E X P A T R I A T E N E W S

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 Expat Network
Gift Shop Keeping you in touch
with your loved ones
throughout 2013.
Online all-year-round shopping for
expats and their families We have an enviable reputation when it
comes to taking care of your gift giving.
Carol Meadows, our gift-shop expert at
Expat Network takes great pride in
going that extra mile to make sure the
gifts you order get to their destination
intact and on time.
Hundreds of expats have used our gift
shop successfully over the twenty+
years we have operated this service.
There are so many occasions worth
celebrating, birthdays, anniversaries,
Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day,
Mother’s Day, Father’s Day.
Sometimes words are not enough to
convey what you are feeling and your
distance away from those you care about
can make gift giving difficult, you need a
company you can trust.
Expat Network has been sending gifts to
expats for many years with much
success

Why not let us help you

in 2013

www.expatnetwork.com/Expat-Shop
Easter - March 29-April 1st
www.expatnetwork.com/Expat-Shop
Expat Network Personalised Whatever you want to send, whether it is a
simple choice from the website shop or a
Shopping Service special bouquet of flowers, a customised
list, gift vouchers from the High Street,
Our personalised shopping service enables you to send even theatre trips, adventure breaks or a
us a list of people and present ideas, we go shopping for pampering weekend, we can always
source them for you.
you, wrap and send your presents to your chosen
recipient. Email Carol Meadows direct at
You pay for the gifts and a small administration charge carol.meadows@expatnetwork.com
along with the delivery costs of the gifts. Or go straight to the gift shop on
Your loved ones receive something special, chosen by www.expatnetwork.com/Expat-Shop
you, sent by us. or telephone: +44 (0)208 2560311
 pg 4-5 pg 12-13 pg 14-15
pg 16 pg 26-27 pg 28-29

First Word by Sheila Hare

Contents

Cyprus has long been a rest and relaxation
destination for expats, many of whom enjoy
the ambience and climate so much they
choose to stay and make a home there in
retirement. It’s been a magical retreat for
many years but has now fallen foul of the
Euro crisis. The banks have shut their doors
against a mass panic of withdrawals
following a planned EU assault on savings!
the UK. Hold it right there, check out the
changes to the Residence Test – page 4-5.
Is 2013 a good year to look for a new
contract overseas? We asked Tim Skelton to
find out from the recruiters working in the
overseas marketplace, it’s not looking too
bad at all.
And if you feel it’s time to give something
CONTENTS
Making money from something that you
positively enjoy – like photography – is
possible. Find out how on page 26-27.
Life getting you down? Lift your spirits with
our light-hearted look at retirement homes
page 28-29 and Ulrike’s take on ‘What type of
expat you might be!

April 2013
Where did it all go wrong? back to the universe, Rob Flemming delves
into the world of AID projects – volunteering
You might be thinking of hurtling home to and paid (sort of ).

