Balance

A lot of us tend to look at the oil and gas majors as being money makers with no thought for the impact on the lives of the people who they either employ or who live in areas where they work. In other words they care little about the environment. The BBC produced this somewhat sensationalised programme in 2004. Among the inaccuracies was that accusation that the oil trains running through the region belonged to the BTC company. They didn't. Thus the arguments surrounding the railway slums were inaccurate to say the least.

It is true that these companies are driven by money. Clearly they wouldn't build a pipeline unless it could transport valuable product to a suitable location. Nor would they build a refinery in a location where there was no infrastructure or means of moving the refined product to other destinations. Politically these companies need to show the countries in which they work, that the project is a valid and important one for the country and indeed the company's shareholders. Many things have imposed themselves on these projects over the years, not least environmental impact and health and safety, both political hot potatoes.

In 1996 the western world was coming to terms with the collapsed Soviet Union, but knew strategically that relying on putting oil through the Russian Federation carried risks to the supply. At around that time I worked on the Western Route Pipeline which runs from Baku in Azerbaijan to Supsa in Georgia. The Russians had previously built a pipeline along the route and this was a replacement for an old and inefficient facility. At the time that this project was muted a more ambitious project was taking shape. It became known as the BTC Pipeline and ran from Baku, through Georgia to Ceyhan in Turkey on the Mediterranean coast. I worked on that one too.

I tend to get involved in larger projects these days and after a spell in Russia on a project in the Arctic Circle I found myself here in Doha working on one of three Mega LNG projects. You can find the public info here. I'm working on the last one to be commissioned which is due in 2010.

My particular project is employing upwards of 20,000 people from all parts of the world (yes you read that right 20k). Apart from the Middle East countries they come from India, Pakistan, Turkey, America, Europe, Australia, Philippines, you name it they come from there. A diverse and seriously multi cultural workforce. As expected this creates a logistical nightmare for those who have to deal with housing, feeding and the general welfare of all of these nationalities.

Something we must never forget is the level of expectation that these people have. From the UK or US or any of the "western" nations, we expect good quality service, good food and health care and good accommodation. It is also likely that the definition of these concepts is vastly different for those from the emerging countries such as India and Pakistan, or Thailand etc. So, my employer has concluded that it is of major importance to ensure as far as is practicable, the workforce enjoys the best possible living conditions. To this end there are certain minimum standards set by the Qatari government. These standards have been enhanced by the company that runs the location where the project is being constructed (a sort of local council if you will). You or more particularly the BBC, may argue that these are ultimately politically and PR motivated measures, you are entitled to hold that opinion. But then again a happy and safe workforce is more efficient and easier to manage.

So are the Oil and Gas companies the heartless brutes we or the BBC think they are? If I told you how much money is expended on making sure these people (I include myself here) get to finish the project healthy and hopefully more wealthy than when they arrived, your eyes would water. So I ask that when you see headlines screaming about the nastiness of these projects, take a moment to consider what the companies are trying to do for their people.