We are now finally getting closer to the start of the survey. On Saturday we loaded two containers witth some of our stuff and left them on the quayside; our boat, the Svetlomor 2, arrived yesterday and work started immediately to take off all the gear from the previuos survey. We have now been told to be ready to board sometime tomorrow, although it could be Thursday early morning.
During the last couple of days I have been experiencing some kind of Azeri cold/flu that knocked me down completely. Today I am feeling slightly better and I hope I will regain some strength before starting the survey, otherwise it will be an interesting situation! I am looking forward to do this job and finish it, the prolonged wait is getting a bit on my nerves, also because living in Baku feels a bit like being is a western oil colony.
Well, thats it for now and I will probably write next time from the boat!
Tuesday 17 June 2008
Friday 13 June 2008
Azerbaijan Diaries -3- Baku (...still...)
So friday the 13th today...scary!! It has been one busy day, because we had to go to the BP offices to change the location of some of our sampling stations near the platforms. Basically we have been told that we were too close to pipelines and cables on the seabed and could be a chance to damage some with the grab if the boat was to drift a little. So since we dont want our gear to get snagged and certainly want to avoid being responsible for a total black-out on one of the platfroms, we had to look all different marine charts and replot some of these locations, but it's all sorted now thankfully.
The wind has picked up again so we had another slight delay. The plan as it stands is to bring most of our gear to the quayside tomorrow and just stocking it in a container, then the vessel should arrive on sunday, offload all their gear and load some of ours. So we are expecting to finish everything by Tuesday and start sailing in the afternoon/evening but I am learning not to count on that.
A part from that tonight I will gather some people and go somewhere to watch Italy-Romania...Let's hope for something better that the last game.
Un abbraccio grosso al marmocchio Arno che ha fatto 2 mesi ieri! (sorry for the delay :)
Ale
Wednesday 11 June 2008
AZERBAIJAN DAIRIES -2- BAKU
Today is the day we were supposed to start loading everyhting on the ship and get ready to go, but in the last couple of days the departure date has been postponed further and further. The problem is that our vessel is doing another job at the moment and because of bad weather and some equipment failure they are running late. Now we have been told of a possible mobilisation date on this Sunday, but no one is sure of course. It is unbelievable how this industry works...they make you rush like a hamster on amphetamines and then they put everything on hold.
Hovever, these extra days gave us the time to make sure everything is sorted and well planned and also some time to chill out. I have been moved from the insanely expensive hotel I was staying in to an apartement in the centre, so everything is a bit more flexible. I am walking around the city, going for a tea, but it is getting a bit boring. I can't do the trip in the mountains now because if I get stuck there and we suddenly need to leave for the survey I am screwed. So I am just chilling and maybe will go for a ride just outside Baku with some of the guys on the week end.
Sunday 8 June 2008
AZERBAIJAN DIARIES – BAKU
3rd June
The first glimpse of one of the sides of life in Baku came to me already at the gate in London Heathrow, although I dind’t quite realise it at that moment. While boarding the plane to Baku I noticed that the great majority of fellow passengers had quite strong Scottish accents and the typical look of the “oil boy”, namely tattoos on the forearms, gold rings, a beer belly and a smart little trolley. They were all returning from their weeks off to start a new shift on the numerous oil platforms owend by BP and scattered around the Caspian Sea and to keep up to their reputation they had to drink vodka and coke and bloody mary non stop for the all five hours of flight. The landing in Baku took place at around 3 in the night local time and that’s where I first experienced Azeri bureaucracy: getting the visa. Basically you have to join the normal cue for passport control while filling your form, then the policeman stamp your passport and send you to the visa cue where you pay a substantial fee only to return again in the same cue and get your passport stamped once more! After more then an hour and a half wasted in this process I finally met my driver that had patiently waited outside. After shaking my hand he offered me a cigarette, fire and then handed me the pack with the phone and the folder: I guess this is the local baptism for secret agents. Once arrived at the hotel and joked with the guy at the reception about my supposedly resemblance to Alex Del Piero I dropped my bags in a stunningly posh room with a beautiful balcony overlooking the old town. I felt a bit spoiled but since BP pays for it I am more than happy.
4th June
After a nice sleep in one of the most comfortable beds ever experienced I met up with James, my contact here for the survey and went for brunch. Sitting at a table next to us were a group of well dressed british ladies drinking cappuccino and sharing opinions about the results of their latest high street shopping frenzy. These ladies are also known as “desperate oil-wives”, a pretty self explanatory nickname with a hint to trash American television.
In the afternoon we drove to the Marine Lab, located south of Baku to start discussing the details of the survey and to meet the rest of the crew. From the road you could see the incredible and quite off-putting result of the extreme oil exploitation in this desert and rocky coastline. The wild west is over, welcome the wild east.
5th and 6th June
Two entire days spent doing a training course on BP procedures for shift leaders that we will have to comply with when we enter the 500m limit zone around the offshore platforms. Although it was interesting and useful I ended up almost becoming obsessed with all the HSE paranoia that rules the oil industry. Unfortunately I will be responsible for the safety of the personnel under my supervision, probably with legal implications if something happens, so it’s good to know the basic rule: always cover your ass. However my Italian genes will always help me with common sense.
