"Assumptions allow the best in life to pass you by" ~John Sales

40m Jacket from Afar

I have always assumed that as a reservoir engineer, all I have to do is think about managing my reservoirs and coming up with the best production strategy. Yet, this month, I discovered that there is more than meets the eye.

I learnt that the numbers that I provide to other parties are not only used to predict revenues, it is also used to determine the design of our future facilities. It also helps the team to decide the number of wells, the exact location to drill, the type of platform to be installed as well as the budget that is allocated to the project team. Frequently, this amounts to millions and billions of ringgit and dollars. A lot of detailed planning is involved from civil engineers, electrical engineers, chemical engineers production technologists and all the operations team. A reservoir engineer's results is the basis of all the decisions, schedule, manpower and money to be spent.

I was blind and oblivious to this glaring stark fact until I was exposed to the opportunity this month to witness the load out of a jacket.

Well Slots and Decks

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." ~ Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Building a jacket seems easy enough, on paper. All one has to do is draw a few lines, connect them, calculate the weight that it can withstand. That's it. Or so I thought.

Little did I know that in reality, it is more complicatd than that.

The moment I stepped into the fabrication yard, and saw the jacket from afar, I was mystified. It looked like one of those humongous things that little dwarfs and minions like us built. Can you imagine bees building beehives? or Rafflesia growing from a single seed?

My jaw dropped wide open in awe, as I approached the humongous yellow jacket.

The size of the jacket grew by 1 centimetre with each step I took. By the time I was only 1 foot apart from it, I just kept on staring in amazement. So, this is how a 40 m structure with a width of 15m looked in reality. It takes us less than 3 minutes to walk 40m, but it takes us 3 years to build a platform of a similar dimension.

Mesmerizing! Truly Mesmerizing!

I'm so glad I was invited to witness the crossover/loading out of the jacket at the yard!

“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Two weeks after I visited the fabrication yard, I visited the offshore platform. It was my very first time visiting a production platform. Hence, I anticipated all kinds of scenarios. Would I be travelling to the platform by boat, or by chopper? If I were travelling by boat, would I be carried on a basket, by the crane, or by jumping on a rope? I've taken the chopper before, but not the boat. I hoped and hoped, that I would be able to use the basket or the rope.

On the flight, I was seated next to a fair guy with silver streaks of grey hair. I was happily reading my book, until I noticed that he kept fidgeting in his seat, stealing glances at me every few minutes. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and decided to strike a conversation with him.

"Umm... are you travelling to Labuan for work, or for holiday?" I asked.

"Hmm.. I'm travelling for work. I've been working here for the past 15 years!" he exclaimed.

"Wow! 15 years? That's long! What makes you like working in Malaysia?"

"Well, Malaysia's a very nice country to work in. It's not hostile, like Sudan, or Ghana. In the South African countries, oil workers like us, get kidnapped all the time. They love to point their guns to our heads. Our company often has to fork out a hefty sum to pay for the ransom."

"What's the most dangerous country you've been to?"

"The most dangerous country? That must be Brazil. I warn you. If you're travelling to any country, never venture out alone in the night. Once the sun sets, you better make sure you're back in your room. Once, when I was in Brazil, a guy approached me, pointed a knife at my throat and forced me to empty my wallet. Apparently, this is common. So, I've learned my lesson. Malaysia is a relatively peaceful country compared to the others. Plus, its people are very helpful too. Easy to work with, not very demanding. That's why I love it." he added.

"Oooh... " Now I know. Personally, I like to work with Malaysians too. We speak the same language, we reason and negotiate, when things don't go our way, instead of shooting each other at point blank range, when the deal goes haywire.

As we conversed, I learned that he was a New Zealander, who was almost 65, approaching retirement age. In fact, this hitch would be his last hitch. After this, he will be back in his hometown, playing with his grandchildren, looking after his orchard, harvesting fruits and having a great retirement life. Wow. I can't imagine myself, involved in backbreaking work, working on shifts from night to noon, and noon to night, consistently for 30 years! Perhaps, the reason that he could take it was because of the high salary that came with it, and the long stretches of holidays compensated after each hitch. I was impressed. In M'sia, we often plan for early retirement, or, work 'til 55, our etirement age. But this guy, he was 65, and still going strong. His zeal and passion to work, is really amazing. I shall strive to be somewhat like him. Desire to work and pass on his knowledge to the younger generation before he retiresl

"Minor things can become moments of great revelation when encountered for the first time" ~ Margot Fonteyn

I finally got my answer! I'm going to take the boat, wake up at 4am everyday, travel to the jetty at 5am, and leave for the metal structures at 6.00am everyday.

The first time I took the boat, everybody told me that the waves would swell very high. The boat would rock back and forth, left and right, and I'd be sea-sick after an hour on the boat. People felt nauseous, headache, and even vomitted right there and then, in the boat. I was doubtful at first, which prompted me to think, "Will it be that bad?" Yet, I thought back to my earlier childhood days where I made several boat trips to Pangkor Island, Redang Island, Manado Island and Manukan Island. We went there by fishing boat, ferries, and speed boats. I never ever felt sea-sick on any of this trips. How could this trip be any different?

