I'm headed to the Ashgabat airport in about 2 hours. Between now and then, I'll be going back to the staff house, taking a shower, and pretending I need to pack. In reality, there's nothing to pack. It was already done in a semi-panicked state during the lunch break in Balkanabat. Now, I have about 28 hours between myself and arrival at SFO. Good old SFO. I will see you soon enough.
When entering the US on an international flight, the first thing you need to do after deplaning is to clear immigration controls (which is not the same thing as custom controls). You inevitably have to stand in line. Perhaps in rare cases if yours is the only international flight to have recently landed and you are one of the first ones off the plane and/or you run past everyone else, then you might not stand in line. (Pro tip: Running in an airport is generally a good way to draw lots of attention to yourself. Whether that is good or bad is a separate matter.) In the queue for immigration controls, there are some TV monitors that play a video that loops every couple minutes. It shows people of various ethnic backgrounds engaging in various activities and various jobs in various settings with scenery shots of various flora and fauna. Did I mention that it is all quite varied? Combined with the upbeat and Copland-esque accompanying music, it is classic Americana like the family portrait that is in the family home of one of my friends. If you're a member of this family, yes, that is your wonderful portrait to which I am referring. There's something about the video in its overly wholesome and charming way that I find so endearing, kind of like many people from the upper Midwest. Combined with being back on American soil, it puts a nice little smile on my face.
By the time it is my turn to hand over my customs declaration form, I'm feeling pretty upbeat and I'm much friendlier than normal with the immigration officer. For sure I'm incredibly tired and want to shower, change clothes, and stop sweating, but I'm always friendly. For starters, I'm back. This is the culmination of a semi-long trip involving an equal number of take-offs and landings. Second, the immigration officer deals with a lot of people all day long, most of whom are probably tired and boring. I might as well liven things up a little bit. And finally, I cannot actually be turned away. As a US citizen, the only requirements for entry back into the country are demonstration of citizenship (ie: my passport) and filling out the customs declaration. Of course I'm never snooty about this but just knowing this makes me happy.
Getting back to that immigration vs. customs distinction. Immigration is the first check, prior to getting your checked luggage. This is when they check to make sure you are who you say you are. Then you get your bags. Then you go through customs, which usually only consists of handing the officer the form on your way out. Perhaps if you're (un)lucky (or had previously been running through the airport and are very sweaty) then they might ask to see what you have in your bags and why you are importing seeds and other undeclared agricultural products.
See you all soon.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
no expiration
Related to the post earlier today about local and expat staff, I remembered something else that can create problems for local staff when they try to travel overseas. The older Turkmen passports have no expiration date. Almost every country issues passports with a 5 or 10 year validity. (In the U.S., passports are good for 10 years unless you are under 16, then they are good for 5 years.) Until a couple years ago, Turkmenistan passports had no expiration date. Not having an expiration date means some visa applications cannot be completely filled out which then means the application cannot be processed. We had someone who recently was rejected because he still has an older passport without an expiration date. One more hurdle for locals to conquer.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
sundays in turkmenistan: continuing from tuesday
I wanted to get this done on Wednesday and call it something clever like "wednesdays in the world: global business" but will settle for this knock-off "Sundays in Turkmenistan" which is barely acceptable to read and not at all alliterative. Plus, these thoughts were all tumbling around then and were somehow fresher and made more sense. Now, time has either confused me or at least weakened the apparent newness of the ideas in my own mind. Regardless, we shall continue.
We wrapped up very quickly on Tuesday with an idea about training local staff. It came on the heels of the idea of where qualified people come from and how the industry is very specialized. The basic idea is that sometimes we need to bring in expatriates to certain locations when specific experience and skill sets are needed that are not locally available. Generally speaking, any foreign worker needs to be justified to the government (immigration ministry) and explain why the position cannot be filled with a local resident. The general explanations are lack of education, training, experience, etc. Of course, some companies could continuously make this claim, especially if they never give local staff opportunities to get experience and training. The response in some countries is that many expats are given a hard cap on how long they can be in the country. I have been told be colleagues who have worked in Angola that there is a three year limit for most expat workers there. The reasoning is supposedly that you should be able to train a local replacement to do your job during that time. This type of policy can produce some unintended consequences, the most prominent of which according to colleagues is the generally poor quality and unmotivated nature of much of the local staff because they know they cannot be easily released. (Angola, specifically in Luanda, also has a reputation as the most universally disliked location amongst people who have spent time there.) Their policies regarding time limits may not even be necessary. Companies have a few compelling reasons to train and develop local staff:
1. Mobility. Local staff are generally more mobile within the country. Things like border passes, permissions, registration are largely unnecessary because in most countries, local people can move freely within their own country. (I should note that at least for border passes, this is not true in Turkmenistan. Anyone going offshore, local or expat, requires a border pass document.) The flip side to this internal mobility is that for some countries, there is a problem with external mobility. Generally speaking, smaller and poorer countries have fewer visa-free agreements with other countries. For example, the number of countries that Turkmens can visit without getting a visa in advance can be counted on one hand. Another example is that in post-war Iraq, as the industry was going back for oil and gas work, it was very difficult to get visas for local Iraqis to go to training centers in other countries.