NEXUS
Editor: Sheila Hare
Consultant Financial Editor: Iain Yule
(yulepress@aol.com) 3
Management, Recruitment Advertising, page 4-5 Can You Pass the New Residence Test?
Production & Marketing: Shona Farrell & Linda Taylor Iain Yule examines the changes
Tel: +44 (0)20 8256 0311
6-8-10 Expat Money
Accounts & Gift Orders: Carol Meadows Round up of all that’s new in the world of expatriate finance
Recruitment Searches, Job Input,
Website/Newsletter: Amanda Hennings 11 Recruitment News
Financial Sales: Michelle Warner Round up of all that’s new in the world of expatriate recruitment
(Michelle.Warner@expatnetwork.com)
Tel: +44 (0)1227 276 916 12-13 Recruiting 2013 - What’s in Store?
Membership Queries: Carol Meadows or by Tim Skelton
Amanda Hennings
14-15 From Salary to Selflessness
Publishers: Expat Network Ltd., 19 Bartlett Street, by Rob Flemming
Croydon CR2 6TB
Tel: +44 (0)20 8256 0311 Fax: +44 (0)20 8256 0312 16 The Vertical Forest ...well sort of
Email: nexus@expatnetwork.com Project news from Tim Skelton
Web: www.expatnetwork.com
17-24 Jobs
Design: French Letters
Images: Front Cover: istockphoto 25 Directory
other images used within: istockphoto, members of
Expat Network 26-27 Worth of the Picture
by Rob Flemming
Printed by: Classified Central Media,
4th Floor, 142 Central Street, London EC1 8AR. 28-29 In God’s Waiting Room
Tel: +44 (0)20 7216 6400 by Tim Skelton
Email: info@ccmediagroup.co.uk
Web: www.ccmediagroup.co.uk 30-31 What’s Your Type?
by Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey
Copyright Expat Network Ltd. No part of this publication
may be reproduced in any form without the prior 32-33 Grapevine
permission in writing of the Editor. Whilst every attempt
is made to ensure the accuracy of the content in Nexus 34-35 Members Room
Expat Network can take no responsibility for errors or
omissions. The views expressed in Nexus are not
necessarily those of the organisation.
FINANCE
Can You Pass the New
April 2013
UK Residence Test?
NEXUS
4 There have been significant and sweeping changes to the
ways UK residence is determined which affect the tax affairs
of British expats. Be prepared!
The UK government has published detail
of the long-awaited statutory residence test
first announced in June 2011. In response
to concerns raised during the period of
consultation the taxman has made some
changes to provide more certainty about the
way the new residence test operates in
practice.
The new statutory residence test applies
from 6 April 2013. The basic structure of the
residence test in the draft legislation holds
good, say accountants Saffery Champness,
and in effect there are three residence tests:
• Automatically non-UK resident;
• Automatically UK resident;
• Sufficient ties and day count.
Automatically non-UK resident
An individual cannot be UK resident if they:
• Spend less than 16 days in the UK;
• Were not UK resident in the prior three
tax years, and spend less than 46 days in the
UK; or
• Have left the UK for full-time work abroad.
The definition of full-time work was the
subject of the recent consultation and the
definition has been amended as a result of
the representations made. ‘Full-time’ means,
on average, more than 35 hours a week over
BY IAIN YULE
the tax year. The draft legislation confirms
that an individual will be able to spend no
more than 30 working days in the UK (this
has increased from the 20 days previously
proposed). A working day for these purposes
comprises three or more hours. Considerable
and detailed record keeping will therefore be
required. There is no provision for part-time
workers.
Automatically UK resident
An individual will automatically be UK
resident during a tax year if they:
• Spend at least 183 days in the UK; or
have their only home in the UK for more
than 90 days, but only if the home is actually
occupied for at least 30 days;
• Are in full-time work in the UK for a
continuous 12-month period (this has
increased from the nine months previously
proposed).
The days are to be counted by reference
to the UK tax year, i.e. 6 April to 5 April.
Sufficient ties and day count
Where an individual meets neither the
automatic non-UK residence nor the
automatic UK residence test, they must
consider the ‘sufficient ties test’ in conjunction
 The ‘Sufficient Ties Test’ and Day Count Expats Urged to Check Status
Where you meet neither the automatic non-UK residence nor the The millions of Britons who divide their time between homes
automatic UK residence test, you must consider the ‘sufficient in the UK and overseas need to clarify their tax residence status
ties test’ in conjunction with the number of days spent in the ‘sooner rather than later’, say financial advisers.

Days spent in the UK ‘Arriver’ - if you were ‘Leaver’ - if you were UK The comments come as the new statutory will also analyse an individual’s connections
non-UK resident in all resident in at least one residence test comes into force on 6 April. with and number of ties to the UK. These
the prior three years of the prior three years Kevin White of advisers deVere said, “The include family, property, work and social
statutory residence test aims to remove any connections.”
Fewer than 16 Always non-UK resident Always non-UK resident grey areas when determining someone’s He added: “Although certain aspects of
residence status for tax purposes in the UK. the new legislation require further clarity,
16 to 45 Always non-UK resident 4 ties = UK resident Existing rules, to a large extent, depend on we welcome the modernised system of
cases decided by the courts. deciding someone’s tax residency, as it will
46 to 90 4 ties = UK resident 3 ties = UK resident “Currently, anyone who is in the UK for clearly and quickly define who is able to
183 days or more in any one tax year, or take financial advantage of their expat
91 to 120 3 ties = UK resident 2 ties = UK resident more than 90 days on average per tax year status and who is able to benefit from the
over four years, will be classified as a UK other opportunities that tax-efficient

