals reveal the impact which the
Laggan-Tormore project has had
upon Shetland

16
22
Shetlands
‘One of the
UK’s biggest
construction
projects since
the London
Olympics’

Maroun
Semaan
‘When I was
growing up,
the biggest
thing in
Lebanon
was its
education’

8
Malaysia
‘Gas from the
FPSO Berantai
is piped back
to mainland
Malaysia’

30
The Big Picture: Rumaila
One Petrofac site, captured in
an image
32
The future of work
An academic’s view of how our
working lives are about to change
34
The Tigers who took on El Merk
The story of the men who together
built the ‘jewel in the desert’
40
“Life is really about the
second effort”
Meet our new Non-Executive
Director, Kathy Hogenson

Cover story:
24 hours on
Berantai
See page 8
Moored 150km
offshore Malaysia,
the FPSO Berantai
processes gas
24 hours a day
Photograph by
Ian Teh

42 safe hands
In
Old and new alike, all offshore
workers must attend offshore
survival training
44 always carry…
I
A single item can sum up a person’s
working life

People

46 Appointments, achievements,
appearances and some of the
personal aspects of our lives as
Petrofac people

Contributors

Petrofacts
Petrofacts is published
quarterly by Petrofac;
to provide comment or
contributions contact
Petrofacts@petrofac.com

Anna Millar
Journalist
Anna is an
Edinburgh-based
writer and travel
editor for The List.
She has written for
The Scotsman and
Scotland on Sunday

Peter Long
Academic
Peter is a
Programme
Director at the
London Business
School’s Centre
for Management
Development

2 | Petrofacts October 2013

Ian Teh
Photographer
Ian’s work has
been widely
exhibited and
featured in Time,
Newsweek and,
The Independent
Magazine

Andrew
Davidson
Journalist
Andrew is known
for his business
profiles in The
Sunday Times
and Management
Today magazine

Rupert Wright
Journalist
Rupert has had a 20
year career, writing
for publications
including The
Times, The Financial
Times and the
Washington Post

Editor
Hazel Meldrum
Art Direction
Esterson Associates
with Jon Kielty
Picture Editor
Millie Simpson
Consultant Editor
Paul Keers
paul@keers.co.uk

5
Gulf of Mexico
‘On 1 July the
IES team
took over
operations for
the Arenque
contract area’

20

34
El Merk
‘It’s a jewel
in the
desert, and
we can all
be very
proud’

Mumbai
‘As part of our
ECS business,
around 800
people work
in Mumbai’

30

Rumaila
‘Camels are a
common sight
here… arriving
in the cooler
months to feed’

Log

WELCOME
Welcome to our
new-look Petrofacts.
It still has the same
great name, but our
magazine is now
quite different


Petrofacts is for and about
the people working in
Petrofac; it’s your magazine.
In every story your
achievements are brought
to life, as we aim to explain
what we do as a company
and how we do it. You’ll
see contributions from
colleagues featured
throughout. To find out how
you can get involved send
an email to Petrofacts@
petrofac.com.
The year so far
You’ll also find stories about
our recent successes and
developments in this issue.
It’s been a good year so far;
our portfolio of active
projects has been
progressed and we have
built momentum in securing
new awards, reflected in a
21% increase in contract
backlog at 30 June 2013.
Due to the phasing of some
project delivery, we expect
to do even better in the
second half of the year.
We also have a strong
bidding pipeline, so we are
positive about the future and
remain on track to achieve
a doubling of 2010 net
earnings by 2015.
I am pleased with the
market’s very positive
response to our recent
interim results, and the
resulting improvement in
share price. It shows that
– despite the cloud of
investor scepticism which
has hung over the sector
– our differentiated strengths
of a disciplined approach,
our emphasis on first-class
project execution and ability
to build and transfer our
capabilities between service
lines and geographies are
being understood and
appreciated by the market.
A major milestone in
September was the official

inauguration for Petrofac’s
largest EPC project
undertaken to date – the
US$3.4 billion Galkynysh
gas field in Turkmenistan.
The project – formerly
known as South Yoloten –
celebrated successful
introduction of gas to the
field in just 33 months;
a very significant
achievement indeed.
Sadly, in August our
industry mourned the loss
of four lives as a result of the
ditching of a Super Puma L2
helicopter off the coast of
Shetland. As you would
expect, helicopter safety
and operations were key
topics at the 40th Offshore
Europe Exhibition and
Conference in Aberdeen this
September. I was visiting the
City during the Conference
and was pleased to have
the opportunity to affirm our
commitment to safety when
talking to staff at the
opening of our second office
in Aberdeen – Quattro
House.
The final quarter
We’re now entering the final
quarter of the year; a time for
planning, for setting future
budgets and objectives.
In these remaining months
of the year, we are preparing
for two events. At the first –
our leadership conference in
November – we will focus on
ensuring that our business is
well placed to meet our
targets, and look further
ahead as we consider our
strategic evolution towards
2020. At the second –
a Capital Markets Day in
December – we will present
aspects of these plans to
our investors and other key
stakeholders to ensure our
future progression and plans
are more clearly understood.
I’ll bring you an update on

this in the next edition
of Petrofacts.
In this edition we
welcome Kathleen
Hogenson to the Board.
I am looking forward to
working with Kathy and
would like to formally
welcome her to Petrofac;
you can read about her
approach to this role on
page 40.
Maroun Semaan
And finally, it feels like we
are now approaching the
end of an era. Maroun
Semaan will retire from the
Board and as President of
Petrofac at the end of this
year. He and I co-founded
Petrofac International in
1991 and have spent the
last 23 years working very
closely together to build
this business. Maroun has
been instrumental in the
growth and success of
Petrofac and will be
missed by many; but I
know I am going to miss
him most of all.
In planning for his
retirement, Maroun has
managed an effective
transition process; he
leaves the business with
the knowledge that it is in
great shape for the future.
Find out what Maroun had
to say to Andrew Davidson
on page 16.
I hope you enjoy this
new-look issue of
Petrofacts, please do give
us your feedback via
PetroNet.

Ayman Asfari
Group Chief Executive

ABU DHABI
DEVELOPMENTS
Since 2008, and the
establishment of our Abu
Dhabi office and strategic joint
venture with Mubadala
Petroleum, our operations in
the UAE capital have gone
from strength to strength.
A total of six significant
engineering, procurement and
construction projects have
been won in that time,
including three mega-projects:
ASAB full field development;
NGL4; and the Upper Zakum
UZ750 field development
project. As 2013 has been a
key year for Petrofac in the
region, we take a look at some
Abu Dhabi statistics.
For more information on
our Abu Dhabi projects why
not visit the Petrofac team
at ADIPEC between
10–13 November 2013
†source The Oil Gas Year, Abu Dhabi

2012. *excludes any contract variation
orders. **Nama Development Enterprises
has a 25% economic interest in Petrofac
Emirates following the sale of shares
by Mubadala Petroleum to Petrofac
and Nama

MILESTONES
Oil flows at West Desaru
First commercial oil from the
West Desaru development,
located offshore Peninsular
Malaysia, was achieved at
2.10pm on 3 August. The West
Desaru project went from field
development approval to first

West Desaru development

40bn (US$)

Abu Dhabi’s budget for oil and
gas projects 2010–2014†

75%

Petrofac’s stake in Petrofac
Emirates**

9.3bn (US$) 25,000
the gross value of Abu Dhabi
projects that Petrofac has led
or been a partner in since 2009*

number of people
working on the ASAB and
NGL4 projects at peak

oil in just over 18 months, and
while it’s too early to confirm
sustainable production rates,
the current flow from this first
well is performing above
expectations.
A Mexico milestone
On 1 July, the IES team in
Mexico took over operations
for the Arenque contract area
from Pemex, Mexico’s national
oil company. Arenque is an
offshore field in the Gulf of
Mexico, the fourth asset to be
operated by Petrofac in Mexico
and our first offshore. Arenque
produces around 5,000
barrels of oil per day and initial
oil in place is approximately
1.2 billion barrels with a
current recovery factor of

PETROFAC
CONTRACTS
ROUND UP
Malaysia
Petrofac Training Services
has signed a five-year
agreement worth US$120m
to operate and manage two
high-spec upstream training
facilities, currently being built
by Petrofac, on behalf of the
national oil company
PETRONAS.
Oman
OPO secured a three-year
operations and maintenance
contract worth US$50m
from Oman Oil Company
Exploration and Production
to work on two new onshore
facilities in the Sultanate.
Iraq
We have been awarded
a second contract on
Gazprom’s Badra Oil Field
development.
Worth US$95m over
three years, the scope
covers maintenance
engineering and
support services.

around 11%. The handover
went smoothly and the team is
now focused on enhancing
the existing production levels.

customer, SC Turkmengas
– and in the presence of the
Presidents of Turkmenistan
and China – our OEC team
celebrated the successful
commissioning of utilities
and the introduction of gas
to process facilities for the
site. In just 33 months we
have provided engineering,
procurement and
commissioning for this
challenging desert project.

Turkmen team triumph
A ceremony was held in
Turkmenistan on 4 September
to inaugurate the US$3.4 billion
Galkynysh gas field project
– our largest EPC project to
date, formerly known as South
Yoloten. Alongside our

Galkynysh gas field project

Arenque contract area


Log

THERE’S
A FAIR WIND
BLOWING

SAFETY
FIRSTS

Our experience in the operation and maintenance
of offshore platforms is now leading to new
opportunities with offshore wind energy projects
Offshore wind – the solution for Germany?

