Dear readers,

For those who don't know me well, I work as an Engineering Manager for an oil company overseeing assets in Russia, Azerbaijan, and China. I have worked there since 1997, and over the last 10 y3ears or so have traveled all over the world working on a wide variety of projects. I have spent time in South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. 2009 has not been a good year at work, with staff reductions and "cost challenges", so it hasn't been fun. Despite that, our International assets have across the board, have done very well - both technically and profit wise. Well on Monday morning, without warning, my company announced that it planned to divest (sell off) of all its assets in the Gulf of Mexico and Internationally. Worse, they announced that they did not plan to retain any of the staff working on the assets after they were sold.

So, how do I feel, you ask? I am greatly saddened by this event.

This announcement is analogous to your spouse, out of the blue, telling you that they are filing for divorce.

1) It comes as a complete surprise.
2) You both agree that you have done nothing "wrong"
3) You had agreed and committed to support each other in good times and bad
4) You routinely talk about things, both reviewing the past and planning for the future
5) Then, without warning the divorce comes
6) You hear:

We thank you for all your past contributions, but
We are not growing in the same direction
We want to go forward in on different path

We will take care of you (a severance payment)
But for now, we have to live together for the next ~ year or so.....

- until you finish up all your activities (including laying off your staff)

Then we part ways
But we wish you good luck

It has not been a good week!

Dan Dan Noodles

Dan Dan Noodles

One of the things I look forward to most about coming home from China (of course besides coming home that is), is the Noodle Bar n the Cathay Pacific airport lounge. The Dan-Dan noodles (pictured) are always hot and spicy.

You don't have to worry about eating them too fast, because the chopsticks slow you down! I always love coming through here to get fortified for the long flight over the Pacific.

I love coming home from China so I can fill up and dream about more noodles on the plane!

What did you do last weekend? I spent my weekend in China. I had to go over there, on short notice to make a presentation to the Chinese government (our partner) on putting in some new offshore platforms in SE China (about 100 miles from Hong Kong).

The Chinese think that this project is a "no brainer", but my company is not so sure. I made a presentation showing them how we evaluate the risks, and why this project may not be a good investment. I think they understood my presentation and are considering my concerns. As the "VIP Presenter" (their words, not mine), I was presented the "choicest portion" of fish - the head. They serve it to you, then everyone sits and looks at you, refusing to eat until the VIP eats first.

Okay, so I picked around quickly and carefully and found a piece of meat, not a gill or eyeball, but a small piece of meat. Talk about relief.....

Fortunately, I did get to come home a day early. Believe it or not I chose NOT to have fish on the plane!

The Office - Moscow version

I recently returned from a cold trip to Moscow. While there, I took the opportunity to walk around beautiful Red Square. There are many "picture worthy" views, including The Kremlin, the GUM department store, and my all time favorite view: St Basil's cathedral, with it's multicolored onion domes. But there was one picture I really wanted to share with you, that I call "The Office".

There are a number of vendors around selling snacks and souvenirs. In an effort to provide them with a place to go to the bathroom, city officials have installed several rows of port-a-potties. Makes sense, right?

Well, in the true spirit of entrepreneurship, one industrious lady has turned the last one on the left into her personal office. She installed a board across the sink for her desk, your typical office memos stuck to the wall, and (just to add a bit of personal charm), she has added a curtain and chair cover.

I tried to get close to take a picture without disturbing her, but apparently didn't hold the camera as still as I should have - resulting in the grainy image - but you get the point. I walked closer after I took the picture and she looked up from her newspaper, as if to say: "I'm on my break". Priceless!

The Office has arrived in Moscow!

Mediation

I may have mentioned before, but I like books, especially novels, especially, especially Legal novels. That and historical fiction top my list.

In my career, I have been involved in a couple of lawsuits. I have been deposed a couple of times when an angry S. Texas royalty owner thought that we should have drilled more wells on his side of the fence.

Well, over the last several weeks, I have been the "principle" in a mediation concerning our minority owners in our Russia JV. Now this has nothing to do with Russia, these are Americans suing Americans - it just happens to be a Russian JV. In any kind of disagreement between parties, there are three main ways to proceed through "dispute resolution". You can have 1) a trial (typically in front of a judge & jury), 2) arbitration - in which an arbitrator listens to both sides and decides who's got the better claim, and 3) a mediation, in which a third party attempts to find a common middle ground that both parties can ultimately agree on. My recent Russia partnership went through the third process ; a Mediation.