FINANCE
121 to 182 2 ties = UK resident 1 tie = UK resident resident, and someone who spends no time financial planning provides.
in the UK is unlikely to be resident. “We’re urging British expats who spend
183 or more Always UK resident Always UK resident “However, the new SRT, which will be part of the tax year in the UK and part of it
divided into three parts – including tests to overseas to make sure they are familiar with
Source: Saffery Champness discover if an individual is ‘automatically the new rules and to seek advice on the issue
non-resident’ or ‘automatically resident’ - of tax residency sooner rather than later.”

with the number of days spent in the UK. the UK at midnight are counted. However an controlled companies (but only where the

The number of connecting factors or ties
combined with UK days to be resident is set
out in the information table The ‘Sufficient Ties
Test’ and Day Count.
anti-avoidance provision will apply to
individuals who manipulate this rule to
attempt to qualify for non-resident status,
despite spending considerable time in the
April 2013
income is derived from profits which arose
before departure);
• Lump sum benefits from employer-
financed retirement benefits schemes (EFRBS);

The ties to be considered
Family tie: An individual’s spouse or civil
partner (or someone with whom they are
living as such), or a minor child, is resident in
the UK. Under the current proposals, a minor
child who is only resident in the UK on the
basis they are in full-time education in the UK
will not be considered a connecting factor
provided they spend fewer than 21 days in
the UK outside term time. Following
consultation, HMRC has confirmed that a half-
term holiday will count as term time for these
purposes.
Accommodation tie: An individual has
‘available accommodation’ for a continuous
period of at least 91 days in the tax year,
ignoring any gaps of fewer than 16 days.
A place to live is to be widely defined and
will include a home in the UK, holiday home,
temporary retreat or ‘something similar’.
HMRC will publish guidance to outline how
it will apply the accommodation tie in
practice. For example, accommodation will
not be treated as being available unless the
individual could stay there for at least a three-
month period. However, this could include
the use of a hotel if the same hotel is always
used.
Work tie: An individual spends at least 40
days working in the UK, where a working day
is defined as three hours.
90-day tie: An individual spent more than
90 days in the UK, in at least one of the
previous two tax years.
Country tie (leavers only): If the UK is the
country where the greatest number of days
has been spent.
The midnight rule
For day counting purposes, days spent in
UK and having substantial ties.
Exceptional circumstances
It is recognised that days spent in the UK as
a result of exceptional circumstances are not
to be counted, up to a maximum of 60 days.
The exclusion of exceptional days was
previously available by concession. HMRC has
confirmed that it will produce guidance to
explain how it will apply these provisions in
practice.
Transitional rule
A transitional rule allows individuals to use
the statutory residence test in years prior to
2013/14, but only for the purposes of
applying the statutory residence test in 2013/
14, 2014/15 and 2015/16. The transitional rule
cannot change an individual’s actual
residence status prior to 6 April 2013.
Split year treatment
The residency test is expressed in tax years,
i.e. an individual is either resident or is not
resident in a tax year. However, in the year of
departure or arrival, the proposed legislation
provides that, in certain situations, it will be
possible to split a tax year between periods of
residence and non-residence. This relief was
previously available by concession.
Temporary non-residence
HMRC has introduced targeted anti-
avoidance rules to prevent people from using
short periods of non-residence to receive
income free of UK tax. Temporary non-
residence rules already apply to capital gains,
remittances of foreign income and pension
scheme withdrawals. These rules will be
extended to:
• Dividends and other income from closely
NEXUS
• Chargeable event gains on life assurance
contracts.
Where an individual has been UK resident
in four or more of the previous seven years
and becomes resident again within five years 5
of departure, such income will be subject to
tax.
Ordinary residence and overseas
workday relief
The concept of ordinary residence has been
abolished as part of the new statutory
residence test. Under the current legislation,
individuals who are not ordinarily resident in
the UK are able to claim the remittance basis
of taxation and employees who are not
ordinarily resident in the UK are able to claim
overseas workday relief (OWR) if some of their
duties of employment are carried out
overseas.
Under the new rules, OWR will be available
for the year of arrival and the two subsequent
years in the UK. It will be restricted to non-
domiciled individuals who have not been
resident in the UK in the previous three tax
years prior to coming to work in the UK.
What action should be taken now?
It is important to keep a record of days
spent in and out of the UK and review your
UK residence position in the current year.
While the statutory residence test comes into
effect on 6 April 2013, an individual who has
historically been non-UK resident and would
like to maintain their non-UK residence
should consider whether they would continue
to be non-resident under the new rules. Of
particular concern is the definition of full-time
work abroad.
Anyone who is concerned about their UK
residence status should seek advice.
 E X P A T M
BY IAIN YULE
CONSULTANT FINANCE EDITOR OF NEXUS
International Health Cover
Costs Deter Expat Bosses
A quarter of employers want to provide international health insurance to expat staff
but can’t afford to.
This is according to research by medical
insurer Expacare which examined employers’
attitudes towards providing international
health insurance for staff, revealing that more
than one third of employers consider it a
personal choice for employees. However,
FINANCE
more than a quarter of employers view
international health insurance as essential for
any staff working abroad.
Healthcare inflation is currently at an all-
time high, meaning businesses are ever more
wary of costly insurance. Nearly two-fifths
believe medical evacuation is crucial, a