Nevertheless, I was cautious. I didn't dare to eat too much on the first day. Just had a glass of water and some bread. Put on a life jacket, buckled it really tight. Wore the helmet, stepped on the tyres by the boat, and crossed over from the land to the boat. The first day to the platform, I sat inside its passenger room. Seats were filled, with most of the men lying across the chairs, to catch up on their sleep. Some slept on the floors, therefore,we were required to take off our shoes. When we came back, we sat outside the passenger room. Enjoying sunrise, sunset, different cloud formations, choppy waves, calm waves, competition between the fishermen's speed boat and our passenger boat. I was exhilarated. I couldn't believe that I was finally out in the open sea, on the boat, jumping from platforms! I took in everything!



Jumping, looks pretty scary for the first time. We have to time our jump at the perfect movement, since the sea is not static, it is moving all the time. When the boat approaches the platform, as soon as the tyres hit the legs of the platform, and the waves buoys the boat up, it's the perfect time to grab the top notch of the rope, step on the black, rubber tyres and leap across.

It is, at that particular moment where all sorts of ugly thoughts spring into my mind. What if I fall into the sea? What if I slipped and... I get pinched in between the boat and the platform? what if I drifted away?

My friend listens to my thoughts and dismisses the idea. "Too imaginative." he concludes. To him, there's not so much to think about anyway. Just step on the tyres and jump. That's it. end of story. Why think so far ahead?

Yet, there have been true stories where the scenarios I ironed out truly happened. When the waves, rise up and down, its sinusoidal height varying tremendously, it's hard to estimate the perfect timing to leap. The fear of falling, jumping at the wrong time, hitting onto the hard, metal grating, pinched and clipped between the boat and the platform, bugs me all the time.

This tremendous fear grips my heart each time the moment nears. Hence, the first time I jumped, my knees hit the grating, leaving a pink and purple bruise on my right knee which lasted for days. On the second day, in my eagerness to ride back straight home, I left my laptop at the platform. On the third day, my hard hat fell into the sea as I leaped.

The offshore safety personnel, had to step onto the side of the boat, holding on to the wooden panels, and took several attempts to use a long hook to retrieve my helmet. I was touched. Had it been left entirely up to me, I would have just left it floating on the surface of the rough waters. On the fourth day, I took too long to jump, the offshore personnel had no patience, and said, "Next!" , which prompted me to jump immediately, since I didn't want to hold the queue. hahaha.

All in all, it was a fun trip. Learned lots, gained lots and can't wait to come again. I certainly hope that I'll get to visit other offshore platforms soon!

“The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

It is well known among my circle of friends, that I have a porous memory. I don't remember much of everything, except for the things that I love, and pay attention to, and many of the first experiences in my life. Other than that, I often forget the name of an acquaintance. Many faces often look familiar, and I think I know them, but for the life of me, I can't figure out their names! Fortunately, they remember mine, even after 10 years or so. Hence, it is often a surprise when one springs up upon me and exclaims, "Hey! I know you!" while I'll be shell-bombed, wondering, "Who on earth is this?!"

Anyway, as I was travelling to the jetty on the 1st day at 5 in the morning, I sat in the cab, a rather sulky and grouchy person. I was sullen and silent. My colleagues were the only ones making small talk with the cabbie. When we arrived, I paid for the fare. The cab driver gave me his card. "Keep this . Call me when you return from the platform." I accepted the card and dutifully kept the card in my pocket.

Upon boarding the boat, and reaching the platform, I was so focused on climbing up and down the platform, hopping from boat to platform and vice-versa, following closely behind the technicians, step by step. When we finally reached the shores at 7pm, I was exhausted. I dragged out the card. As I read out his name, a tinge of familiarity spread through my veins. Is he the same person who ferried me around Labuan, three years ago, the year, Malaysia celebrated its 50th anniversary of Independence? I wondered.

So, I called the number on the given card. When he picked up, he sounded exactly like my previous ex-taxi driver. The same nasal tone, with the same diction, and I recognized it immediately. Now, I just needed some visual confirmation.

When he arrived at the jetty, I hopped into the cab, and immediately looked for the same air-freshener with the Jalur Gemilang (Malaysian Flag) on it. I saw it! It was at the exact same spot, right in front of the air-cond in the middle. So, my colleague wittingly remarked, "Hey! This air-freshener is unique!"

The cabbie beamed. Yes, even in the dark, we could see him radiating with a bright glow of pride. "Yup yup yup! A few years ago, I picked up a female passenger, from Semenanjung, who loved this air-freshener. She was so fascinated by it, that I offered to send it to her, when I found it being sold in the supermarkets. However, she declined my generous offer. Probably, she was embarassed. Hah!" he laughed.

My colleague winked at me, signalling to me, "Jean! Jean! This is the exact same cabbie you met 3 years ago!"

We were all pleasantly surprised! "Uncle!" we remarked. " I am that girl!" hehe!

"Oh!!! It's you? Wow! How long has it been since you last came to Labuan?"

As we reminisced, it had been 3 years! The last time I came, it was Malaysia's 50th Independence anniversary. This is my second trip to Labuan, and without even informing in advance, the same cabbie will be ferrying us around the island for 5 continuous days! What a small world, what a coincidences. Out of slightly more than a hundred taxis in Labuan, what are the odds of having the same person ferrying me twice? We were staying at a different hotel, different person arranging for the cab... woah! Deja vu! This must what we term as 'destiny'.

This just goes to show, what goes around, comes around. We must never, ever burn bridges, because no matter where we go, what we do, we will always meet the same person, one way or another. These are the mysterious ways of nature. God's works. And, that's life for us.