Germany has set itself an
audacious goal: to generate
60% of its total power
consumption through
renewable energy by 2050.
And it’s one many critics think
they’re unlikely to achieve.
So with an already wellestablished onshore wind
sector you can see why the
Germans are looking offshore
to make up the shortfall.
This is no simple matter –
and that’s where we come in.
“We’ve got exactly the
experience they’re looking
for,” says Mick Bowery,
Business Development
Manager for Petrofac Offshore
Projects Operations. “Only
this summer we picked up a

new contract with Siemens
Energy worth EUR40 million.
We’ll be providing operations
and maintenance to two
converter station platforms.”
The new contract is for the
HelWin1 and BorWin2 High
Voltage Direct Current (HVDC)
platforms, which are under
construction and will be
situated near the islands
of Helgoland and Borkum.
Emma Bishop is the
Delivery Manager for the
project: “We’re providing
Siemens with a range of
services tailored to the
demands of commissioning
large platforms in the North
Sea – providing and managing
jack-up accommodation

barges, supply ships, standby
vessels and helicopter
transfers.
“We’re also supplying the
crews to man and maintain
platforms during the
commissioning period.
It doesn’t matter whether their
previous experience is in oil,
gas or wind: the working
environment, the challenges
and the importance of safety
is exactly the same.”
With each of the platforms
connecting several
surrounding wind farms to the
mainland, they’ll collectively
provide enough transmission
capacity to supply about
two million German
households with clean

power. With a population of
around 80 million, Germany
still needs a few more to meet
its target.
Says Mick: “With 45% of the
world’s consented offshore
wind energy projects located
in Germany, this is a growing
market for us. Experts believe
that operations and
maintenance will make up a
quarter of the cost of offshore
wind. That’s a great
opportunity and given the
track-record we have, we’re
well placed to become the
industry’s go-to provider.”
Petrofac set up its office
in Hamburg in 2012.
Source: Federal Ministry of Economics
and Technology (BMWi), September 2010

PETROFAC PRESENTS…
Dr Anna Ferguson,
Principal Consultant
at Petrofac’s specialist
energy consultancy TNEI

In June this year, Dr Anna
Ferguson presented at the
Renewable UK Offshore
Wind conference.
Held in Manchester, it is an
annual conference with a
two-day exhibition hosting 150
exhibitors, where discussions

reflect key industry positions
on a range of issues.
Anna presented in the
session ‘A Tight FiT: Offshore
Sector, CfD and Allocations’
which looked at the UK
government’s proposals for
electricity market reform.
Anna’s presentation
investigated the support
mechanisms currently being
used across Europe for
offshore and onshore wind;
analysed the success of
these; and compared them
with the government’s
proposals for contracts for
difference (CfDs).

Andy Inglis,
Chief Executive,
Integrated Energy
Services

Andy Inglis took part in
September in a keynote
session at Offshore Europe,
a bi-annual 4 day oil and gas
conference held in Aberdeen,
Scotland. He highlighted
the need to increase the UK
and European share of the

global export market for oil
and gas services and
expertise. This included how
the industry could maximise
potential for exporting
services globally to support
national oil companies to
help address their capability
shortages.
As part of this, Andy shared
recent successful Petrofac
projects in Malaysia and
Mexico, demonstrating how
we export our capability,
experience and technical
expertise to train and build the
competency of staff and to
develop supply chains locally.

It’s always satisfying to report
acknowledgments for safety.
In June, our team working in
Kuwait, on Kuwait Oil
Company’s (KOC) effluent
water injection phase-1 and
sea water injection phase-2
projects, proudly achieved
10 million man-hours without
a single Lost Time Incident.
The milestone was
celebrated at the KOC offices
in Kuwait, at an event
attended by senior dignitaries
from the professional services
provider Worley Parsons
Kuwait, and from the Kuwait
Oil Company.
This achievement follows
our team’s second
consecutive Gold Award
for the projects, in the
engineering and construction
sector at the American

EVENTS
Ayman Asfari is speaking
at Oil Money
Intercontinental Park Lane,
London. 1–2 October
We are exhibiting at SPE
Kuwait Oil Gas
Kuwait International Fair, Mishref.
7–10 October
The team receiving their second consecutive Gold Award

They proudly
achieved
10 million manhours without
a single Lost
Time Incident

Society of Safety Engineers
GCC HSE Excellence
Awards.
These Awards recognise
and promote leadership,
excellence and exceptional
performance in the field
of Health, Safety and
Environment in private
sector companies in the
Gulf Region.
Together, these industry
acknowledgments are great
achievements.

BUILDING BUSINESS TOGETHER
How a tie-up in Malaysia
is proving successful
Petrofac-RNZ is a strategic
engineering collaboration
formed in Malaysia in 2011.
The tie-up has been working
well; Petrofac-RNZ had growth
of 29% in 2012, compared to
RNZ’s position in 2011.
The business has
approximately 700 employees
and is one of a only a small
number of companies
licensed to undertake major
offshore engineering projects
for PETRONAS, the national
oil company.
“The main objective of
Petrofac-RNZ is to work
together to build a strong local
presence and enhance our
ability to serve the oil and gas
industry in the Southeast
Asian market,” General

Manager, Rozali Ahmad
explained to Ida Ismail.
“The strong RNZ brand and
track record in the local
market, coupled with
Petrofac’s stellar international
reputation, will help the
business to secure new
projects, especially in the
offshore sector.”
Since the beginning of this
year the team has been
aligning internal processes
and systems. Now that’s
complete, the focus has
turned to building the brand
and the business.
Rozali said, “We see real
opportunities, as a result of
the collaboration, to develop
our respective offerings.
One of the key factors
behind the link-up was our
commitment to work jointly
on all engineering related
work in Malaysia and to

build a centre of engineering
excellence in this region.”
When asked about his
outlook for next year, Rozali
is positive.
“Looking at the current
market trends and strong
pipeline of new projects, we
see real momentum for 2014.”

Imed Derouiche is
presenting at the North
Africa Oil Gas Summit
Le Palace Hotel, Tunis.
22–24 October
We are exhibiting at and
sponsoring the AFED
Annual Environment
Summit
American University of Sharjah,
Sharjah. 28–29 October
We are sponsoring
NOC and Governments
Conference
Mandarin Oriental Hotel,
London. 28–30 October
We are exhibiting at
ADIPEC 2013
Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi.
10–13 November
Paul Groves is presenting
at the OPITO Safety and
Competence Conference
Park Hyatt Hotel Villas,
Abu Dhabi. 19 November
Andy Inglis is presenting
at the Oil Council:
World Assembly
Old Billingsgate, London.
18–20 November
We are sponsoring
Oil Gas Turkmenistan
Sergi Kosgi Exhibition Palace,
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
19–21 November
See us in the Leopard’s
Rock Safari Lounge at
20th Africa Oil Week
Cape Town International
Convention Centre,
Cape Town. 25–29 November
We are sponsoring the
Basra Oil Gas Show
Basra International Fair Ground,
Basra, Iraq.
5–8 December

Repairs are
conducted to
a leaking water
pipe in the
engine room
of the FPSO
Berantai

24 hours a day, gas flows through the floating
production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO)
Berantai, designed and built for PETRONAS, and
moored 150km offshore Malaysia. And also round
the clock, life and work to maintain the production
continue on its decks… Photographs by Ian Teh


24 HOURS
ON
BERANTAI


06.30

PTW issuance.
Each day begins
with a meeting to
plan preventative
maintenance
activities and issue
‘permits to work’ for
the tasks that need
to be done

08.00

Arrival of new
crew on the vessel.
The crews generally
work a pattern of
two weeks on, two
weeks off

10.30
Housekeeping in the
cabins. These staff
will work in both the
kitchen and laundry


12.00

The huge, fourstorey vessel has
two control rooms;
this one is in the
engine room, deep
in the bowels of
the vessel

13.00

The supply barge
transfers men and
materials to and
from the main
vessel. When
needed it also
makes the half-day
journey there
and back to the
wellhead, to which
the FPSO Berantai
is connected
by pipeline


14.00

Maintenance
work at the bow
of the vessel
The FPSO Berantai
is the first Risk
Service Contract
(RSC) executed in
Malaysia. It draws
upon an 18 slot
wellhead platform,
and has a 35,000
barrels per day
crude processing
capacity, with an
export capacity
of 150 million
standard cubic
feet of gas per day.
A 12” 30km gas
export pipeline
connects it to
an existing gas
distribution
trunkline



15.00

Mustering exercise.
There are different
levels of on-board
alarms; workers
must demonstrate
that when ‘abandon
ship’ is sounded,
they can don life
jackets and muster
for evacuation
within defined
time limits


16.00
Maintenance
work on the
marine deck

17.00

Inside the main
control room,
crew meet to
discuss an
operational issue.
Each discipline
contributes, with
the meeting run
by the offshore
installation
manager Halim
(centre)

18.00

Leisure time; the
vessel has a gym,
TV room and space
for workers to relax

19.00

A special evening
meal for Malaysian
independence day.
Halal food is always
provided on board


FAREWELL
FROM A
FOUNDER

After 23 years at the helm,
Maroun Semaan, President
and joint founder, is to step
away from the company. In a
look back at his life and work
he explained his departure
to Andrew Davidson.
Photographs by Phil Sayer


Is there a right time to go? Simply when
the business is ready. “I started thinking
about this a couple of years ago,” nods
Maroun. “I wanted more time for my
personal life, but I also wanted the
organisation to be in the right shape so it
wouldn’t be affected by this. Now we
have good momentum, good
management in place…”
Maroun, 57, President of Petrofac and
owner of an 8% stake in the business,
steps away from the firm in January, 23
years after he and Ayman Asfari started
the partnership that built one of the
fastest growing oil and gas services
groups the world has seen. He wants, he
says, a clean break, so he can focus on
his family, his passion for education and a
growing portfolio of start-up investments.
But there is a part of him that will always
remain behind: a clutch of his
characteristics that are embedded in the
very DNA of Petrofac.
Maroun is anything but sentimental.
Those who know him will recognise the
courteous, no-nonsense style, the
attention to detail, the desire
to work to a purpose.
“I thought we would use this interview
to send some messages to the
organisation,” he says in lieu of greeting.
“If we can assess the elements of our
early success, the challenges we faced,
it will help us think about what to keep in
mind as we look forward.”
Then, he implies, something much

more useful than a friendly farewell might
be achieved.
To appreciate the company’s strengths,
you must understand its roots, and his
early experience in contracting and
construction. To explain his own drive,
you must understand his upbringing in
war-torn Lebanon, and the role
education played in getting him out and
away, an engineer with a yen to run
his own business, like any good
Phoenician trader.
But key to it all, he says, has been his
friendship with Syrian-born Ayman Asfari,
who he first met in Oman in 1981. Both
men worked for rival contracting firms,
but hit it off immediately, recognising
complementary skills that could be
harnessed to greater effect.
“He was three years younger than me
but definitely not short of ambition or
drive,” chuckles Maroun.
“While he was in a smaller company,
he was always eyeing the big business
opportunities. As a strategic thinker he
remains remarkable.”
Maroun, working back then for the
Arab-owned contractor CCC, was
always a hands-on operator, a team
builder and detail man. He was bright,
winner of a scholarship to the American
University of Beirut, but determined to
make his own way in business, not least
to help pay for his siblings’ education and
family expenses.
At construction giant CCC he learnt