quarter value a 24-hour medical helpline and
nearly a third want their staff to have a choice
April 2013
of medical facilities and doctors. Yet many still
omit a number of vital provisions, despite there
being a number of flexible options available.
Manx Money on UK Tax Radar
NEXUS
The UK taxman has announced yet another disclosure facility, this time with the Isle of
6 Man government.
The new facility which will run from April
2013 to September 2016 enables those people
concealing assets on the island to come clean
to the UK taxman and secure a mitigated
penalty. People holding accounts on the island
can now come forward and settle up before
their details are passed to HMRC.
Accountants Baker Tilly say HMRC has
agreed they won’t be looking to tax any
undeclared income or gains arising before
6 April 1999, and penalties may be as low
as 10% but could be higher where offshore
accounts are involved.
Isle of Man financial intermediaries will now
be required to contact their clients who are
known to be so-called ‘relevant persons’ to
advise them of this new arrangement. These
people will include UK resident individuals
with a beneficial interest and ‘relevant
property’ on the island such as a bank
account, annuity contract or company.
Health Cover For Africa
Healthcare insurer Bupa International has a
new partnership with Jubilee Insurance, east
Africa’s largest insurance group. Jubilee
Insurance will be providing Bupa’s
international health insurance products to its
customers in Kenya, including the recently
launched Vital Africa product, an ‘emergency
only’ plan which ensures customers get the
emergency treatment they need, anywhere
in Africa.
International private medical insurer
InterGlobal is also targeting Africa by
enhancing its Africa UltraCare plan. It now
O N E Y
Worryingly, a further one in ten employers
believes that when operating in the EU there
is no need for health insurance.
Beverly Cook, managing director of
Expacare, said, “The research shows a lack of
understanding among employers of how best
to care for their staff working internationally.
Due to costs, some employers are simply not
offering international health insurance to
employees working abroad. Meanwhile,
others risk omitting some crucial elements
from the cover.”
She also warned that many wrongly believe
travel insurance would cover all healthcare
needs.
Professional advisers will also be allowed to
make initial contact on behalf of clients on a
‘no names’ basis, with the attraction of having
a single point of contact within HMRC’s Isle of
Man disclosure team.
All of this may seem very similar to the now
well-established Liechtenstein Disclosure
Facility. However there is a subtle but
important difference in that the Isle of Man
facility does not give the taxpayer immunity
from prosecution. Anybody with serious
offshore tax issues may therefore still wish
to consider using the Liechtenstein route to
settlement, but of course professional advice
should be taken where necessary.
Expats who are genuinely non-UK resident
have nothing to fear from the new
agreement. Only those who have left money
in the Isle of Man when they become UK
resident need to check that they have fully
disclosed this to the UK taxman.
provides immediate cover for HIV/AIDS with
the limit doubled to US$10,000 on UltraCare
Select and Comprehensive; overall plan limits
increased to $150,000, $250,000 and $500,000
on UltraCare Standard, Select and
Comprehensive respectively; wellness benefit
increased to $150 and $250 on UltraCare
Select and Comprehensive respectively; and
eye examination benefit increased to $50 on
UltraCare Select and Comprehensive.
N E W S
Pension Money
Flees Britain
Government and Bank of England policies
are prompting a growing number of
British pre-retirees and pensioners to
move their pension funds out of the UK.
This is according to figures from advisers
deVere Group which said it transferred 35 per
cent more UK pensions into HMRC-recognised
Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension
Schemes (QROPS) during 2012, compared to
the year before.
Nigel Green, chief executive of the firm that
specialises in expat wealth management,
said: “More and more Britons who can move
their pensions into a QROPS – in general
terms that’s those with a British pension and
who have left the UK or are planning to – are
doing so. Our QROPS business is up more
than a third over a 12-month period.
“We attribute this significant increase to
the mounting public perception that the
government, which people believe is
constantly changing the rules on pensions,
cannot be trusted with them.
“As such, increasingly our British expat – or
soon-to-be expat - clients tell us that they
want to move the money that they have
prudently put aside for their retirement out
of the UK in order to safeguard it from the
government, which is quietly and not-so-
quietly plundering pension pots in the form
of scrapping age-related benefits, and with
plans to cut pension tax-breaks and the tax-
free allowance, among other things.
“And the public is ever more aware that
even if there were a change of government,
pension raids would continue, with the
opposition recently setting out its plans for
a £1bn tax grab on pension contributions.”
He added: “Another major factor in the rising
popularity of QROPS is the Bank of England’s
quantitative easing (QE) programme which
has permanently damaged the retirement
income for millions of pensioners by helping
to push annuities, which give retirees an
income for life, to record lows. A QROPS does
not force you to buy an annuity.
“With it being revealed that Sir Mervyn King,
the outgoing governor of the BoE, is in favour
of extending QE, it is likely that we will see a
further jump in the numbers of people
considering moving their retirement funds
out of the UK.
“In addition, as the pound looks increasingly
weak – it’s at its lowest against the dollar
since last summer and at its lowest against
the euro for more than 12 months – QROPS
are likely to be seen as an increasingly
attractive prospect because they can pay out
in a currency other than sterling.”
CHECK OUT THE MONEY SECTION
of the Expat Network website at
www.expatnetwork.com, where you will
find a range of resources to assist you in
making sure you are making the most of
your money while on expat assignment.
You can access a wealth of information
on expat banking and savings, taxation,
property and mortgages, insurance,
offshore companies and invoicing.
The Alexander Beard Group plc

