Might be offline for a few Weeks

[Gary Fowler]

I haven't gone yet. There is some approval cycles with the client to go thru, a physical to pass and work visa to obtain. I just told the contact that I was available for short term.

 

[jerrybob]

Enjoy....be safe and come home soon!:thumbsup:

 

[kevin37b]

How could anyone miss you ?

 

[Gary Fowler]

Got some more forms to fill out today for processing. Looks like if I can pass the physical they want me to get there as soon as possible and stay and extended rotation of up to 10 weeks (Mid June) till the official QC Manager is released from his other project. Having worked on that project, nothing goes as scheduled. I finished my part on that job in June of 2011 and it was to be completed by Dec of that year and here it is almost April 2013 and it is still not completed.
10 weeks to be away from my wife, dog and tractors might cause withdrawal symptoms (not sure what those might be though)

 

[Carl_NH]

Gary.

Seems like you just got home from Algeria - that was May-June last year IIRC.

Well hopefully you wont miss the entire tractor season and as others have said, be safe and we look forward to hearing from you in Africa !

Carl

 

[Gary Fowler]

Gary.

Seems like you just got home from Algeria - that was May-June last year IIRC.

Well hopefully you wont miss the entire tractor season and as others have said, be safe and we look forward to hearing from you in Africa !

Carl

I just got my assignment letter with some dates. Mobilization is listed as April 10 thru July 10th. It may not last that long depending on release of the permanent QC manager from his present job in Nigeria. It not as much money as other jobs but I will get one day a week to rest and only 10 hours per day rather than the 7 days a week and 12 hour days of the previous jobs in Africa. Of course there isn't anything to do at those places on the day off so you may as well be working. Looks like I will only be making about $5K per week so I suppose it will be worth the effort.

 

[Carl_NH]

Sounds like a pretty good gig Gary, hope they fly you in a comfortable seat and you are treated well and are in a safe place.

So we will expect some boring photos of pipelines and sand in a few weeks.

Carl

 

[Gary Fowler]

Sounds like a pretty good gig Gary, hope they fly you in a comfortable seat and you are treated well and are in a safe place.

So we will expect some boring photos of pipelines and sand in a few weeks.

Carl

The travel arrangements are Business Class flights so I know they will be as good as it gets in an airplane. I got in about 400K miles in Business class on the Nigerian job but had to fly economy in Algeria although I got one way bumped up to business using my Platinum air miles but had no seats on the way home (bummer 14 hours in econo sucks)
I did look up the location (Lobito Angola) and it is a sea port town. They will be going into winter months as I get there and temps average 62 for low and 86 for high all winter months. It looks like the temps are pretty stable and not nearly as cold as Algeria was nor hot as Nigeria (think Hawaii climate)

 

[deerseeker001]

make a few bucks,hurry back

 

[don45640]

Be on your guard,Gary! I know there are people unfriendly to Americans there. Personally,I'd be afraid to go,but you seem comfortable with it so you must know something I don't.LOL! Have a great trip and be careful,man! don-ohio ^)

 

[rocknrod]

Ya they always say - just a month or two. A year and a half latter your going home. Once your there they dont want to demob you

Besides, you'll have internet access on site. Post Pics for us.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Be on your guard,Gary! I know there are people unfriendly to Americans there. Personally,I'd be afraid to go,but you seem comfortable with it so you must know something I don't.LOL! Have a great trip and be careful,man! don-ohio ^)