Both parties got to plead their case (or the weakness of opposing case) in front of each other, and then we went to separate rooms. From there the Mediator, an old retired judge in our case practiced "shuttle diplomacy" going back and forth until a settlement is reached or the parties decide they cannot go any further. In our case one plaintiff was scheduled for arbitration in July, while the other was scheduled to go to trial in state court. My company and the two plaintiffs decided to try the mediation before pursuing the more expensive and less predictable arbitrations and trials.

The mediation is one of those things that you schedule with the agreement that you will stay until you're done. In this case we went all day June 11th and then from 4:00 PM until 1:00 AM last Monday. Whew! What a long and frustrating couple of days. In the end we made a deal just after 1:00 AM. neither party liked the settlement, but I guess it was better than the trials. Anyway, it didn't go the way it was supposed to in the latest Grisham novel - I guess you can't believe everything you read!

Dave Campbell's Texas Football - Is it getting to be that time again?

I am going through a drought. Not the Wimberley kind of drought, or the one that seems to plague farmers all over the country - but a College Football drought. Sure, College basketball is fun. I even enjoy the hockey and NBA finals. Astros - maybe yes, maybe no.

But that time between Spring football (at least the OU variety) and the NCAA football season - now that's a drought! I really don't even have a gripe with the BCS, I just miss the games!

Life in China

I just got back to my hotel at 8:15 PM. My head hurts from what I have had to drink tonight, all in a good cause...(I hope).

We have been meeting with our partners and the Chinese government to talk about expanding our operations here by adding one or two more platforms to our field. Each new platform will cost ~500 MM$, and with oil prices what they are it will be hard for us to approve. Part of what makes my job difficult is that I am not really worried about today's oil prices. Even if we were to approve the project today, it would be late 2012 before production begins. Consider that oil prices have gone from $80 a year ago, to a peak of $140/bo in July, and down to $40 today. With that in mind, try to predict what they will be in 2012! So after a successful presentation with the government today (it's a good sign that they came down from Beijing to see us, instead of us having to go to Beijing), I present to the partners tomorrow.

So, on to tonight's diner. It included:
* Some kind of soup, like won ton
* Then a plate full of raw fish. The salmon was good, the others, not so much
* Then the bad stuff... fish bladders (what fish use to stay buoyant)
* There were "chicken elbows", octopus, and a slimy white thing called sea cucumbers
* We then had goose claws (I swear I couldn't get any meat if I wanted to)
* Kale (actually not bad)
* It was all washed down with this clear vile concoction called Mou-tai, very potent
* At least desert was tame - watermelon slices and sweet tea.

I actually have become good at chopsticks, which works to my disadvantage here, because I have to eat more.....

Note to self: fumble with the chopstix

I better go to sleep. I have to do it again tomorrow with the partners! Just wanted you to know what I do for a living... Love to all, Chuck

Bad hair day - no problem

From Baku (June 17, 2009): Today is the day we're having our layoffs in my office. Four people in my group will get notified today. I'm looking for anything to brighten my day.

Here's one: I love my new haircut! When I got done with my meetings today, I went for a workout and a swim. After swimming, I had to go over to the tax office for a Houston teleconf - but I didn't have to "do anything" to fix my hair. I just toweled off, got into dress clothes and walked over! I didn't even need to comb (or comb-over) my hair!

Fridays off - What a great idea! During my last couple of years at Shell (1995-1997) we had every other Friday off. It was a luxury I gave up when I left Shell to begin my new careeer with Santa Fe Energy, out in Midland. I missed it, but was so close to home, that I made up for it with more relaxed work hours (I'm not sure Susan saw it that way). Several years ago, Devon started the 9/80 plan (you work 80 hours in 9 days and take the 10th day off). and I have really learned to love it! I would never leave Devon to go work for another company that didn't have this perk!

Anyway, you might ask what I do with a typical Friday off, and I'll tell you....in a minute. First, because of my international travel, I actually lose about half of my Friday's off. When I travel (Baku, China, UK, etc.), I ALWAYS try to come home on a Friday. I don't get to make these up, I just lose them, but I rarely can reschedule my meetings, they usually fall where they fall. Anyway, here are a couple of recent Friday itineraries:

I used to always play basketball on my days off, but now that I have retired, I try to start Friday's with a workout at the YMCA. Yes, I sleep in a little, but I'm usually up by 7 anyway. So....