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 E X P A T M O N E Y N E W S
BY IAIN YULE
CONSULTANT FINANCE EDITOR OF NEXUS Expats Make Money
Top Offshore Bank Go Further Abroad
Less than a third of retired expats say

Savings Rates
their pension income is enough to sustain
the life they want. And more than half of
working expats recognise they will have
to reduce their spending substantially
once they retire.
The best buys tables show little change again this month, with interest rates generally
staying low. Despite the squeeze on expat pensions,
Best for sterling is Kleinwort Benson’s 1.76%, if you have £100,000 and can give 189 significant numbers of pensioners felt that
days’ notice of withdrawals. For dollars, Nationwide International pays 1.4% for their best course of action was to remain
$25,000 or more, with instant access. Best for euros, paying 1.8% for €25,000 or more, abroad, according to a survey by Lloyds TSB
is Permanent Bank International. International. Nearly half said that they
The only way to beat these rates is to lock your money away for longer, as the sterling thought their pension income would go
fixed rate accounts table shows. If you can leave at least £5,000 untouched for three further if they remained outside the UK,
FINANCE

years then 3% annual interest is on offer from The Co-operative Bank. against less than a fifth who thought they
would be better off in the UK.
The rates shown (C) are gross, i.e. with no tax deducted at source, and are ranked by the High living costs in the UK are the main
amount of notice of withdrawal (A) one has to give the bank without it applying an interest reason for this sentiment. Only a quarter of
penalty (or for the length of term, for fixed-rate accounts), and by the minimum amount (B) respondents thought they would have a
left on deposit to qualify for that level of interest. Rates collated on 5 March and are subject lower cost of living in the UK than in their
to change. Rates on the no-notice and notice accounts are variable; those on fixed rate current country of residence.
accounts apply throughout the term shown. S OURCE : M ONEYFACTS . Currency fluctuations are also a source of
concern, with half of retired expats with a UK
April 2013

pension saying they were worried about the

Bank A B C effects of exchange rates on their pension
income. Many Britons who retired in eurozone
Sterling No Notice Accounts countries saw their UK pension incomes
NEXUS