2. Money. Perhaps this should be listed first to emphasize its importance. Maybe I will simply list it twice. Local staff in less developed nations are paid at local rates. This is generally much less than what expatriate workers are paid as those employees are paid at international rates which are comparable to the rates in the more developed countries. It is in the employer's interest to have qualified local staff instead of more expensive expats. The flip side of this goes back to this being a global business. Once many locals in places like Turkmenistan gain training and experience, they want to work internationally themselves. It can become a challenge to retain and motivate some local staff members since they can take their skills to a competitor or client who might offer a more attractive deal or an international assignment. This becomes a management problem in terms of knowing your people, understanding their goals and having a plan with them.
3. Money. There, I listed it twice. Locals are cheaper and this is a business after all.
4. Business climate. You could call this a couple different things, but in terms of community relations, government dealings, and procedural matters, being able to have and present a strong local work force matters. This is a very international industry, but it is important to have local employees familiar with the less well published business practices of the region. This is particularly true in countries that have largely nationalized their natural resources so working with state companies is very important.
The general philosophy about local and expat workers here is that the company should try to employ as many people from a country as there are positions within that country. Let's say we have 100 people working in country ABC. Ideally, that would mean we have 100 ABC citizens working for the company, the vast majority of which will be working as home-country employees with a few working internationally. Perhaps 90 would be at home and 10 would work overseas. This would imply 10 expat workers inside country ABC. This being the ideal case also means it is not the reality in most of the world. In practical terms, a perfect balance would be almost impossible. More broadly though, some countries, usually better-educated ones, are over-represented worldwide when it comes to the numbers of positions the company has back in their home country. (Also, some people are from countries with no current operations so of course they are over-represented by this metric.) This imbalance will likely exist for a long time. We can take steps to minimize the imbalance through scholarships and internships and developing local staff. However, we cannot fundamentally change the quality of education available in local high schools and universities nor meaningfully redistribute the wealth of the world. We will settle for more training and go from there.
An unrelated note:
When I first started this entry on Wednesday, I had added notes at the bottom of my draft about internet quotes. I have no idea what prompted it four days ago since it is unrelated to the topic at hand, but I will leave you with this:
"The problem with quotes from the internet is it is hard to verify their authenticity."
-Abraham Lincoln
We wrapped up very quickly on Tuesday with an idea about training local staff. It came on the heels of the idea of where qualified people come from and how the industry is very specialized. The basic idea is that sometimes we need to bring in expatriates to certain locations when specific experience and skill sets are needed that are not locally available. Generally speaking, any foreign worker needs to be justified to the government (immigration ministry) and explain why the position cannot be filled with a local resident. The general explanations are lack of education, training, experience, etc. Of course, some companies could continuously make this claim, especially if they never give local staff opportunities to get experience and training. The response in some countries is that many expats are given a hard cap on how long they can be in the country. I have been told be colleagues who have worked in Angola that there is a three year limit for most expat workers there. The reasoning is supposedly that you should be able to train a local replacement to do your job during that time. This type of policy can produce some unintended consequences, the most prominent of which according to colleagues is the generally poor quality and unmotivated nature of much of the local staff because they know they cannot be easily released. (Angola, specifically in Luanda, also has a reputation as the most universally disliked location amongst people who have spent time there.) Their policies regarding time limits may not even be necessary. Companies have a few compelling reasons to train and develop local staff:
1. Mobility. Local staff are generally more mobile within the country. Things like border passes, permissions, registration are largely unnecessary because in most countries, local people can move freely within their own country. (I should note that at least for border passes, this is not true in Turkmenistan. Anyone going offshore, local or expat, requires a border pass document.) The flip side to this internal mobility is that for some countries, there is a problem with external mobility. Generally speaking, smaller and poorer countries have fewer visa-free agreements with other countries. For example, the number of countries that Turkmens can visit without getting a visa in advance can be counted on one hand. Another example is that in post-war Iraq, as the industry was going back for oil and gas work, it was very difficult to get visas for local Iraqis to go to training centers in other countries.