After the end of the course each day I still had a little bit of time to walk around the city centre and experience the crazy local contrasting daily life. Wild traffic and even wilder parking, shouting taxi drivers, Lada Niva, Mercedes, black SUVs, the rich dressed in obscene suits, the british expats in irish pubs, the poor selling fruit in dirty alleys, the emancipated local business women, the teenagers showing off their mobile phones. Walking in the old city was another story. Mosques, a maze of tiny alleys with old men drinking tea at their doorsteps, cats going out for a meal at the local rubbish bin, carpets sellers.
The contrast is noticeable but that is also what is so interesting about this place.
3rd June
The first glimpse of one of the sides of life in Baku came to me already at the gate in London Heathrow, although I dind’t quite realise it at that moment. While boarding the plane to Baku I noticed that the great majority of fellow passengers had quite strong Scottish accents and the typical look of the “oil boy”, namely tattoos on the forearms, gold rings, a beer belly and a smart little trolley. They were all returning from their weeks off to start a new shift on the numerous oil platforms owend by BP and scattered around the Caspian Sea and to keep up to their reputation they had to drink vodka and coke and bloody mary non stop for the all five hours of flight. The landing in Baku took place at around 3 in the night local time and that’s where I first experienced Azeri bureaucracy: getting the visa. Basically you have to join the normal cue for passport control while filling your form, then the policeman stamp your passport and send you to the visa cue where you pay a substantial fee only to return again in the same cue and get your passport stamped once more! After more then an hour and a half wasted in this process I finally met my driver that had patiently waited outside. After shaking my hand he offered me a cigarette, fire and then handed me the pack with the phone and the folder: I guess this is the local baptism for secret agents. Once arrived at the hotel and joked with the guy at the reception about my supposedly resemblance to Alex Del Piero I dropped my bags in a stunningly posh room with a beautiful balcony overlooking the old town. I felt a bit spoiled but since BP pays for it I am more than happy.
4th June
After a nice sleep in one of the most comfortable beds ever experienced I met up with James, my contact here for the survey and went for brunch. Sitting at a table next to us were a group of well dressed british ladies drinking cappuccino and sharing opinions about the results of their latest high street shopping frenzy. These ladies are also known as “desperate oil-wives”, a pretty self explanatory nickname with a hint to trash American television.
In the afternoon we drove to the Marine Lab, located south of Baku to start discussing the details of the survey and to meet the rest of the crew. From the road you could see the incredible and quite off-putting result of the extreme oil exploitation in this desert and rocky coastline. The wild west is over, welcome the wild east.
5th and 6th June
Two entire days spent doing a training course on BP procedures for shift leaders that we will have to comply with when we enter the 500m limit zone around the offshore platforms. Although it was interesting and useful I ended up almost becoming obsessed with all the HSE paranoia that rules the oil industry. Unfortunately I will be responsible for the safety of the personnel under my supervision, probably with legal implications if something happens, so it’s good to know the basic rule: always cover your ass. However my Italian genes will always help me with common sense.
After the end of the course each day I still had a little bit of time to walk around the city centre and experience the crazy local contrasting daily life. Wild traffic and even wilder parking, shouting taxi drivers, Lada Niva, Mercedes, black SUVs, the rich dressed in obscene suits, the british expats in irish pubs, the poor selling fruit in dirty alleys, the emancipated local business women, the teenagers showing off their mobile phones. Walking in the old city was another story. Mosques, a maze of tiny alleys with old men drinking tea at their doorsteps, cats going out for a meal at the local rubbish bin, carpets sellers.
The contrast is noticeable but that is also what is so interesting about this place.
Monday 2 June 2008
Azerbaijan - Day 0
Here we are! Only one day left to departure. For the ones that don't know it yet I am leaving tomorrow to Azerbaijan for about a month. I am going there for work and will spend 3 to 4 weeks doing an offshore survey on the Caspian Sea. The rest of the time will be spent in the capital Baku and hopefully I will be able to take a couple of day of holiday towards the end to see some more remote areas on the Caucasus.
The last few days have been pretty hectic trying to arrange everything in such a short time but I think now the most important things should be sorted, while the small ones will be sorted there somehow. It will be an interesting and challanging experience, but I am looking forward to doing it; I have the healthy mix of excitment and tension that usually makes me do things right.
I will try to send emails around to keep people updated but it will be a bit more difficult on the boat. For what I have been told it seems that I will not be able to use skype etc because the connecion offshore is apparently available only in certain times of the day and from their own system. So I will send updates by email once in a while and maybe put someone in charge of updating this blog (Greet, up for the task ? :). Well I think it's everything for now and you will hear again from me from the mighty and weird Azerbaijan!
Ale
The last few days have been pretty hectic trying to arrange everything in such a short time but I think now the most important things should be sorted, while the small ones will be sorted there somehow. It will be an interesting and challanging experience, but I am looking forward to doing it; I have the healthy mix of excitment and tension that usually makes me do things right.
I will try to send emails around to keep people updated but it will be a bit more difficult on the boat. For what I have been told it seems that I will not be able to use skype etc because the connecion offshore is apparently available only in certain times of the day and from their own system. So I will send updates by email once in a while and maybe put someone in charge of updating this blog (Greet, up for the task ? :). Well I think it's everything for now and you will hear again from me from the mighty and weird Azerbaijan!
Ale
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