Alliance & Leicester International None £5,000 1.50% reduce dramatically at the start of the
Britannia International None £25,000 1.50% financial crisis, when the pound fell heavily
Nationwide International None £25,000 1.50% against the euro.
Lloyds TSB International None £5,000 1.31% Emiko Caerlewy-Smith at Lloyds TSB
8 International said: “A growing pension gap is
Sterling Notice Accounts a real worry for many expats, some of whom
Kleinwort Benson (Channel Islands) 189 Day £100,000 1.76% will have to significantly scale back the
Britannia International 60 Day £25,000 1.75% lifestyle they have been used to. These
Nationwide International 95 Day £25,000 1.70% worries have been particularly compounded
Skipton International 100 Day £10,000 1.60% for retired expats who draw a UK pension
income, but spend in their local currency, as
Sterling Fixed Rate Accounts it means they are running a currency risk on
The Co-operative Bank 3 Year £5,000 3.00% perhaps all of their income.
The Co-operative Bank 2 Year £5,000 2.50% “An alternative approach could be for
The Co-operative Bank 1 Year £5,000 2.31% expats to transfer their UK pension into the
Permanent Bank International 3 Year £20,000 2.15% currency of the country in which they have
retired to, or plan to retire to, thus eliminating
Euro Accounts exposure to foreign exchange fluctuations.
Permanent Bank International 35 Day €25,000 1.80% "Various international pension arrangements
Kleinwort Benson (Channel Islands) 189 Day €100,000 1.26% exist to serve the needs of British nationals
Nationwide International None €25,000 1.00% working or retiring abroad. Your pension can
Investec Bank (Channel Islands) 90 Day €50,000 0.75% be one of your greatest lifetime assets so we
would always suggest customers seek
US Dollar Accounts professional financial advice in this area.”
Nationwide International None $25,000 1.40%
Lloyds TSB International
Investec Bank (Channel Islands)
None
90 Day
$5,000
$50,000
0.95%
0.90% New Issues By
Barclays Wealth & Investment Mngt None $100,000 0.78%
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 Q U E S T I O N S
B Y O U R PA N E L O F E X P E R TS
How To Make UK Capital
Gains Tax Disappear
B Y O U R PA N E L O F E X P E R TS
I’m moving back to my apartment in the UK for a while and may wish to sell it.
As it has gone up in value will I have to pay tax on the proceeds of any sale?
If you are moving to the UK for a temporary
period, or returning permanently after time
away, becoming UK resident must be carefully
planned, say experts at The Fry Group.
Planning ahead will mean that you can take
advantage of your expatriate status before
FINANCE
you return and you should be able to
minimise your liability to income tax and
capital gains tax (CGT) prior to your official
return to the UK.
For example, if you decide to return
permanently to the UK and own a property
you may face a sizeable CGT bill if you decide
to sell your house and it has never been your
main home. There are factors which might
April 2013
reduce the liability, but the most tax-efficient
is to transfer the property into a Short Term
Trust. This is set up in the tax year prior to
your move and therefore requires some
NEXUS
forward planning.
The scheme works by gifting the property
into a trust, enabling any gain to be realised.
You are not taxed on that gain, and the trust
10 acquires the property at its then market value.
After 12 months or so the trust is wound up
and the property is returned to you. If you
subsequently sell it, its cost for tax purposes
is the value at which you received it from the
trust. This is a particularly attractive option for
those who want to live in a property that has
Will the Taxman Track Me Down?
I have been in and out of the UK for many years but have never filled in
a tax return. Will the UK taxman want to examine my finances?
They may well do. HMRC has various ways
of collecting data. As expat advisers at Blevins
Franks note, there is a large flow of
information these days, both internally
between different government agencies and
globally from exchange of information
treaties. It has also received information from
stolen bank data.
It uses sophisticated data mining
techniques to look for anomalies between the
income individuals declare and their lifestyle
indicators. For example, it can identify people
who own overseas property, and then apply
risk assessment tools to highlight those who
do not appear to be able to afford it.
The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act
2000 allows HMRC to authorise its own
surveillance requests. It is increasingly
OUR PANEL OF EXPERTS
Iain Yule is Consultant Finance Editor of Nexus Peter Bellwood is Managing Director of Bellwood
Prestbury, financial advisers to expatriates Dean Power of the International Division of Taxation Consultants, The Fry
Group Matt Walters is client compliance manager at international contract management specialists Capital Tax