2. Money. Perhaps this should be listed first to emphasize its importance. Maybe I will simply list it twice. Local staff in less developed nations are paid at local rates. This is generally much less than what expatriate workers are paid as those employees are paid at international rates which are comparable to the rates in the more developed countries. It is in the employer's interest to have qualified local staff instead of more expensive expats. The flip side of this goes back to this being a global business. Once many locals in places like Turkmenistan gain training and experience, they want to work internationally themselves. It can become a challenge to retain and motivate some local staff members since they can take their skills to a competitor or client who might offer a more attractive deal or an international assignment. This becomes a management problem in terms of knowing your people, understanding their goals and having a plan with them.
3. Money. There, I listed it twice. Locals are cheaper and this is a business after all.
4. Business climate. You could call this a couple different things, but in terms of community relations, government dealings, and procedural matters, being able to have and present a strong local work force matters. This is a very international industry, but it is important to have local employees familiar with the less well published business practices of the region. This is particularly true in countries that have largely nationalized their natural resources so working with state companies is very important.
The general philosophy about local and expat workers here is that the company should try to employ as many people from a country as there are positions within that country. Let's say we have 100 people working in country ABC. Ideally, that would mean we have 100 ABC citizens working for the company, the vast majority of which will be working as home-country employees with a few working internationally. Perhaps 90 would be at home and 10 would work overseas. This would imply 10 expat workers inside country ABC. This being the ideal case also means it is not the reality in most of the world. In practical terms, a perfect balance would be almost impossible. More broadly though, some countries, usually better-educated ones, are over-represented worldwide when it comes to the numbers of positions the company has back in their home country. (Also, some people are from countries with no current operations so of course they are over-represented by this metric.) This imbalance will likely exist for a long time. We can take steps to minimize the imbalance through scholarships and internships and developing local staff. However, we cannot fundamentally change the quality of education available in local high schools and universities nor meaningfully redistribute the wealth of the world. We will settle for more training and go from there.
An unrelated note:
When I first started this entry on Wednesday, I had added notes at the bottom of my draft about internet quotes. I have no idea what prompted it four days ago since it is unrelated to the topic at hand, but I will leave you with this:
"The problem with quotes from the internet is it is hard to verify their authenticity."
-Abraham Lincoln
wherein there was pork!
There was an employees only party at the base last night. Sort of an end of Ramadan party. Amazingly, there was pork in one of the dishes being served. This is a first. Previously, everything served at parties and the canteen in general has always been halal. Also, I am not capable of matching our local guys drink for drink. This is hardly shocking, but can be a source of much learning.
TUM air force
The Caspian Sea has a problem of definition. What exactly makes a sea a sea? When does a sea become a lake? This matters because of how maritime boundaries are defined. Currently, the Caspian boundaries are under dispute. There used to be a clear line of sorts in the Soviet era. The border was simply between the Soviet Union and Iran and the Soviet Union had the power to define the terms more unilaterally. Now, five countries border the Caspian and they do not agree on which parts belong to which country. And what does any of this have to do with the Turkmenistan Air Force? Lots. Maybe.
The Air Force has been flying their Balkanabat-based planes several times in the past several weeks. They have a handful of Sukhoi Su-25 aircraft based here. Why have they been flying these planes? Well, the weather has been good so perhaps they are taking photos of the countryside. Alternatively, some combination of training and a show-of-force exercise. After looking at a map, it should not be shocking that Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan dispute the portion of the Caspian that is between their two countries. Furthermore, there is an oil and gas operator that wishes to drill in a block that is in this disputed zone. This company was trying to conduct seismic operations there in the past couple months, but they ran into some problems with getting their work completed. This is hardly the first time some force or implied force has been used when it comes to oil and gas activity in the Caspian.
The uncertainty is bad for business. This operator needs to tender and solicit bids for services for the work they wish to perform. We are working on such a bid. That's not private or surprising information. We bid on almost anything possible that is related to our business. If an operator says they plan to drill a well, providing services for that is the business we are in so we will of course submit a bid. Perhaps there are cases where we may submit a bid, but then withdraw the bid or not really want to perform the work if the risks are too great or the legal climate is too uncertain. Nonetheless, a bid would still be prepared. But such a bid in this case needs to take into account the risk premium for being in a disputed area and the potentially uncertain and non-guaranteed security situation. These things push prices a certain direction and I can give you the hint that uncertainty and risk do not lead to lower prices. This is ultimately bad for the industry in the long-term because it raises the cost of doing business. This is where a stable and secure geopolitical climate, something that is very much taken for granted in the U.S., becomes incredibly important out here. The uncertainty here leads to me being able to hear from my office military planes flying around outside.