Workout at the Y
Coffee from Sawbuck's (maybe in the backyard with the newspaper and Loma (our dog)
Yard work (it's getting to be that time of the year)
Errands (Laundry, Wal-Mart, Katy Budget Books, etc.)
Paperwork (I don't do very much of this, much to Susan's chagrin)
Often, we'll use Fridays as a day to head to Wimberley

Doesn't sound like anything "critical", but what is critical is the downtime this affords me. My work is hectic. Working International makes me be up and running early (for Azerbaijan and Africa) and prepared to talk late (China). It seems we're always involved in tense dealings with the government in all areas. These days off really help take the edge off, and keep me cool and calm (right Susan? ....Susan, Why are you walking away.....................)

Bye for now!

To all, I don't want to turn this into "random international perspectives", and promise my next posting will be much closer to home, but I have spent much time (almost 50 trips) to Azerbaijan, which is a fairly new country (less than 15 years), and are still "struggling" with what democracy means, and the advantages to "checks and balances" in the day-to-day political process.

Here is a note that I wrote to my boss this week concerning a political referendum that was put up for a vote in Azerbaijan on Wednesday. The punch line is, that the referendum passed (almost 100%, surprisingly), and to-date, I have not heard any reports of broken knees....

************************************************************************************

To all:

Tomorrow will be an interesting day in Azerbaijan. Similar to the U.S., in the current Azerbaijani constitution, a President can have two 4-year terms. Current President, Ilham Aliyev, was re-elected (last fall) to his second term as President. Ilham replaced his father, Heydar Aliyev in 2003, who served as Azerbaijan president from 1993-2003 (he passed away in early 2004). Tomorrow, the Azeri voters will have the opportunity to change the constitution, allowing a president to be re-elected (without limits) to successive four-year terms. Since Azerbaijan became independant from the Soviet Union, they had felt that two terms was enough for one leader to hold regien over this country of 10 million (the capital is Baku). The measure, which requires only a majority vote, will very likely pass and effectively will make President Ilham Aliyev the Azerbaijan President for life, or until voted out or impeached (hard to imagine these events if you control everything from ranging from judges to the press, but print and media).

Here are some facts from Asim Alikishibayov, who manages my office in Baku:

1) The referendum up for vote is for the changing the constitution to allow any president to be elected more than 2 times (along with 27 other minor amendments and additions)
2) All registered voters are eligible to vote
3) During the pre-referendum period, different groups who either support and oppose referendum amendments were established. The ratio, however, was 5 to 1 in favor for supporting groups. There is no organized "opposition" party
4) The referendum will pass (arguably regardless of how many vote, or how they vote)
5) It is interesting to debate what would happen if President Aliyev were not allowed to run again;
* - Would another party gain control of the government?
* - Would the current ruling party (The New Azerbaijan party) change faces and policies?
* - Would the resulting power vacuum cause gridlock and chaos?
It appears we may never know these things.

In case it becomes relavent; President Ilham Aliyev does have a son (12) and two daughters (24, 20). Who knows, can Ilham remain president until his son is ready???? I'll bet the good folks in Baku are asking the same question!************************************************************************************

Good bye for now!

Okay, Okay, so it's been 5 months since my last posting... Quality cannot be rushed! Just like fine wine, my postings need time to age and mellow, to ferment in my own creative juices, to....

well, you get the point! I've missed you too!

Here is a random though for any of you who know someone, but you can't tell whether they are from China or Japan. It is, after all, an important distiction. I know it's a "generalization, but China and Japan are NOT warm relations (steming from, among other things, human rights issues related to the Japanese invasion of China in the early 1900s. If you want a clue to names, read on......

Here is one more interesting observation for my blog (Hmmm, some of you are rolling your eyes)........ But as I have already eaten two bowls of spicy noodles at the HK airport, and have another 2 hours to wait, here goes:

I have a number of Japanese aquaintances (all good friends) in my work, like;
Hiroshita Suenaga,
Michihiko Ishikawa, and
Takasuki Tsutsumi

Now, I have just left China behind, where I spent the last week with the "short name race", as follows:
Li Lin
Ms. Tao Bin
Ms. Feng Jin
Ms. Dai Ling
Ms. Li Li (record for fewest letters)
Wei Ang An
Mr. Xu Bin
Mr. JJ Chen - little boss
Mr. Luo Dong Hong - bigger boss
Mr. Liu Yonj Jie - The guy that moves behind the scenes
Mr. Yang Yun - the big boss

Notice that there are no 2 syllable names, where the Japanese, typically are 3+. By the way, I was honored to be placed to the right of Mr. Yang Yun at my recent banquet. I used my chopstix for the whole meal, but I did have to eat some disgusting stuff, at his direct invitation!

The conclusion to your name puzzle: If it has 2-3 letters, likely Chinese, multiple sylables - I'd guess Japanese (but it's always good to ask)!

Just a random observation from the Traveling Irishman!