Consulting Paul Beard is chairman of the Alexander Beard Group, financial advisers to expatriates
& A N S W E R S
accumulated gains or who want to keep hold
of a particularly good investment.
This case study shows how it works:
Chris Smith currently lives in Singapore and
paid £180,000 for an apartment in the UK
which is now worth £300,000. Chris is
considering a move back to the UK and is
unsure what to do with this property. He does
not intend living there but wants to retain
some exposure to property in the longer
term. He may want to sell this property
shortly after his return once his circumstances
settle down.
Chris does not want to sell now while he is
still not UK resident and so can’t crystallise the
gain tax free before he moves. If he sells after
his move back to the UK, given that Chris
would be a higher rate taxpayer, his liability
would be £30,632.
Setting up a Short Term Trust cost
approximately £5,000, and this was done in
February 2013. It allowed enough time to get
the property settled into the Trust before the
5 April 2013 deadline for this tax year. Chris
is now free to move back to the UK. The Trust
will subsequently automatically terminate
and the property will revert back into Chris’s
name. Chris can now sell whenever he feels
it is appropriate, with no impact from the
historic CGT problem.
examining records of emails, text messages,
phone calls and websites visited, as part of
their investigations into suspected tax
evasion.
Last year the tax authority piloted a
scheme that used credit reference agencies to
cross check people’s declared income against
their spending patterns. This identifies
individuals whose income and wealth do not
match what they have declared. This will now
be introduced nationally, and around two
million people could be scrutinised under the
programme.
This is likely to target self-employed
individuals who under-declare their income,
but could also target those with hidden
offshore accounts or who receive inheritances
or bonuses.
Paying for Financial
Advice in the UK?
I want to use a financial adviser when I
head back to the UK, but I’ve heard they
all now charge fees. Is this true?
A financial adviser can help you make the
most of your money but you need to be
confident you are getting advice that is right
for you. To try to help make sure this happens
the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) has
made changes to the way you get financial
advice. These come from the Retail
Distribution Review (RDR) which took effect
on 31 December 2012 - but what has actually
changed?
Firstly, you’ll now know how much advice
costs. Advice has never been free. If you
received financial advice before these changes
you were probably paying commission to
your adviser. Commission was usually a
percentage of your investment – typically 1%
to 8%, or sometimes more on a lump sum.
So for an investment of £10,000, your adviser
could have received between £100 and £800
commission.
Instead of you paying commission on new
investments your adviser now has to clearly
explain how much advice will cost and
together you will agree how you will pay for it.
This can be a set fee paid upfront or you
may be able to agree with your adviser that
they can take their fee from the sum you
invest.
This way you know exactly what you are
paying and that the advice you receive is not
influenced by how much your adviser could
earn from the investment.
Secondly, you now know what you are
paying for. Financial advisers can either advise
you on all products that may be right for you
or focus on certain areas, such as pensions.
Following the changes, financial advisers
that provide ‘independent’ advice now have
to consider all types of investment areas.
They can also consider products from all firms
across the market.
An adviser that has chosen to offer
‘restricted’ advice can only consider certain
products, product providers or both. Your
adviser has to clearly explain what they can
advise you on.
Thirdly, you now get improved professional
standards. Some investments can be hard
to understand. So the minimum professional
standard of qualification that advisers have
to meet has been increased, to ensure their
knowledge is up to date.
* To find a list of financial advisers to suit
your circumstances in your UK location,
go to www.unbiased.co.uk,
click on ‘Find a financial adviser’ and enter
your UK postcode. Under ‘Advice area’ you
can specify the type of advice you require.
 Recruitment
News
TXM Recruit Appoints Ian Thomson
Amidst stories of economic doom and gloom, engineering recruitment specialist firm,
TXM Recruit confirms the appointment of senior oil and gas specialist Ian Thomson to
manage further expansion into Global and UK markets.
TXM Recruit, a leading global engineering
recruitment firm, has appointed senior oil and
gas recruitment specialist, Ian Thomson to
head up the new Glasgow operation as the
firm celebrates continuous growth over recent
periods.
Thomson joins TXM Recruit after a fruitful
career within the oil and gas recruitment