contracting from the bottom up. “They
were world-class, and the Oman team
was one of their best, delivering projects
involving thousands of people, good
systems and procedures, a
fantastic training ground.” He worked
on highways and infrastructure before
moving into oil and gas construction,
partnering with Saipem, the Italian
engineering group.
“I went through the ranks, started as
site engineer, then project engineer, then
project manager, but it was always a hard
hat job, you lead and manage from the
front. We couldn’t have done what we
have done here without this bedrock.”
When Ayman approached him in
1990 about creating a new venture with
Petrofac, then American-owned, he was
intrigued. “But it took me a year to be
convinced, to see clearly what we were
about to do.”
Petrofac’s American founder, Ralph
Martin, wanted them to set up and run
a Middle Eastern subsidiary, Petrofac
International, which they would jointly
own. Why did they need Petrofac?
“Because in a business like this you
need some track record and the
knowledge, they had done turnkey
EPC projects in the region.”
So Maroun and Ayman poured their
savings into the venture. “I was still young
and single and could afford to do that.
There was no looking back, you had to
put every effort into it. And it was

challenging. I came from the mentality of
a large company, but suddenly I was
doing my own estimates and proposals,
my own photocopying. The biggest worry
was to win some business.”
But that thrill of building from zero,
taking that risk, remains with him.
Recommend it to others? “I think so,
so long as it’s done with a calculated
approach. Let’s say 70% calculated, the
rest is luck. But we had great partners.”
Partners who Maroun and Ayman
eventually bought out, making Petrofac
their own, building a base in Sharjah, later
floating the company in London in 2005.
But he credits Ralph Martin with having
the vision to see what they could do.
“He believed you could start a business
in the Middle East like you could in the
US, he had lived there, he knew we would
find talent.” Many of the early hires were
simply those they had been impressed by
in their construction years. “We were very
fortunate to attract some very bright
talents like Rajesh Verma, Marwan
Chedid, Subramanian Sarma, Murugan
Pitchai and many others.”
Ralph was also smart in the way he
made them buy into the business. “If you
take a man to the middle of the river, and
show him it is harder to go back than to
cross, he keeps going.”
That entrepreneurial push has given
Petrofac its dynamism. But they also
needed luck with timing. “We established
the business in a down cycle and could

only differentiate ourselves by being
sharp in delivery and prices. So when we
caught the up cycle in 2003, we had been
going 12 years, we were lean and mean,
had strong delivery, and could take
advantage of it, doubling in size every
two years.”
Keeping that urgency now the
company has 18,000 employees still
obsesses him. “One thing, part of that
original DNA, is our ability to criticise
ourselves, to keep asking what we could
do better. So we keep changing the
organisation. In the last decade we have
done it four or five times, as we have
added more sectors, more offerings.
And it’s good for staff, as it allows more
people to hold higher responsibilities.”
So have he and Ayman had major
disagreements along the way? “No, our
relationship has always worked well.
Ayman has done a great job in terms of
the visibility of the company, explaining
it to stakeholders, I have focused on the
organisation, and the people we have
to deal with on a weekly basis.”
It has suited their styles: Ayman in
London focusing on strategy, new
customers and investors; Maroun in
Sharjah running operations and new
ventures. Maroun has a feel for politics
and relationships and is naturally the
more cautious.
“Sometimes it helps to be paranoid
about risk in the contracting business,”
he smiles. “Ayman always wants to push

‘ went through the
I
ranks, always a hard
hat job, you lead and
manage from the front.
We couldn’t have done
what we have done
without this bedrock.’

ahead, to fill the space when he sees one.
So we come out with the right balance.”
Ayman says the key is that they
respect each other’s strengths. “We have
had our differences, usually over risk or
strategy, but we always get to the right
solution. And one thing about Maroun,
if we make a decision – and all the
decisions here are a team effort – he
owns it, he never comes back when there
is a problem and says, I told you so.”
Did Maroun never want to be chief
executive? He pulls a face. “No, ask
Ayman, we debated it, but Dubai is my
family’s home, moving to London is not
going to work.”
So why leave now? Because, he says,
he has other commitments that need his
focus, and to take leave of absence
would send the wrong message.
“I always led from the front, I put everyone
in the executive team, I want 100% effort.
To then take lots of time off… well, that
just corrupts the culture.”
He intends to devote more time to
education, a passion he shares with
Ayman. He already sits on the boards of
two universities, and supports several
schools in Lebanon. Born with six siblings
into a Maronite Christian farming family
in the south of the country, he lived in
a mixed community and witnessed the
worst of the country’s civil wars and
invasion by Israel. It left its mark.
“When I was growing up, the
biggest thing in Lebanon was its

education. It enabled its young to get
good careers and support the country.
Most of what supports Lebanon now is
people working outside.”
Any regrets about his time at Petrofac?
He pauses. “Looking back, if there was
one thing we should have done better,
it was hiring young graduates from 2001.
We only started in 2004 in a shy way. We
were too cautious, if we had invested we
would have had the right talent coming
through from 2006 rather than 2009.”
But he acknowledges it would have
been difficult back then, without a mature
enough organisation to absorb them.
Balanced against that are the memorable
leaps the business has made, the
multibillion dollar contracts in Abu Dhabi,
Oman, Algeria and Turkmenistan, the
move into Britain’s North Sea market,
the sleepless nights and anxieties over
delivery and deadlines. He has loved it all.
But from January he will have to watch
from outside. How hard will that be?
Maroun shrugs.
“Petrofac is a great organisation and
has strong management. My advice to
the younger generation is to keep
pushing their management to empower
them more, but they can only do this by
proving they can deliver. And a word of
caution: with the business we are in, you
need to understand the trends and stay
ahead. Creating new opportunities by
staying close to customers and
understanding their needs.”

‘ f you take a man to the
I
middle of the river, and
show him it is harder to
go back than to cross,
he keeps going.’


MADE
IN MUMBAI


So many of our projects
start life on the screens
you see featured
here. In the ten years
since opening its doors
as Petrofac’s first
operating centre in
India, the Mumbai office
has grown significantly.
Part of our ECS
business, around 800

people now work in
Mumbai to provide
proposals engineering,
detailed engineering
and FEED services
for projects including
Laggan-Tormore in
Shetland, Badra in Iraq
and projects in Kuwait.
Photo by Daryl Visscher


Locals across Shetland are benefiting from
a massive investment in their Island. Total
EP UK’s £3.3bn Laggan-Tormore project is
under construction by Petrofac – Anna Millar
finds out how widely the economic impact
is being felt. Photographs by Phil Sayer

OUR ISLAND
STORY
Ellis
Nicholson
‘My father
started working
in construction
in the 70s
when the BP
terminal came,
and LagganTormore is
going to
consolidate our
business for
the future’



As the plane sweeps down into
Shetland’s Sumburgh airport, a
lighthouse sits at the end of a long craggy
rock in the distance: a solitary welcome to
an island ripe with history and grounded
in community. Nearby, Jarlshof stands
proud; an archaeological site, chronicling
the Stone Age, Iron Age, Pictish, Norse
and Medieval eras – it hints at Shetland’s
rich layers. Drive north to the island’s
capital, Lerwick, and the wide open
spaces display Shetland’s extraordinary
geology, spanning almost three billion
years. The tourists who journey to this,
Scotland’s most northerly of islands,
come for the wildlife, the world-renowned
seabird colonies, the dramatic rock
formations – and often serene silence.
Weaving up and through the
mainland, passing silvery inlets and
jagged cliffs, the taxi driver, a native
Shetlander, speaks of a people driven to
make the most of the opportunities born
to them – and given to them, most
recently by the oil and gas industry.
Certainly, as it finds itself hosting one of
the UK’s biggest construction projects
since the London Olympics, this tight knit
community has revealed itself to have the
local characters, business savvy and
scope to meet the challenges and
opportunities that lie ahead.
Ways of working
As he sits sipping a cold pint after a long
day, Morris Morrison, son of the Andrew
emblazoned on the Andrew’s red buses
around the island, happily admits that the
boost to his workload – since Total
awarded Petrofac the contract to develop
the Shetland Gas Plant, in 2010 – has
been unprecedented. Having started life
as a company with just one bus, Andrew’s
now has 17, most of which are used to
transport workers between their
accommodation and the gas plant site.
With Shetland’s population of almost
23,000 being topped up with around
1,400 workers, Morris explains that the
island’s mode of working has had to shift.

“I get out of bed at half past four in
the morning now, and my buses are
rolling out of the yard at half five, taking
workers on the shuttle service from their
accommodation to their work.”
Morris has, he says, been impressed by
how easily the workers have slipped into
the everyday life of the place. “It amazes
me, you know. Workers come on to
the bus and know the drivers by name.
I suppose when you’re working away from
home for long periods of time, it’s nice to
have something familiar, and hopefully we
help a little with that. Everyone is open to
it; no one is shutting the door.”
Having heard from his father about
the 1970s oil boom, when BP arrived
on Shetland, Morris is no stranger to
the long-term potential. “When I was at
school, I was told that Sullom Voe [the BP
plant] would be shut by the year 2000,
and now it’s got another 30 or more years
in it. My working life could be seen out
with the oil industry, so it’s not just a boom
for now – there’s a knock-on effect.”
Home from home
At the local hotels, a sense of familiarity
with their newfound guests has certainly
kicked in. Marjory Barrie, Regional
Manager for the Lerwick and Shetland
Hotels, says she is keen, where possible,
to create a ‘home away from home’ for
the workers, many of whom are working
three weeks on, one week off, and says
she happily changes the menu and gets
in special food should workers ask for it.
“We understand the constraints,”
explains Marjory. “It’s never going to be
home, but we try and do as much as
possible. They are up early in the morning
and even though they are on the island
to work, we try to make it feel like when
they’re back at the hotels they’re not
working anymore.” With an average of 25
workers staying between the two hotels,
Marjory says many have become ‘well
kent’ faces. “They get to know our staff,
and we get to know some of them. It’s a
long term picture. We’ll know that they’re

Marjory
Barrie

Morris
Morrison

‘Sometimes
you’ll see
workers bring
their families
up here for a
holiday on
their days off
– it’s nice.’