The Air Force has been flying their Balkanabat-based planes several times in the past several weeks. They have a handful of Sukhoi Su-25 aircraft based here. Why have they been flying these planes? Well, the weather has been good so perhaps they are taking photos of the countryside. Alternatively, some combination of training and a show-of-force exercise. After looking at a map, it should not be shocking that Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan dispute the portion of the Caspian that is between their two countries. Furthermore, there is an oil and gas operator that wishes to drill in a block that is in this disputed zone. This company was trying to conduct seismic operations there in the past couple months, but they ran into some problems with getting their work completed. This is hardly the first time some force or implied force has been used when it comes to oil and gas activity in the Caspian.
The uncertainty is bad for business. This operator needs to tender and solicit bids for services for the work they wish to perform. We are working on such a bid. That's not private or surprising information. We bid on almost anything possible that is related to our business. If an operator says they plan to drill a well, providing services for that is the business we are in so we will of course submit a bid. Perhaps there are cases where we may submit a bid, but then withdraw the bid or not really want to perform the work if the risks are too great or the legal climate is too uncertain. Nonetheless, a bid would still be prepared. But such a bid in this case needs to take into account the risk premium for being in a disputed area and the potentially uncertain and non-guaranteed security situation. These things push prices a certain direction and I can give you the hint that uncertainty and risk do not lead to lower prices. This is ultimately bad for the industry in the long-term because it raises the cost of doing business. This is where a stable and secure geopolitical climate, something that is very much taken for granted in the U.S., becomes incredibly important out here. The uncertainty here leads to me being able to hear from my office military planes flying around outside.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
tuesdays in turkmenistan: red stamps
Sadly, the red stamps I am referred to are not special edition red postage stamps bearing the Coca-Cola logo. These are of the variety that go in your passport as a warning (the first time) and a deportation (the second time). While I myself have not "earned" one of these illustrious stamps, a colleague recently did due to a simple mix-up of how long he would be on one of the offshore rigs. He's hardly the first person to receive such a warning stamp and I doubt he will be the last.
The rules here are quite peculiar. That is my word for many things here: peculiar. That, and the phrase "because Turkmenistan" are the best way to easily express the, well, peculiarity of the situation. The rules and procedures are ever-shifting, questionably published, and can be potentially "finessed" in times of need. Here, the catch is that the location of all international employees needs to be registered each day. Well, it needs to be updated if any changes are made meaning if you go to the rig or a different city for a night, then your registration needs to be updated with the immigration office. This makes sense to a point. We're all guests here and the government has an interest in knowing what foreigners are doing. (Hint: not fomenting revolution). If I go to Ashgabat for a trip to see clients, that move needs to be registered. In theory, the government knows where I sleep every night. In practice, I am not sure what they do with this information or if anyone really cares. However, we are warned not to fool around, both in a literal and metaphorical sense. A few years back, one employee was deported due to spending the night outside the camp and thus not where he was registered.
For the most part, my own situation is straightforward compared to the field employees. I am in the base. Occasionally, I am in Ashgabat. Then I leave. Or I arrive. It's not more exciting or compelling. For the field employees, they have to deal with a limiting factor of location registration. See, I am registered in Balkanabat since I am here most of the time. If I go somewhere else in the country, I cannot spend more than 15 days away from Balkanabat before either returning for at least 2-3 days or leaving the country. For the field guys (and gals), this can be a problem. They need to be registered wherever they work the most. In particular, the ones who spend significant time offshore, they need to be registered at the relevant port the client is based from. However, if they go to a different client's rig or are in Balkanabat for an extended period, then they either need to have their registration changed (which is a hassle) or need to leave and spend a token 2-3 days in their normal registration location city (which is also a hassle). From a business perspective, the whole system is quite maddeningly frustrating. However, from a local perspective, it sort of makes sense. But only sort of.
