As some of you will know and others may have guessed, in 2011, I accepted a contract position to be the resident Drilling and Completion manager for a Canadian company operating in Turkey after a 25 year career of working as a consultant to similar operations primarily in Canada, but elsewhere too. I have worked in 6 different countries on 4 different continents. I put my life in Canada on hold, and dragged my wife and three children nearly halfway around the world to live in a rented house on the Saros Bay in western Turkey. I haven't been too open about my situation due to security concerns and a low level of paranoia, but times are changing... It has been an interesting and challenging position both personally and professionally.
On the personal side, we have had the chance to bond together as a family just before the chicks leave the nest. Something we did not previously have, as I have always travelled extensively for work averaging 250+ days a year away from home over a 30 year career. We have also had a chance to live in a different modern day culture among the ruins of at least 4 empires spanning several thousand years. The challenge comes from the sacrifice of living halfway around the world from friends, family, and nearly everything else that was familiar. As a result of this isolation, I think we are a tighter knit family now than most, but we have had so many fundamentally different experiences, we find it hard to fit in anywhere, even at home. Thank heaven for BBS's like GT. This board, along with a couple others coupled with avid following of select youtube channels has helped me preserve my sanity or what passes for it in my case.
On the professional side, I was the sole Canadian employee resident in Turkey (and the only D&C guy in the whole company) working in the Turkish Branch of the Canadian parent with a staff of about 20 native Turks of assorted skill sets (many unskilled) and over my time here, wore many hats, some of which were very familiar, others not so familiar. Working with the contractors within the country is like working at home but turning the clock back 40 years or more in technology. In spite of this, we managed to make some significant natural gas discoveries in a relatively unexplored area, but to get the gas to market requires money. Lots of money. Some time ago, the company I work for went looking for investment. They found a few candidates, but the best candidate liked what they saw, so they essentially bought the company. http://www.marsaenergy.com/press-rel...r_Approval.pdf
The company supplying the capital (Condor) had a full staff going into this, so they have decided not to extend my position here. As a result, we are in the throes of scrambling around packing up our temporary life here and making arrangements to head home. If things go as planned, we will be back in our rural home in the Alberta Parklands by mid March. Exactly what the future holds, we don't know, but we will continue to push on the doors we see and make the most of what comes along. In the meantime, I have a backlog of GT and other projects that will keep me occupied.
On the personal side, we have had the chance to bond together as a family just before the chicks leave the nest. Something we did not previously have, as I have always travelled extensively for work averaging 250+ days a year away from home over a 30 year career. We have also had a chance to live in a different modern day culture among the ruins of at least 4 empires spanning several thousand years. The challenge comes from the sacrifice of living halfway around the world from friends, family, and nearly everything else that was familiar. As a result of this isolation, I think we are a tighter knit family now than most, but we have had so many fundamentally different experiences, we find it hard to fit in anywhere, even at home. Thank heaven for BBS's like GT. This board, along with a couple others coupled with avid following of select youtube channels has helped me preserve my sanity or what passes for it in my case.
On the professional side, I was the sole Canadian employee resident in Turkey (and the only D&C guy in the whole company) working in the Turkish Branch of the Canadian parent with a staff of about 20 native Turks of assorted skill sets (many unskilled) and over my time here, wore many hats, some of which were very familiar, others not so familiar. Working with the contractors within the country is like working at home but turning the clock back 40 years or more in technology. In spite of this, we managed to make some significant natural gas discoveries in a relatively unexplored area, but to get the gas to market requires money. Lots of money. Some time ago, the company I work for went looking for investment. They found a few candidates, but the best candidate liked what they saw, so they essentially bought the company. http://www.marsaenergy.com/press-rel...r_Approval.pdf
The company supplying the capital (Condor) had a full staff going into this, so they have decided not to extend my position here. As a result, we are in the throes of scrambling around packing up our temporary life here and making arrangements to head home. If things go as planned, we will be back in our rural home in the Alberta Parklands by mid March. Exactly what the future holds, we don't know, but we will continue to push on the doors we see and make the most of what comes along. In the meantime, I have a backlog of GT and other projects that will keep me occupied.