2 years on......still smiling....changes ahead!

Twelve months....sounds a long time doesn't it. So why does it only feel like last week that I posted about being 1 year on!

What a twelve months it has been and yes another roller coaster of a year.

At the start of the year it was all about stabilizing the operation after an organisation review, towards the summer months the thought were heavily around the tender announcement. Will we/won't we win, and of course the millions of questions and speculation, rumours, you name it doing the rounds.

Qatar Petroleum held a town hall in April for all Maersk Staff, with an aim of settling and re-assuring the organisation of continued employment through the transition.
Al Shaheen project: QP hints at ‘service continuity’

Then it came at the end of June, the big reveal; We lost! Needless to say the articles started appearing all over the internet like the two examples below.
Total ousts Maersk at Al-Shaheen
Qatar: Al-Shaheen field stake goes to Total. Maersk Oil to leave

As you would imagine this put a massive ripple through the organisation with emotions all over the place. As expected, the question on everyone's lips immediately turned to "what does this mean for me?" With such a large diverse workforce, ranging from the die hard born and bred Danish Maersk staff, to the been through this before guys, you couldn't get a more wide range of emotion.

I was/am in the latter camp. Having been through the transition from BP to Apache in 2003, as the one being taken over, and also in the Exxon to Apache in 2012 as the ones doing the take over, I wasn't particularly concerned, but had a good understanding how everyone was feeling.

We were all waiting for the offers from the new company NOC, but these were delayed for various reasons and didn't come until early in the new year. The offers varied significantly, with the rumours on the scale of the cuts even hitting the local papers. I was on a training course and there were a couple of Shell staff there, and they were asking if the numbers they had heard were true. Maybe they are thinking their next!

Anyway, so what did it mean for me? Well unfortunately, residential status has been withdrawn, so it is time to move the family. I will continue to work here, but just rotate in and out of the country,

And that is where we are now, planning a move, so watch this space! Oh, and in case you are wondering where to, current choice looks like Cyprus, but we will just see how it pans out. You never know might end up going the other way.

I am still smiling...so that is the main thing.
😊


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