‘I get out of bed
at half past four
in the morning
now, and my
buses are
rolling out of
the yard at
half five.’



away to see their son or their wife, and
sometimes, on odd occasions, you’ll see
them bring their families up here for a
holiday on their days off – it’s nice.”
There have been whispers of a shortage
of beds for those coming to the island for
tourism, but Marjory is quick to dispel
such rumours, laughing that because of
its northerly location, tourists tend to
book with plenty of notice. Besides
which, Petrofac offers business 52 weeks
of the year, unlike tourism which can only
really hope to boom in the high season.
Like Morris, Marjory is keen to talk about
the wider implications on the supply chain
for the rest of the community. “It gives the
island buoyancy. If anything negative
is said, then it’s got to be in the minority.
If we’re making money, then the person
selling the toilet paper is making money.”
And considering their long hours,
Marjory has been impressed with some of
the workers making the most of the local
facilities, and giving back to the
community in other ways. “Some have
got involved in the local football teams,”
she says. “The workers have a really long
day, so to see them go out and play
football after that, it’s great.”
Port in a storm
Over at the port in Lerwick, there are
different challenges, as they continue to
develop the harbour’s infrastructure to
meet the needs and requirements of the
oil and gas industry. “It’s a massive project
by Shetland’s standards,” says Sandra
Laurenson, Chief Executive at the Lerwick
Port Authority. “And the business
community certainly welcomes it.”
Beyond the many other roles the port
plays, it is currently hosting one of the
floating accommodation barges, an
addition to the landscape that has not
been shy of controversy. “It has been
commented on that the barge is not
particularly beautiful. It blocks the view
and the cruise ship lands people here, so
yes, there has been criticism about the
visual impact. But people have got used

The Shetland
Gas Plant

The Shetland Gas Plant
is part of a major new
energy development,
the £3.3 billion LagganTormore project being
constructed by Petrofac
on behalf of Total EP UK.
The project consists of
three parts – a subsea
development of the Laggan
and Tormore gas condensate
fields, located approximately
125km north-west of the
Shetland Islands in 600m
water depth; the gas plant
itself; and two major
underwater pipeline schemes
– the first to transport the
gas from the fields
themselves to Shetland, and

to it now, and overall they see the
business opportunities for Shetland’s
economy coming in.”
Meeting the expectations of the islands’
main industry, fishing, and how its needs
are being managed, has needed careful
consideration. “The barges don’t use
deep water, so it doesn’t affect our other
projects,” she says. “But normally ports
don’t want things that lay about and don’t
go anywhere, so some nimble footwork
has been needed to get the balance right.
“We predict it [the work] will be at this
level for the next five years, so it gives the
port a longevity for everyone.”
Beyond the port, Sandra hopes that to
counteract Shetland’s long, mild winters
and short summers, local businesses will
reinvest their additional income. “It’s a
short tourism season here, and
occupancy out of season is valuable –
it gives strength for these companies to
reinvest. I see improvement in the hotels
happening, they’re trying to up their game
a bit. It’s a great boost of confidence for
them taking their business forward.”
Appetite for growth
Certainly for some local businesses it’s
providing an opportunity to expand.

a second to export it on to
the St Fergus Gas Terminal in
Aberdeenshire for commercial
sale and consumption.
When the gas plant is
complete in the summer of
2014 it will be capable of
processing up to 500m cubic
feet of gas per day.

George Hepburn owns Shetland cash
and carry J W Gray, while his wife Anna
owns local pub, the Douglas Arms.
Both have been affected by the project’s
arrival, with George’s enterprise enjoying
between 12-14% more business,
delivering food and drink to the barges,
as well as the accommodation facility at
Sella Ness. With an average of two large
trucks heading out every day, he admits
he’s got his hands full.
The sheer volume of food leaving the
warehouse hints at the manpower
needed to get the site ready. “We had
a new butcher start recently and he
couldn’t believe that he was sorting a half
tonne of braised steak to take up to the
camp,” laughs George. “It’s a massive
amount of food, but numbers like that
might only last them a couple of days.”
Like the other businesses affected,
George is impressed by just how much
of the business is being soaked up by
local enterprises:
“This is our kids’ future,” he says
leaning back into his chair at his offices
in Lerwick. “If you didn’t have the oil
industry, Shetland would be on its knees.
When they originally built the oil terminal
[in the 70s], all the foodstuff came in

from the South, not a lot was kept on
the island. It’s different now and it
affects everyone.
“The trucks are doing more miles, and
so everyone from the guy that supplies
our fuel to the guy doing maintenance at
the garage is busier. It has a knock-on
effect right down the scale. You have a
certain amount of people, who do a
certain amount of overtime, and then
you have to employ more people – and
where you can keep money in the
community, you do.”
Already a successful business man,
supplying local schools, health boards,
old folks homes and pubs and clubs,

George is expanding all the time to meet
the needs at the site, and beyond new
industrial freezers, roll cages and trucks,
he’s recently even tried his hand at
window washing, after discovering that
the site needed help with their many large
windows. “We got this new machine with
a special filter to do it, and now that’s part
of a service we can provide. It’s about
looking at the resources we have on the
island and trying to get things done
ourselves where possible.”
With the plant due to be completed in
the summer of 2014, George and Anna
are aware that it pays to get as much from
the project while they can, while giving

their own bit back. Across at the pub,
Anna notes that the men tend to come in
early after their shifts – where possible,
she believes local publicans are trying to
include them, either by putting on early
football matches on television or making
a live music night start a little earlier, so
the men can enjoy it before their early
start the next day.
Earning a living
The Shetland Islands Council is keeping
a close eye on the wider impact of the
project, with hopes that there could be
a real reshaping of the social fabric of the
island. Alastair Cooper, Chair of the

Alastair
Cooper

Sandra
Laurenson

‘We always had
quite a strong
economy built
on fish and
wool, but the
oil industry
has provided
stability’

‘Normally ports
don’t want
things that lay
about and don’t
go anywhere,
so some nimble
footwork has
been needed
to get the
balance right.’



Development Committee for the council,
would like to see more people moving to
Shetland long term.
“The challenge that we have here is
that we have a strong economy and a
GDP that’s well above the national
average, but businesses do still struggle
in Shetland. We only have 1%
unemployment, so companies find it
a challenge to get and keep skilled
workers. We could do with more people
living in Shetland.” Alastair recognises
that alongside the fishing community on
Shetland, oil creates some much needed
stability. “We always had quite a strong
economy built on fish and wool, but the
oil industry has provided stability, right
back from the 1970s. We thought that
the last tanker would go out in 1997;
now we’re led to believe there might be
oil until 2040.”
Certainly, with an estimated 17% of the
nation’s remaining oil and gas reserves
located west of Shetland, the new
project represents the future of energy
generation in the UK – a point underlined
by the plant’s location. The site is
adjacent to the original landmark Sullom
Voe oil terminal, built in the 1970s to
receive the oil from the first wave of major
North Sea oil discoveries. “This time, the
local businesses have learnt how to meet
the needs of the oil industry,” says
Alastair with pride. “We’ve risen to the
challenge and we have the capability.”
Digging deep
Nearby, another man meeting Petrofac’s
needs is Ellis Nicholson. A construction
contractor at EMN Plant, he has recently
managed to build a new quarry thanks to
his company’s contract with Petrofac.
That his employee numbers have
increased from five in 2009 to 48 in 2013,
speaks volumes about the impact the
plant has had on his business.
“My father started working in this
industry in the 70s when the BP terminal
came, and Laggan-Tormore is going to
consolidate our current business for the

future. Of course, we have to prepare for
an eventual downturn in work, but if all of
the business being discussed comes off
in the next five years, we are going to be
very busy.”
Certainly there’s little doubt that for
generations of families on Shetland, oil
and gas has played – and continues to
play – an extraordinary role in their lives.
Building a future
Up in Unst, the most beautiful of the
islands at the tip of the Shetlands, just
two short ferry rides away, highland
entrepreneurs Frank and Debbie Strang
are also hoping to capitalise on the
presence of workers from Total, Petrofac
and their subcontractors.
Their Saxa Vord resort is on a former
RAF radar station-turned environmental
tourism site, and due to an initial lack of
accommodation on mainland Shetland,
housed around 40 workers when the
project first started.
Set on a hill with stunning views out to
Britain’s most northerly outposts, Frank
is keen to welcome the workers back,
and reinvest any money made from the
project back into the local community,
encouraging economic regeneration
and profitable enterprises in the
process. “When we bought this place
seven or eight years ago, the locals
wondered if we might be in it for the
short haul, but we’re keen to try and
give back to the local community.”
A day later, back on mainland
Shetland, looking down from high up
on the site at the Shetland Gas Plant,
the sheer scale of the project is clear.
Up here, the community affected by the
plant’s arrival feels a lifetime away – yet
the two are undeniably linked. Standing
taking it all in, the island’s motto, which
appears on the council’s coat of arms,
springs to mind: Með lögum skal land
byggja. Taken from the Icelandic Njáls
saga, it simply means: By law shall the
land be built up.
And building it up they are.

Anna
Hepburn

Frank
Strang

Workers tend to
visit the pubs
early, after
their shifts – so
local publicans
are trying to
include them by
starting their
entertainments
earlier.

‘When we
bought this
place, locals
wondered if we
might be in it
for the short
haul, but we’re
keen to try and
give back to the
community.’



BIG
PICTURE
RUMAILA


“Camels are a common
sight here in winter,”
says John Palmer,
Performance Team
Leader on the Rumaila
oilfield in Southern Iraq.
“I’ve been working here
since June 2011 and
I’m used to them arriving
in the cooler months
to feed on the desert
vegetation. Rumaila

is a great project to
work on, we’re
providing inspection,
maintenance and repair
services on behalf of
the Rumaila Operating
Organisation comprising
BP, CNPC and Iraq’s
South Oil Company.”
Photo by Mehmet Binay,
courtesy of BP


OPINION
THE FUTURE
OF WORK

The way in which we work is changing, and will affect us all, says Peter Long,
Programme Director of Executive Education at London Business School

Reflecting back on my 35 years of ‘grown
up’ work with various large organisations,
it strikes me that the scale and speed of
change has been unimaginable.
From typing, copying and posting, to
a world of always-on ‘social’ and ‘smart’
communication, Tweeting and Skyping,
it’s enough to remind me – should my
kids ever let me forget – that I’m no
longer a young thing!
The fact is that the nature of work –
what it is and how it typically gets done
– is changing dramatically. And the pace
of change is getting faster. The
workplace, for example, can now be
mobile or virtual. Our workforces are
becoming increasingly global, multigenerational and remote; encompassing
many cultures, time-zones and
disciplines. That makes ‘working’ more
complex for all of us.
During the last ten years I’ve been
lucky enough, through my teaching and
consulting, to work with organisations
such as Microsoft, Hilton, Telefonica,
Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline… and of
course Petrofac! I have seen the nature
of everyday work changing – in terms of
communications but also with regard to
turnaround, productivity, quality,
responsiveness, partnering, contracting
and many more aspects.
So what’s the future of work?
Well, even without a crystal ball we can
predict that organisations – whether
private or public – will continue to strive
towards higher performance to meet
stakeholders’ demands. Whether that’s
investors demanding growth and
assurances; customers looking for
differentiated value; employees seeking
learning and fulfilment; or taxpayers
challenging for greater efficiency and
transparency.
Workforces have and are becoming
more multi-generational as retirement
ages extend outwards and skills
shortages – ‘the war for talent’ – bite.