These registration rules, and many others like how long and difficult the LOI/visa process takes, are all part of a process designed to make it harder to have expatriate workers. The reasoning is obviously that fewer positions filled by expats means more jobs for locals. This sounds good on paper and is arguably correct in many countries. Where this line of reasoning hits a bump is with qualified workers. This is not just about the oilfield. This is about any industry that relies on highly educated, trained, and/or specialized skill sets. Let's say a company wants to bring in an offshore rig and drill a well. At any given moment, there are probably about 100 people on an offshore rig. If you figure almost all of them have a back-to-back (since it is very rare to have someone stationed full time on a rig for 365 days a year), then you arguably need 200 people for operations. Then there is shore support, office-based staff, managers, etc. Let's somewhat arbitrarily say that's another 100 people. (Just humor me on the numbers. They are obviously not accurate, but are for ballparking purposes.) These people don't all work for the operator or the rig company of course, but belong to the various service companies that have been contracted for the work. Now I need 300 people spread out amongst many companies to drill a well, though they will presumably drill several wells. Are there 300 qualified local people available within the country right now? For many of the positions, yes. However, for certain specialized positions, probably not. Now we have this dilemma of do we stop all operations and thus associated employment due to a handful of people who are missing? Or do we bring in the few people we need to finish off the job? The latter wins out more often than not, but the hoops jumped through during that process are a reminder that we need to be building up and training as much local staff as possible.
The rules here are quite peculiar. That is my word for many things here: peculiar. That, and the phrase "because Turkmenistan" are the best way to easily express the, well, peculiarity of the situation. The rules and procedures are ever-shifting, questionably published, and can be potentially "finessed" in times of need. Here, the catch is that the location of all international employees needs to be registered each day. Well, it needs to be updated if any changes are made meaning if you go to the rig or a different city for a night, then your registration needs to be updated with the immigration office. This makes sense to a point. We're all guests here and the government has an interest in knowing what foreigners are doing. (Hint: not fomenting revolution). If I go to Ashgabat for a trip to see clients, that move needs to be registered. In theory, the government knows where I sleep every night. In practice, I am not sure what they do with this information or if anyone really cares. However, we are warned not to fool around, both in a literal and metaphorical sense. A few years back, one employee was deported due to spending the night outside the camp and thus not where he was registered.
For the most part, my own situation is straightforward compared to the field employees. I am in the base. Occasionally, I am in Ashgabat. Then I leave. Or I arrive. It's not more exciting or compelling. For the field employees, they have to deal with a limiting factor of location registration. See, I am registered in Balkanabat since I am here most of the time. If I go somewhere else in the country, I cannot spend more than 15 days away from Balkanabat before either returning for at least 2-3 days or leaving the country. For the field guys (and gals), this can be a problem. They need to be registered wherever they work the most. In particular, the ones who spend significant time offshore, they need to be registered at the relevant port the client is based from. However, if they go to a different client's rig or are in Balkanabat for an extended period, then they either need to have their registration changed (which is a hassle) or need to leave and spend a token 2-3 days in their normal registration location city (which is also a hassle). From a business perspective, the whole system is quite maddeningly frustrating. However, from a local perspective, it sort of makes sense. But only sort of.
These registration rules, and many others like how long and difficult the LOI/visa process takes, are all part of a process designed to make it harder to have expatriate workers. The reasoning is obviously that fewer positions filled by expats means more jobs for locals. This sounds good on paper and is arguably correct in many countries. Where this line of reasoning hits a bump is with qualified workers. This is not just about the oilfield. This is about any industry that relies on highly educated, trained, and/or specialized skill sets. Let's say a company wants to bring in an offshore rig and drill a well. At any given moment, there are probably about 100 people on an offshore rig. If you figure almost all of them have a back-to-back (since it is very rare to have someone stationed full time on a rig for 365 days a year), then you arguably need 200 people for operations. Then there is shore support, office-based staff, managers, etc. Let's somewhat arbitrarily say that's another 100 people. (Just humor me on the numbers. They are obviously not accurate, but are for ballparking purposes.) These people don't all work for the operator or the rig company of course, but belong to the various service companies that have been contracted for the work. Now I need 300 people spread out amongst many companies to drill a well, though they will presumably drill several wells. Are there 300 qualified local people available within the country right now? For many of the positions, yes. However, for certain specialized positions, probably not. Now we have this dilemma of do we stop all operations and thus associated employment due to a handful of people who are missing? Or do we bring in the few people we need to finish off the job? The latter wins out more often than not, but the hoops jumped through during that process are a reminder that we need to be building up and training as much local staff as possible.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
@outlook
I picked an e-mail address with Microsoft's new (more or less) outlook.com service. It is the same as my gmail account except it ends in @outlook.com of course. I haven't used it for anything except to send and receive test messages to ensure it is indeed the name I intended to choose. At this point, no services are signed up with the account so it remains pristine in the eyes of spam bots and marketers attempting to purchase my information. Of course, random people could sign me up for all manner of services or even get their own e-mail address wrong. I have definitely had people send e-mails to my gmail account under the mistaken belief that I was their friend or family member. Neigh, I am not.
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