KBR provides good security for us even so I have been in some not so hospitable places and predicaments. Me and my entire staff were held hostage by the Nigerian workers once for about 6 hours before the security forces convinced them to let us leave. Got my staff back to camp and then went back with the HR guys and security to address their grievances. They were still angry and refused to work for about a week but at least no more riots and gunfire. Another time we had to have a big 75 passenger crew boat come from the construction site 35 air miles away from where we were fabricating piping to evacuate us by river back to camp because the rebels had car bombed the governors mansion and closed the only road back to our man camp. Never had any problems anywhere else although an associate had rebels in Venezuela steal his company truck off a pipeline right-of-way at gunpoint and another associate when I was in Saudi Arabia almost got involved in the Beirut airport attack back in 1980. Their plane had barely reached cruising altitude when the pilot announced that terrorist had attacked the airport with mortars and seized everyone in the airport. Most of the time that folks get in trouble is from disobeying the security rules and wandering off the reservation on their own usually in search of drugs or *** and they get kidnapped by locals. We did have a bunch of ex-patriots from different companies working in Nigeria that had been kidnapped while working in the offsite oil wells for ransom. Usually the ransom was for just a few thousand dollars and once paid, the hostages were freed. I think there was only one person that was harmed in the 2 years I was there, but no one was ever arrested for any of the kidnappings. A few times the police found out where they were and rescued the hostages unharmed but the crooks escaped into the jungle/swamp. We (KBR) have had to remove some folks quickly and quietly from foreign countries for errors in judgment that caused them some potentially life threatening consequences. Some folks forget that they are not in the USA and try to treat the local workers like low life dogs or worse and get their tails in a big crack quickly. You have to respect the locals and just like the proverbial "customer is always right" have to show respect even if you really don't want to.

 

[Carl_NH]

Appears like a nice spot by the ocean Gary, but I dont see many cars in the driveways. A pretty small town 2 miles radius?

Also, you have the experience obviously and are smart about your surroundings. Like you say, thats the key. Also I agree having traveled to a lot of places, even if you dont blend in, respect the locals and smile a lot.

 

[daugen]

Gary,
enjoy your adventure and stay safe.
are you flying into Lobito and then heading out, or working in the port
area? Fairly populated area, then, well, nothing...
fun to check it out on Google Maps
Hurry on back with your pics of Angola tractors
Drew

 

[Gary Fowler]

All I really know at this time is that it is camp residence, single status job and the location is listed as Lobito Angola for Sonanref refinery.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I thought I would update this thread. I have finally after weeks of doctor visits, now have my medical clearance. Last Sunday I flew to Houston so I could go to the Angolan Embassy and apply for my temporary visa. (had to fingerprint me). So I got that taken care of, came back Monday afternoon, went to my family doctor AGAIN Tuesday for a release letter AGAIN to cover my slightly elevated sugar levels. I had recently switched some high dollar medications for a cheaper one and it had raised my blood pressure and lowered my white blood cell count. I had to go back to the $65 per month one, wait a week and retest my pressure and blood, now all is good.
Yesterday I got the final clearance from the KBR medical director so I am finally good to go. I had to call my doctor back and get some scripts refilled as it has taken so long processing that my available medication was only for 2 months and I require at least 3 months worth to take with me, got to go today and pick them up. So far I have about $600 worth of medicine I have to buy up front without any insurance coverage. Oh well its still cheaper than the $1500 per month COBRA insurance they offered me when I retired.
Anyway, May 1st I am on my way to Africa (AGAIN). I don't think we will have very good internet service there as the camp has not been built yet so no infrastructure is in place yet. We will be operating off VPN service (like a dial up) so it will be slow. We had that down in Mexico and it was a POS that worked about 10% of the time but we could receive emails and download them, it just took an hour or so or more it someone sent you a big file.
I was shown some photos of the site while in Houston and it reminds me somewhat of the topography in Peru where I worked on an LNG project. It is 160 meters above the ocean with a vertical cliff and a heavy haul road has to be build down to the coast line. It is much flatter than Peru but still will require 24 months of dirt work to prepare the site for construction. At least I will be going in at the beginning of fall and into winter (its below the equator) so it will be a bit cooler.
I will for sure take some photos but I may not be able to post anything till I get back.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I thought I would update this thread. I have finally after weeks of doctor visits, now have my medical clearance. Last Sunday I flew to Houston so I could go to the Angolan Embassy and apply for my temporary visa. (had to fingerprint me). So I got that taken care of, came back Monday afternoon, went to my family doctor AGAIN Tuesday for a release letter AGAIN to cover my slightly elevated sugar levels. I had recently switched some high dollar medications for a cheaper one and it had raised my blood pressure and lowered my white blood cell count. I had to go back to the $65 per month one, wait a week and retest my pressure and blood, now all is good.
Yesterday I got the final clearance from the KBR medical director so I am finally good to go. I had to call my doctor back and get some scripts refilled as it has taken so long processing that my available medication was only for 2 months and I require at least 3 months worth to take with me, got to go today and pick them up. So far I have about $600 worth of medicine I have to buy up front without any insurance coverage. Oh well its still cheaper than the $1500 per month COBRA insurance they offered me when I retired.
Anyway, May 1st I am on my way to Africa (AGAIN). I don't think we will have very good internet service there as the camp has not been built yet so no infrastructure is in place yet. We will be operating off VPN service (like a dial up) so it will be slow. We had that down in Mexico and it was a POS that worked about 10% of the time but we could receive emails and download them, it just took an hour or so or more it someone sent you a big file.
I was shown some photos of the site while in Houston and it reminds me somewhat of the topography in Peru where I worked on an LNG project. It is 160 meters above the ocean with a vertical cliff and a heavy haul road has to be build down to the coast line. It is much flatter than Peru but still will require 24 months of dirt work to prepare the site for construction. At least I will be going in at the beginning of fall and into winter (its below the equator) so it will be a bit cooler.
I will for sure take some photos but I may not be able to post anything till I get back.