It’s a modern paradox, as Hays Global
Skills Index (2012) reports; many
countries are battling high
unemployment and yet suffer from
chronic skill shortages in crucial
professions such as engineering, IT,
utilities and construction. Much of this is
due to labour market inflexibility, global
competition for talent and inadequate
education and training.
Jobs for life?
Meanwhile ‘jobs for life’ have all but
disappeared, with newer generations
likely to have many more employers
during their lifetime. They may also
find themselves being employed
and self-employed simultaneously
at different points of their careers.
My London Business School
colleague Lynda Gratton has written
a fascinating book called ‘The Shift –
The future of work is already here’ and
has often said to me that the time when
we work to 70 and live to 100 is fast
approaching.
This is confirmed by the UK’s Office for
National Statistics, which has said that
around a third of babies born in Britain
in 2012 are expected to survive to
celebrate their 100th birthday. There are

In order to
best prepare
yourself
for this rapidly
changing
world of
work, here
are things to
consider:

good reasons to ensure that all of us, not
just the Generation X, Y and Z’ers, are
preparing to make the most of our future
work and careers.
Making the most of the future
Like virtually all large organisations that
London Business School is privileged to
work with, it remains true – especially
in the services world – that people buy
from people.
Across the oil and gas sector, global
companies are competing to hire and
engage highly capable and mobile
workforces. Embracing the new future
of work will be vital to sustaining
organisational growth and success.
So… if longer working lives, more
change, uncertainty and fast knowledge
are the norm, then learning, flexibility and
resilience are vital skills to have in our
personal toolboxes.
As many commentators would say,
‘the only constant is change’. For many
organisations their values – applied with
integrity – will provide a reassuring
‘lighthouse’ to help all employees
navigate even the stormiest change.
So now that we’ll all be living to 100
we’ll have plenty time to review our
progress long after retirement!

Update your knowledge
and skills on a weekly basis

Push boundaries and
comfort-zones

Build a work future
that has real meaning and
motivates you to ‘give
your best’

Think about development:
what would you like to be
known for this time next year?

Build networks to fuel
new knowledge and ideas

Plan how to enhance
your life-work balance and
build resilience

Seek regular feedback on
your progress, and
approach and explore
opportunities

Think about your own
personal well-being – of
which your health is the
foundation


THE TIGERS
WHO

TOOKON

EL MERK

Few could have predicted how challenging
it would be to build the US$2.2 billion El Merk
Central Processing Facility – the ‘jewel’ of the
Algerian desert. By Rupert Wright

The Tigers in May
2012 from left:
Nabil Charif
Orlando Gagarin
Ali Rammal
Noureddine Mira
Aziz El Garmi
Omar Lahcene
George Akl
Ahmad Sonbol
Elie Karam
Alain Al Achkar
Michele Chaccour
Abdallah Shalak
Irakli Sanaia
Photograph by
Ali Rammal


Nobody expected the construction of the
US$2.2 billion El Merk Central Processing
Facility in the Berkine Basin of Algeria to
be straightforward. But few anticipated
just how challenging it would be. There
were many hurdles to overcome, ranging
from the sand that needed compacting
before construction, to regional logistical
problems caused by the world economic
recession, to the political and social
pressure caused by the Arab Spring.
Not least of the problems was the sheer
scale of the project.
“There were eight different contractors
working on the El Merk project – including
Petrofac – which required significant
cooperation among the project
management team and the various
contracting companies,” says John
Adams from the Anadarko Algeria
Company, who was project manager.
“There were also regional challenges to
overcome to ensure the import of goods
and services, work permits for expatriate
labourers, and finding qualified local
workers and supervisors in a country
with relatively high unemployment and
labour strikes.”

done by a number of work centres.
Co-ordinated by the Sharjah office,
teams in Mumbai, Chennai and Jakarta
all contributed to the process of detailed
engineering. K Ramana Murthy, an
engineer at Petrofac, was in charge of an
engineering team in Chennai, central to
the whole project.
The Chennai role involved detailed
engineering in three areas: utilities –
which included instrument air, nitrogen
and plant air; the residue gas
compression; and the gas dehydration.
“We kicked off with a meeting in Sharjah,
where we agreed on a division of
responsibility, scope of work and decided
on a technical document register,”
says K Ramana.
The project was monitored through
weekly conference calls. While it was an
unusual approach to have different offices
involved, it was decided that it was the
best approach due to the scale of the
project and the need to progress quickly.
K Ramana says that it helped that

Petrofac’s role
Petrofac won the contract to build
the Central Processing Facility in
March 2009.
As the world’s political and economic
leaders were battling with the greatest
recession since the Second World War,
various groups in Petrofac sprang into
action, grappling with a dilemma of their
own: how to deliver an ambitious project
on time and within budget.
Engineering
For the first time in its history, a decision
was taken to have the engineering work

AS Suryakumar, Deputy Director of
Procurement, based in Sharjah

Compare the aerial view of the CPF and
camp in July 2011 (below right) with the
photograph of El Merk in March 2013
by Ali Rammal (above)

engineers “all speak the same language”.
With so many teams involved it was
inevitable there would be differences of
opinion. “I remember that there were
disagreements between team members
in Chennai and Sharjah,” he says. “My job
was to try to resolve this, keep cool and
tell them how to move forward. It’s
difficult; you have to talk to people softly,
but impress on them the urgency of
getting it done.”
At the peak of operations there were
more than 70 engineers in Chennai
working on the project.
While K Ramana was busy on the
engineering, the procurement team in
Sharjah was swinging into action.
Procurement
“We began the procurement process
at the beginning of 2009,” says AS
Suryakumar, deputy director of
procurement. “It was the start of the
global recession and we were able to take
advantage of the falling prices of raw
materials. There were substantial
discounts to be had; it must have been
the best time for procurement in the
history of Petrofac.”
The recession also helped with delivery
times, as factories were not full of orders.
“We made best use of the circumstances;
I don’t think we’ll have another
opportunity like that.”
The procurement team came up with
some innovative ideas that have since
become standard practice at Petrofac.
The first was to book copper for the
cables, instead of buying cables
themselves. Not only were there

significant cost savings, but six months
later, the price of copper (and also copper
cables) almost doubled. “Now we do this
The site was developed and is operated
for every project,” says Suryakumar.
by Groupement Berkine, a joint venture of
The other innovation was to split critical
Sonatrach and the Anadarko Association
items up by categories when ordering
(comprising Anadarko, Maersk Oil and Eni)
on behalf of themselves and the other El
them, rather than just selecting one
Merk partners ConocoPhillips and Talisman supplier. For example, when buying
(Algeria), to build the surface facilities
needed for the exploitation of hydrocarbon valves, requirements were split into size,
pressure rating and metallurgy, and then
liquid reserves from reservoirs in Blocks
208 and 405a in Algeria. The project is
chosen from a range of suppliers, rather
located in Block 208, 90 km south of the
than just one. This resulted not only in
Sonatrach/Anadarko-operated Hassi
better prices, but also in better quality
Berkine South facility and over 1,000 km
and timely delivery of the goods across
from the coast. Planned as the region’s
the board.
production hub, El Merk would process
an estimated 98,000 barrels of oil, 29,000
The major procurement work lasted
barrels of condensate, and 31,000 barrels
from March 2009 until the end of 2010.
of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) per day;
And having placed orders within budget,
and a natural gas liquids (NGL) train with
they then had to overcome another
a nominal capacity of 600 million standard
challenge: logistics.
cubic feet per day. The specification for
the CPF built by Petrofac also required it
The site is more than 1,000 km from
to process 500 million standard cubic feet
any of the three ports used: Algiers,
of residue and re-injection gas compression
Skikda and Annaba. The procurement
and approximately 80,000 barrels per
team also discovered that the Algerian
day of produced water treatment and
re-injection facilities.
customs had a different mindset to what

El Merk: The Bigger Picture

they were used to. There was a frequent
turnover of people at their end and even
the documentation kept changing.
“We’d find that one time we could get an
item into the country,” says Suryakumar.
“The next time, with exactly the same
forms, we could not. It was quite
frustrating. For the first six months we
were literally on our knees. But eventually
we started to get a grip on it and after a lot
of hardship we succeeded in getting our
materials into the country.”
Another problem was that materials
went missing from the site. “There was
nothing we could do about this,” says
Suryakumar. “Due to the high number of
construction contractors on site the
materials were sometimes difficult to
track and we had no option but to buy the
goods again.”
Construction
Khaled Ghabboura, project director of
construction, arrived at the site in October
2010. Some underground piping had

Khaled
Ghabboura,
Project Director of
Construction (left);
Mulpuru Prasad,
Commissioning
Manager (right)


in their negotiations with them.”
The longest – and most difficult to
resolve – strike lasted 37 days. It also
came at a very critical time, as the plant
by then was 60% complete. In the end
the camp had to be shut down.
“For me it was a very exciting time to
be in Algeria,” he says. “It wasn’t easy,
but it was interesting, to be working in the
desert, meeting lots of different people.”

Mr K Ramana Murthy was in charge of
the engineering team in Chennai

been built, along with a drainage system,
but it was no more than 16% complete.
There was still much work which had
to be done.
“I had to totally re-think the organisation
structure,” says Khaled. “We had eight
major subcontractors who needed to be
integrated with our own team to build one
solid team.”
His work involved educating the
subcontractor workforce about
Petrofac’s stringent approach to health
and safety, good practices and also
ecology. He also divided the scope of
work among six area managers, who had
to take responsibility and report in every
day. At the peak there were more than
8,000 workers on site at six different
camps. The workforce was 90% Algerian
workers, with the remaining 10%
comprising 40 different nationalities.
Khaled went regularly to the different
mess halls to eat with the workers and
organised activities such as barbecues
in the desert.
“Of course we had to be culturally
sensitive – and smart!” he says. “But it
wasn’t always straightforward.”
One of the biggest challenges for the
project was dealing with labour strikes in
the sub-contract workforce. There were
four major strikes during construction and
even though the workers involved were
not working directly for Petrofac,
it still slowed down the project.
“The strikes were difficult, there were no
rules on how to deal with them, and they
are organised just as in France,”
he says.
“They blocked the camps and the site
and we had to go and support our
sub-contractors’ management teams

Commissioning
“I arrived in June 2011,” says Mulpuru
Prasad, commissioning manager. “It was
still in the construction stage at that time,
just above 60% complete.”
The schedule was very tight, and there
was mechanical completion still to finish.
The pipes needed cleaning and all the
pre-commissioning activities were at an
early stage. There were electrical and
instrumentation activities taking place,
as well as the fitting of the control panels.
“Even though I had worked in Algeria
before, it was difficult because it was
extremely cold and extremely hot in the
same day. We called the site team the
El Merk tigers,” he says.
And Suryakumar agrees that the team
put in place for the project was an
extremely special one. “It was a major
contribution to our success. Everyone
felt we were working as one, and the
interface with the other teams went
beautifully, I’ve never seen that before
or since.”
John Adams says teamwork was vital
to the success of the project. “I’ve been
on the management team of four mega
projects in Algeria – projects requiring
gross investments of more than US$1
billion in today’s money – and I think
El Merk was the most challenging. It is
especially satisfying for me because at
64 years old, this will probably be my
last major project.”

Marking First Oil
on 15 March 2013
from left:
Mario Torres
(Petrofac CM),
John Adams
(Anadarko PM),
Lahcene Bada
(Sonatrach PM),
Ahmad Sonbol
(Petrofac FCM),
Salah Mekmouche
(Groupement
Berkine –
Operation),
Salaheddine
Messaoud
(Sonatrach
Comm Mgr),
Ammar Nouacer
(Groupement
Berkine –
Operation),
Bill Savage
(Groupement
Berkine –
Operation)
Photograph by
Ali Rammal

A ‘mega’ achievement
Five years on and the facility is
performing well, working virtually at full
capacity. It is producing oil, condensate,
and liquefied petroleum gas together
with a natural gas liquids (NGL) train.
During construction more than 1,000
km of electrical cable was laid, along
with 1,200 km of instrument cabling,
and 225 km of telecom cabling. A mega
project indeed and proof that Petrofac
can perform in the most challenging
of conditions.
As John Adams concludes, “The
El Merk Project is among the biggest
and most satisfying of my career.
I am very happy and proud of the
outcome and the world-class project
we delivered. It’s a jewel in the desert
and we can all be very proud of what
we have achieved.”

“LIFE IS REALLY ABOUT
THE SECOND EFFORT”

It’s the effort required to get back up again – and it’s the sports
philosophy driving our new Non-Executive Director Kathy Hogenson.
Interview by Alison Flynn. Photograph by Dylan Thomas


Ask Kathy Hogenson what attracted her
to the oil and gas sector and you get an
odd answer. “It was my mother’s way of
trying to talk me out of becoming an
artist,” she laughs.
Growing up in the American auto cradle
of Detroit, engineering was in the family’s
blood. Kathy’s mother was a visionary
who saw energy as being the future.
She was keen for her daughter to use
her maths and science skills, and take the
career path which both her grandfather
and great-grandfather had followed,
and which had served the family well.
Kathy duly took the same route,
sceptical but opting for a degree in
Chemical Engineering, with Petroleum as
a subsidiary. Then came a defining point:
Kathy discovered geology. “I saw Mother
Nature’s canvas laid bare, and I was
captivated by its artistic science.”
Seeing a life ahead that allowed her to
combine her love of art with her scientific
qualifications, Kathy’s career took off.
Spending her early years as a petroleum
and reservoir engineer, her roles took her
to Indonesia, Ecuador, Argentina,
Australia and Korea, working with US
and foreign based companies, including
national oil companies.
Kathy assumed her first CEO role in
2001 at Santos USA Corporation, and
held a number of senior roles in
exploration and production technology
at California-based Unocal Corporation,
before setting up her own US-based
company Zone Energy LLC.
Her 30 years’ experience gives her a
great standpoint from which to view the
sector, its challenges, and how, in her
new role on the Board of Petrofac, she
can help guide the business forward.
“What attracted me to the company
was Petrofac’s leadership, approach to
innovation and its results. When you look
at its size, how quickly it has grown, I was
really impressed with the accomplishment
in terms of the collective action it must
have taken, and the quality of execution.
I’m very excited about the ‘evergreening’
of the strategy, and how Petrofac will
continue to take advantage of the
opportunities offered by technology
advancements in LNG and deepwater.
These are areas I believe are the future,
and really play to the innovation Petrofac
has already demonstrated it can deliver.”
Kathy is enthused by the opportunities
that may lie ahead. She believes the role
of gas in the world will grow. And, as
energy reforms pave the way for further
investment, she believes that Mexico,
where Petrofac has been a first mover,
provides abundant growth opportunities.
Kathy sets store by innovation, to keep
a business nimble and responsive. “I think
both as a business and a person you
need self-belief and patience,” she says.

“But also the agility and flexibility to adapt
to market changes. That’s been one of
my biggest career lessons.”
So how will these attributes come
through in the Boardroom? Kathy
believes in a strong moral compass, and
an approach which is collaborative and
supportive. “It’s important not to get
caught up in fear or excitement, but to be
inquisitive, with an emotional intelligence
that allows you to manage risk. Being a
long-term, strategic thinker is key.”
As for the challenges ahead? “I think
being able to balance innovation and
process so they are complementary is
important. Innovation naturally feeds
companies and
people. Process
‘ s a business allows companies
A
and as a person to manage their
profits, manage
you need
self-belief and the risks that
patience – but come with it and
also the agility re-invest their
capital for growth.
to adapt’
Innovation and
process used
together can enable sustainable growth.”
There are external pressures outside
the sector to which Boards must also be
attuned. Kathy worries about future
leaders, and whether they will possess
the requisite skills to provide leadership in
a world which is evolving so fast that it is
almost impossible to define what skills will
be necessary. She identifies the digital
space as a compelling competitive
advantage; but one which is evolving at
such a pace that companies have the
double challenge of managing the cyber
risks that could cripple them, as well as
the opportunities that embracing new
technology could deliver.
With seats on the advisory board for
Samsung Oil Gas USA Corporation,
Parallel Petroleum LLC, and a trustee of
the Society of Exploration Geophysicists,
Kathy has a busy portfolio, but manages
to relax with pilates, cycling and travel.
She meets her challenges by staying true
to the mantra that has helped guide her
through life since she was a child.
“My father had a good friendship with
a famous American football coach named
Vince Lombardi. When I was four years
old my dad sat me and my three siblings
down in front of a film of Vince’s prematch speech to his players. His mantra
was about the ‘second effort’. In the initial
effort you get yourself motivated, but
what’s required when you get knocked
down and have to get back up again is
the ‘second effort’ – and that’s what
makes the real difference. I believe the
first effort is what your parents instil in
you, but life is really about the second
effort. And that’s when you get to shake
hands with ‘innovation’!”

IN SAFE HANDS

Whether you’ve been working offshore for 20 years or are new to the industry, you still need to complete
offshore survival training. Petrofac Training Services – home of the ‘RGIT’ – has been training the offshore
industry in Aberdeen for more than 30 years. We talk to two recent delegates about their experiences

‘OLD’
HAND
Iain Gordon, 49, is a control
room technician for Total EP
UK, working on the Dunbar
platform in the North Sea.
He spent much of his early
career onshore as an
instrument technician at
Peterhead power station,
but when he joined Total in
1997, he did his first Basic
Offshore Safety Induction
and Emergency Training
(BOSIET) course.

In August, he attended
Petrofac’s Survival training
centre in Aberdeen to
undertake his fourth oneday refresher course – the
Further Offshore Emergency
Training (FOET).
“I have always done my
training with Petrofac – it was
called RGIT in the early days
– and it has stayed more or
less the same in that time.
Some of the equipment and
procedures have changed but
the basic fundamentals are
very similar to what they were
the first time back in 1997.

“A lot of my friends have
progressed offshore during
their careers, like I have.
It went a bit quiet a few years
ago; people stopped coming
into the industry.
“But the investment has
returned and things do seem
to be picking up and more
young people are interested in
working offshore – but if you
look around the lounge at the
heliport it is still dominated by
the over-40s.
“I don’t get apprehensive
about the training but I can’t
say I enjoy it – I don’t know

anyone who actually looks
forward to it. The first time
I did it I had a bit of an
incident – I thought that a
buckle had stuck – and that’s
the sort of thing that makes
some guys dread it.
“But luckily the support is
very good. I’ve always thought
the trainers are excellent, very
professional. You know the
divers are there if you did get
into any difficulty, and you
never feel in danger.”
Photographs by Ian Teh

‘GREEN’
HAND
Paul Burgess, 26, has worked
on the roads in Scotland since
he left school nine years ago,
but working offshore has
always been at the back of his
mind. To help him secure a job
in the industry he booked
holiday from his work and paid
to come and train with
Petrofac, taking advantage
of Petrofac Training Services’
Survival Plus package, which
bundles together the BOSIET

and MIST (Minimum Industry
Safety Training) courses and
is tailored for new entrants
like Paul.
“I just needed a new career
step. I’m getting married next
year; my wife has just qualified
as a nurse, and we decided
that as soon as she’d sorted
out her career, it was time to
push mine forward. It’s not
that I don’t have qualifications
– I went to college to do a
welding qualification and an
introduction to engineering –
it’s just that working offshore is
something you’ve got to do in

order to get on around here.
“The Survival Plus package
also offered 50% off the cost
of another training course, and
I’ve gone for the Greenhand
course, which is for new
entrants like me and covers
basic lifting operations
training, manual handling and
helideck safety. You can’t beat
Petrofac Training Services. But
at £1500, it’s a big commitment
so I need to start sending out
my CV when I get home!
“I’m comfortable in the
water – in fact I’ve got all my
diving certificates – but I was

still apprehensive. I couldn’t
sleep the night before.
I watched all the clips on
YouTube so I knew what it
was going to be like.
“But the course was brilliant
– really good. It really opens
your eyes as to what could
happen. And the trainers were
spot on, very knowledgeable
– couldn’t fault them.
“And you always feel safe.
There is always someone
there helping you through it.
Hopefully now I can get myself
a job offshore and begin
working my way up.”