 

[texasjohn]

best of luck on the trip

 

[farmgirl19]

best of luck on the trip

X2 Best wishes from here too!

 

[Jhiphop72]

I thought I would update this thread. I have finally after weeks of doctor visits, now have my medical clearance. Last Sunday I flew to Houston so I could go to the Angolan Embassy and apply for my temporary visa. (had to fingerprint me). So I got that taken care of, came back Monday afternoon, went to my family doctor AGAIN Tuesday for a release letter AGAIN to cover my slightly elevated sugar levels. I had recently switched some high dollar medications for a cheaper one and it had raised my blood pressure and lowered my white blood cell count. I had to go back to the $65 per month one, wait a week and retest my pressure and blood, now all is good.
Yesterday I got the final clearance from the KBR medical director so I am finally good to go. I had to call my doctor back and get some scripts refilled as it has taken so long processing that my available medication was only for 2 months and I require at least 3 months worth to take with me, got to go today and pick them up. So far I have about $600 worth of medicine I have to buy up front without any insurance coverage. Oh well its still cheaper than the $1500 per month COBRA insurance they offered me when I retired.
Anyway, May 1st I am on my way to Africa (AGAIN). I don't think we will have very good internet service there as the camp has not been built yet so no infrastructure is in place yet. We will be operating off VPN service (like a dial up) so it will be slow. We had that down in Mexico and it was a POS that worked about 10% of the time but we could receive emails and download them, it just took an hour or so or more it someone sent you a big file.
I was shown some photos of the site while in Houston and it reminds me somewhat of the topography in Peru where I worked on an LNG project. It is 160 meters above the ocean with a vertical cliff and a heavy haul road has to be build down to the coast line. It is much flatter than Peru but still will require 24 months of dirt work to prepare the site for construction. At least I will be going in at the beginning of fall and into winter (its below the equator) so it will be a bit cooler.
I will for sure take some photos but I may not be able to post anything till I get back.

Best of luck. Be glad your medication only costs what it does. My better half has one scrpit that is 1100 out of pocket for a 30 day supply. With ins. its 130. There is no generic alternative because its made by one company. It was pulled off the market due to the side effects for general use with high BP, but it is still allowed for certain specific diseases/conditions.