I ALWAYS
CARRY...
MY SCHOOL
CALCULATOR
Some of us have an item we take
to work each day, which reveals
something about us and our lives.
This issue: Matthew Harwood,
our Group Head of Strategy.
Photograph by Matthew Donaldson

I got this calculator when I was just
12, and it’s been with me ever since.
It’s a part of my working self.
It looks a bit like the way I feel; held
together by insulating tape and marked
by the passage of time.
It must have been quite a significant
purchase back in 1982, a big investment
by my parents – I suppose that’s why I
carved my name into the back with the
point of a compass, to warn off potential
calculator thieves.
I used it at school and through my
Chemistry degree. It sat on the lab bench
next to me as I did my PhD and postdoctoral research and had numerous
chemicals spilt over it. It came to the
drilling rig with me when I was a
petroleum engineer at Shell, and then
helped me to check my computer
simulations when I moved into

reservoir engineering.
As my career has progressed, the
numbers have got bigger – I’m now
working in billions! – but the sums have
got simpler. Nowadays it’s mainly just
plus and minus (more plusses than
minuses if possible), with the occasional
multiply or divide for good measure.
Despite its tatty appearance, when
I bring it out in meetings with other
engineers, it becomes a talking point.
Everyone seems to have a trusty old
calculator lurking in a desk drawer!
The older generation of engineers are
like that, really fond of our old calculators,
even though there’s now more
processing power in a mobile phone.
Me and my ‘FX-82’ – we’ve been
through so much together. I really
ought to give it a clean – and perhaps
a change of batteries!

Do you have something which you take to work each day, and which says something
about you and the work you do for us? Let us know, at Petrofacts@petrofac.com


People

ENGINEERING
FOR EXCELLENCE
“We’ve been working in
partnership with the Royal
Academy of Engineering (RAE)
since 2009,” says Louise
Ferguson, Petrofac’s Head of
Organisational Development.
“From this, the Petrofac RAE
Fellowship Programme was
formed, initially to create 18
Fellowships over three years.
Now in its fifth year we
continue to provide: £9,000
as a contribution towards fees
and living expenses;
mentoring; a companysourced project and a work
placement to each individual
selected to pursue a one-year
Masters programme. 22
Fellows have been appointed,
and eight have gone on to
work for us.”
They join a growing list of
Petrofac alumni (see right).
“This programme cemented
our partnership with the RAE
and it’s gone from strength to
strength,” adds Petrofac’s
Head of CSR, Gwen Folland.
“We’ve sponsored the RAE’s
Awards Dinner for three years

BREAKFAST

Petrofac’s RAE
Fellows:

2011
Sidney Abiodun, Alistair Bridges,
Ali Izzidien, Hippolytus Zama

2013
Mustafa Aljaf, Sean McKirdy
Syed Shah, Chukwuka
Maduekah, Abdul Zafar

2010
Steven Riddell, Carl Asibey,
Obiageli Iwugo, Swetha Nama,
Ali Abdi, David Ntoko

2012
Oliver Seelis, Tania Alvarez,
Samuel Lisney, Isaac Afonughe

2009
Fidelis Mugabe, Liesel De Temple,
Elaine Donegan

and honoured five rising
stars from within Petrofac
who have made exceptional
engineering contributions
early in their careers.”
In an effort to make
transformational changes
around STEM – to influence
young people’s views on these
subjects and engineering in
particular – Petrofac is
sponsoring the RAE’s STEM
Teacher Network. A national
network of support for STEM
teachers will be created; this
will focus on engaging pupils
aged 11 to 13 in STEM at
a time when their interest
is developing to help shape

their future choices.
Gwen says: “We’re
beginning this programme
in a small way in the UK with
the appointment of two
teacher co-ordinators. Each
teacher co-ordinator can
potentially influence around
850 pupils so the impact is
potentially significant.”
“So far we’ve spent more
than £400,000 with the RAE
to develop internal capability
and promote engineering.
With skilled capability in short
supply, and increasing
demand, it’s been a good
investment in our industry’s
future,” concludes Louise.

than £9,000 which includes a
generous donation of £935
from colleagues in the
Manchester office.
The Probert family were
inspired to embark on their
epic fundraising quest after
Barry’s grandaughter Jayla
had life saving heart surgery
at GOSH at just 12 weeks old.
Jayla, now one, has also been
part of the fundraising efforts
– completing the GOSH race
for kids in her pushchair!

Jayla enjoying the GOSH race

Everyone starts their day in a different way – and with Petrofac people based right around the globe,
here’s how some of your colleagues start theirs…

Barry Snow
Aberdeen
My Friday Special – a
sausage, egg, hash
brown and haggis roll
served up with a side
order of baked beans.

Mohd Hadzrul
Bin Zulkafi
Malaysia
A traditional Malaysian
breakfast called Nasi
Lemak. The meal
contains rice, a fried
egg, cucumber and a
spicy sauce.

GOLDEN
YEARS
Yatish Thakur from Mumbai,
may be 47 years old, but he
has proven he’s still got what
it takes to succeed. In May
this year he won the coveted
gold medal in the veterans’
discus throw at the 33rd
Masters National Athletics
Championship held in Kerala.
He competed in four other
events – the 100 m sprint,
javelin throw, long jump and
the 4x100 m relay race – but
it was his impressive 25.96 m
discus throw that brought
home the gold!

Camilla Winther
Aberdeen

Matthieu Billes
Mexico

Yoghurt with muesli
because it’s nutritious
and healthy. Ryebread
(with cheese) because
as a Dane I just can’t
live without it! Coffee
goes without saying…

A sandwich with
wholegrain bread,
ham, my favourite
Mexican cheese called
panela and Dijon
mustard. I usually add
grapefuit or melon too.

Hemant Gor
Sharjah

A YEAR’S EFFORTS
Barrie Probert, a Principal
Structural Engineer for OPO in
Manchester, is undertaking a
‘Year of Challenges’ from which
he and his family aim to raise
£10,000 for Great Ormond
Street Hospital (GOSH).
Since last November, they
have completed:
• a 10 km urban assault
course around the Etihad
Stadium in Manchester
• a 67 mile cycle ride from
Wattan-at-Stone to Hackney
• The 5 km GOSH Race
for Kids
• a 75 mile cycle ride from the
London Eye to Brighton
• a 50 mile cycle ride from
Liverpool to Chester
Barrie also took part in the
London to Surrey bike race
(page 48).
So far they’ve raised more


AROUND THE GROUP

Mohd Dhiyauddin
Assiddiq Bin
Mohd Zaid
Malaysia

My breakfast keeps me
energetic and fit for my
job. It consists of local
dates, walnuts and
homemade chapatti.
I drink around 1.2 litres of
water before breakfast.

Puri, an Indian dish
made of rice flour and
eggs, with a dhall curry
with chick peas and
beans and a fish curry
to add some spice.

Rebeca Rodriguez
Mexico

Kayvaan Kermani
Aberdeen

For breakfast I usually
have a sandwich with
healthy bread, ham,
cheese or eggs – and
a fresh fruit juice for
vitamins.

Since returning from a
Floridian holiday, I now
have waffles, with the
usual maple syrup and
vanilla sauce. My level
of exercise has had to
step up!

In the next edition, we’ll find out how colleagues travel to and from their workplace. If you’d like to be featured, please send a short description of your work
journey along with a photograph of yourself and your usual mode of transport to petrofacts@petrofac.com before 30 November 2013.

People
Mike Cannavina
Head of Facilities
Engineering and
Asset Integity, IES,
London
Finish Time:
7 hours 45 minutes
Funds raised: £2,300 for Whizz
Kids, a UK charity that helps
children with mobility difficulties.
“I had never cycled more than
10 miles before! I started training in
April and it was difficult, but the
highlight was the sprint finish down
the Mall to the cheering crowds.”

Nigel Blair from the Woking office – our fastest finisher

BLOOD, SWEAT
AND GEARS
20,000 entrants in a 100-mile London-Surrey
cycle race included several riders from Petrofac
A desire to improve the lives of
children and young people
inspired four colleagues from
the UK’s Woking and London
offices to get out from behind
the desk and onto the saddle.
“I had a fantastic day
yesterday,” writes Mike
Cannavina, in an office email
to his Petrofac IES colleagues
in London after completing the
100 mile cycle ride from
London to Surrey – the same
route taken by some of the
world’s best cyclists who
competed in last year’s
Olympic road race.
The event, which took place
in August, started at the
Olympic Park in London and

around 20,000 cyclists rode
through the City’s traffic-free
streets before heading out into
the surrounding countryside of
Surrey. A gruelling 100-miles
later, the finishing line was in
sight, and cyclists were
inspired to complete the last
few miles as they sprinted
down the Mall towards
London’s most famous
address: Buckingham Palace.
Each cyclist was individually
timed using an electronic tag
attached to their bicycles.
Mike, and three colleagues
from our Woking office, all
finished the race and raised
funds for charity. We asked
them about the experience:

WASTE
PAPER
WIN FOR
SHARJAH

A team in Sharjah has won
recognition at the 2013
Emirates Environmental
Group’s Annual Waste
Management Awards.
Nahida Basu, HSSE and
CSR Adviser started a
responsible recycling initiative
in Sharjah in 2006 – and over
300 tonnes of waste paper


Nigel Blair
Civil and Structural
Consultant, ECS,
Woking
Finish time:
6 hours 01 minute
Funds raised: £1,000 for Eikon,
a Surrey-based charity that provides
support to vulnerable young local
people and their families.
“I’m the Chair of Trustees for the
Eikon Charity so I was delighted to
support them by participating.”

BACK IN THE FIELD

Success for the CSR team

SAUDI
AWARD

Matthew Allen
Senior Project
Engineer, IES,
Woking
Finish time:
7 hours, 02 minutes
Funds raised: £1,100 also for
Whizz Kids.
“I raised over £3,000 by cycling for
children in Romania earlier in the
year, so I wanted to do something
similar closer to home.”

A local community training
programme developed by our
CSR team in Saudi Arabia was
recently recognised at the
2013 CSR Peer Awards in
London. The project, which
involved training more than
200 young unemployed men
and women in Saudi Arabia,
was one of 12 finalists from
more than 300 entries.
The team, led by DanielBrian Murteza and Bashar
Ghrawi, designed and
sponsored a six-month
training programme, delivered
by the local Chamber of
Commerce, to develop HR
and administration skills.
Around 50 women
completed training and 12 are
now working for the company.
Some of the young women
were physically challenged
and the training helped to
develop their self-esteem.
At the conference and
awards ceremony, Daniel
talked to attendees about how
providing this training and
helping Saudi women to enter
the workforce is dispelling
stereotypes, changing
perceptions, developing
people, and changing lives.

Nahida Basu receives the
Award for paper recycling

have since been recycled.
Roger Carter, Petrofac’s
Group Head of Environment,
said: “This is a fantastic
achievement for our Sharjah
team. They have shown a real
commitment to reducing
paper waste and to
sustainable environmental
practices.”

Lisa Lewis
PA and CSR
Coordinator, ECS,
Woking
Finish time:
8 hours 35 minutes
Funds raised: £1,700 for
the Richard Cloudesley School
which supports children
with educationally significant
physical disabilities and special
education needs.
“I’m so pleased I completed
the race, I had two punctures and
my chain come off, but I didn’t let
it deter me!”

Vice President of Subsurface
in the IES Technical
Directorate, Sayma Robbie
has now relocated to
Bucharest to become the
Country Manager for
Romania. Sayma is now
responsible for leading and
managing all aspects of our
Romanian business including
our important production
enhancement contract (PEC)
at Ticleni.
Three years into a 15-year
contract, Petrofac is applying
its subsurface capability to
grow production at Ticleni,
and Sayma’s strong
background and expertise in
petroleum engineering will be
key in helping further unlock
the potential of future
production.
Sayma said: “Ticleni is
fascinating because of its age,

‘This is a new
dimension for
me, but one I
look forward to
developing’

complexity and unique
challenges. With PEC
contracts we squeeze
maximum production from
older assets and create value
for our customers who are free
to concentrate on larger fields.
We’re paid a tariff per barrel for
production [above a particular
quota], so it’s crucial we
maximise performance
because that’s what creates
value for Petrofac.”
Sayma is relishing the
challenge of using her
experience in her new role,
having spent the last 18
months establishing and
developing a high quality
sub-surface function aimed
at supporting our global IES
projects’ portfolio.
Her previous role at Dubai
Petroleum, leading a team
halting the decline of a giant

mature oil field, will stand her
in good stead.
“It’s great to be able to move
between roles where you are
helping develop the
company’s expertise to
support an evolving growing
business offering, and then
you’re able to put that into
action in an operation, in a
way it benefits both the
customer and ourselves.
“As importantly, the role of
Country Manager is also
about forging long-term
relationships with our
customers, communities and
key stakeholders in ways that
cement our integration into
our host countries as a
long-term partner.
“This is a new dimension
for me, but one that I look
forward to developing over the
coming months.”

WORKING WITH A VISION
Kimon Ardavanis has been
appointed to the role of Senior
Vice President, Offshore
Assets and Marine Operations,
based in Sharjah.
Initially, his role will be to
lead the build of our new
top-end deepwater
combination vessel once it
has been ordered, and to grow
a first-class team to do so.
Kimon has had a
distinguished, 30-year career
in the oil and gas industry,
with extensive expertise in
the offshore sector,
encompassing both deep
and ultra-deep waters.
He graduated (with
honours) in Genoa in 1982 as
a Naval Architect – the same
career as his father, and one
he had wanted to pursue
himself since school.
“I am still very passionate
about engineering,” he says,
“and I continue to keep my

curiosity and engineering
know-how alive.”
He has worked on some of
the world’s heaviest offshore
lifts and largest pipelines, for
companies such as Micoperi;
Saipem (where he worked on
the Saipem 7000); and
Saibos, where he managed
the new-build of their first
multipurpose deepwater
vessel, the FDS.
In 2010, Kimon was
appointed Senior Vice
President at Saipem,
managing their entire offshore
fleet and more than 4,000
employees. And he has
worked in locations including
Europe, West Africa, Brazil
and South Africa.
“But apart from some
previous visits to construction
yards,” he says, “this is my
first time working in the
Middle East.
“People here are curious

‘It’s very, very
nice work,
being in front of
challenges and
problems’

about deepwater offshore,
because it’s not yet a big
‘brand’ for us in the Middle
East. But it will become
so, and I’m bringing the
experience and knowledge
to make it so.
“There’s a great atmosphere
in the office here – and also,
really good weather!”
After 30 years in the
industry, Kimon still loves his
job. “It’s very, very nice work,”
he says, “being in front of
challenges and problems.”
He’s particularly interested
in innovation, with several
patents pending as an
inventor in his own name.
“You have to have a vision,”
he explains, “to see something
that other people have not
thought about.”
And his current vision?
“For our new vessel to still be
an industry leader in twenty
years’ time.”

People
2013 EVE
FINALISTS
ANNOUNCED

BEHIND
THE LENS

More than 160 applications
were received this year and
now 21 teams and individuals
have made it through to the
final stages of our annual
EVE awards programme.
The winners will be unveiled
at a ceremony held during
our annual leadership event
in November.

Once again you’ve proven
we have extraordinary
photographic talent in our
midst. It was difficult for the
judges to choose from the
2,500 images submitted
to the Picture Petrofac
competition with these entries
being shortlisted at this stage
of the competition. The final
13 winners will be announced
later and their images will be
used in our 2014 calendar.

Safe:
– ontrols and Instrumentation
C
Team, OEC
– nvironmental Response
E
Consultancy Service Team, PTS
– Control of Work Team, OPO
Ethical:
– rasad Kadam, Quality
P
Assurance, ECS
– ames (Andy) Slater, Deck
J
Foreman, OPO
– oking Mentoring Team, ECS
W
Innovative:
– uan Cameron, Rotating
E
Equipment Engineer, OPO
– arweel CRA Trunkline Team and
H
Weld Overlay Valves Task Force
Team,OEC
– S Kamalakannan, Lead
M
Engineer – Telecommunication,
OEC
Responsive:
– anohar Muniasamy, Senior
M
Engineer – Telecom, ECS
– Apache Flowlines Team, OPO
– n Salah Gas Evacuation Team,
I
OEC/Corporate Services
Quality Cost Conscious:
– imanshu Chanchal, Senior
H
Engineer – Civil Structural, OEC
– ekok C Restoration Team,
B
ECOM Malaysia
– lectrical Task Force Team and
E
Team JI-2015, OEC
Driven to Deliver: (indivdual)
– antosh Bhattacharya, Technical
M
Specialist – Rotating, OEC
– atrina McLaren, Customer
K
Operations Manager, PTS
– ack Douglas, Head of Design,
J
OPO
Driven to Deliver: (Team)
– M304 Seismic Acquisition Team,
P
IES
– erantai Field Development Team,
B
IES/OPO/OEC
– Zadco Smartplant Enterprise Team

Rachel Hodges, now managing director of TNEI

MAKING WAVES
A chance encounter at the
tender age of 12 with a library
book on engineering, while
waiting for a lift home from
school, set the course for the
career of Rachel Hodges.
Throughout her teenage
years, Rachel rebuffed
attempts to dissuade her
from a profession no one else
in the family had ever entered.
And her tenacity paid off
when, in July, Rachel, 38,
was promoted to managing
director of specialist energy
and environmental
consultancy TNEI, part of
Petrofac’s Engineering
Consultancy Services.
An electrical and
mechanical engineer, Rachel
held posts in design of wave
energy devices, household
switchgear and washing
machine controls, before a
three-year stint in New
Zealand, where she ventured
into power engineering.
A highlight of her work
there was an award-winning
redesign of a cable-laying
ship from telecoms to power
cables, delivered and ready
to sail in just four days.
She joined TNEI in 2005 as
a technical consultant. Roles
have also included project
manager of the hydrogen
mini-grid project, and
technical delivery consultant

for a high-profile project
in offshore wind, sponsored
by the Carbon Trust and five
of the big offshore
developers.
Rachel has been offshore
wind lead at TNEI for the last
four years and most recently
was business development
co-ordinator, managing
strategy for TNEI.
Rachel said: “I love a
working environment where
you have the freedom to
innovate and learn. This is the
culture at TNEI, and which
Petrofac has also
encouraged since it bought
us in 2010.
“The team is very
supportive and I realise at
least once a week how
fortunate I am to be working
in a job I love so much.
“My objective as TNEI’s MD
is to build on TNEI’s excellent
reputation and fantastic
team to win and deliver
interesting work and create
a strong position for Petrofac
in offshore renewables.”

‘I love a working
environment
where you have
the freedom
to innovate’

Lake Fewa in
Pokhara, Nepal,
a Picture Petrofac
entry from Lucy
Pinkstone, a PA in
the Jermyn Street
office, London.
“The combination
of early evening
light and lingering
mist really added
to the tranquil
atmosphere at
the lakeside.”
This taster of
the standard of
this year’s entries,
along with other
spectacular
images, can now
be found on
PetroNet

Shortlist
Akshay Gajendragadkar
Alagar Ramanujam
Alex Molyneux
Amer Kahwaji
Amit Ashok Atak
Andy Maddrick
Andy Malcolm
Bhavesh Panchal
Dave Jones
Dave Smethurst
David Stanier
Deepak Tanwar
Giridar Ramaiyengar
Ian Chalmers
Jayson Seda
Jeffrey Gamby-Boulger
Jivendra Patil
Jon Rogers
Julianto Djati Waluyo
Kelvin Ting
Khaled Al Ramadan
Luanne Tan
Lucy Pinkstone
Mahdi Muhsen
Mairita Jonikane
Mark Yacoub Karam
Michael Fuller
Mohammad Tibi
Mohd Pasha Bin Abd Razak
Muhammed Basheer
Vaikilerintavida
Muhannad Assaf
NithyaChellappan
Paul Hamlet
Peter Woodward
Qiong Wang
Radhakrishnan LakshmiI Prabha
Seema Chatterjee
Sharifa Hamed Al Qasmi
Shirish Gopalrao Shukla
Shrikant Gajendragadkar
Tom McLaren
Tony Burgum
Vinu V Thadikaran
Wan Muhd Fahmi Wan Zaki
Zaidi Bin Che Li

Our island
story
‘Shetland finds
itself hosting
one of the
UK’s biggest
construction
projects since
the London
Olympics.’

The Tigers
who took on
El Merk
‘It’s a jewel in
the desert, and
we can all be
very proud of
what we have
achieved.’


Farewell from
a founder
‘I went through
the ranks,
always a hard
hat job, lead
and manage
from the front.’

Petrofacts Magazine - Oct 13

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