sectors, spanning over 25 years and working
in both the national and international
markets; he will now take on the role of
Global Director for oil and gas.
The appointment will see Thomson provide
innovative recruitment solutions to existing
oil and gas clientele as well as expanding
TXM Recruit’s reach globally, focusing on the
UK, Norwegian, Middle Eastern and Canadian
markets. Thomson recently returned from
Canada where the oil and gas industry is
aiming to boost production techniques in
order to double output to 2.5 million barrels
per day by 2017.
Thomson commented on the growth and
changing nature of the oil and gas industry:
“Over the last quarter of a century in this
Recruiters Assess Post-Chavez Venezuela
The death of Venezuela’s socialist president of 14 years Hugo Chavez has led to the
possibility of the market opening up – and recruiters with interests in the region and
its significant oil industry are showing cautious optimism for long-term opportunities.
However, UK-headquartered oil & gas giant BP
told Recruiter magazine that it no longer has
business in the area, and is not taking an
interest in the market.
According to a 2011 bulletin from the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC), Venezuela has the largest
proven crude oil reserves of any country in the
world, while the CIA World Factbook shows that
in the same year it was the world’s 14th-most
prolific producer of crude.
Patrick Hollard, the executive board director of
recruitment group Page Group, responsible for
Latin America and the Southern and Western
US, told Recruiter magazine the firm has thus
far undertaken “very few” recruitment briefs
in Venezuela, and all through its Colombian
offices.
“Both countries are quite interconnected
industry, I’ve seen lots of changes and made
friendships that will last a lifetime. Heading
up TXM Recruit’s expansion into the ever
changing oil and gas sector allows me to
build a team that relishes the challenge this
sector offers. We’ll be going the extra mile
to exceed our customers’ high expectations
by delivering first class candidates, on time,
every time.”
Andrew Midgley, MD of TXM Recruit, spoke
of Thomson’s appointment:
“We’re delighted to have successfully
secured the appointment of one of the
leading recruiters in the oil and gas sector.
We look forward to working with Ian to
expand our oil and gas offering further into
existing and developing markets.”
TXM Recruit will continue to provide
permanent and temporary recruitment
solutions in the UK, America, Middle East and
Australasia, operating across a diverse range
of industries including Automotive, Built
Environment, Defence, General Engineering,
Manufacturing, Oil and Gas, and Rail.
and you find a lot of executives from
Venezuela working in Bogota,” Hollard adds.
Regarding the new era in Venezuela, “it is still
an early call but we definitely see Venezuela
as a great opportunity if market conditions
opened up there”, he goes on to say.
Concurring with this longer-term view, Tom
Reid, a manager at global energy recruiter
Spencer Ogden, says: “For the time being we
are not expecting the landscape to change
much in the short term apart from some
expected political transition.
“Chavez's political party [which remains in
power] is still very much in favour in the
country but the hope, and the assumption,
is that with Chavez gone capital flow will be
more consistent to energy projects which will
open up new opportunities to bring skills into
the region.”
Saudi Moots Earlier
Retirement for Expats
RECRUITMENT
Saudi Arabia has drafted controversial
plans to force expats to retire at 60 as part
of a clampdown on foreign workers.
The Gulf state wants to reduce its reliance
on foreign labour, which accounts for about
90 per cent of the private sector workforce.
Last November it announced an “expat tax”,
fining companies that employed more
foreigners than Saudis.
The Saudi government now looks set to
follow this up with an age cap on expats.
April 2013
Currently there is no maximum working age
on foreign nationals while Saudi Arabian
citizens are forced to retire at 60.
Dan Henderson, a British expat working in
NEXUS
the oil industry, said: “While this would simply
bring expats into line with locals it’s still a bit
of a blow for those foreigners hoping to earn
big tax-free salaries well into their 60s. It’s also
part of a worrying trend of making life harder 11
for expats here and across the Middle East.”
Many Saudis feel there should be equality
between local and foreign workers and some
have called for the expat retirement age to be
even lower, possibly between 50 and 55 years.
Others want a minimum age limit for new
foreign entrants.
Human resources experts have suggested
there could be some flexibility built into the
proposals, with expats with valuable expertise
kept on for a further one or two years to pass
on their knowledge to younger colleagues.
One HR consultant said: “The Saudi
government has a difficult balancing act, as
it needs to keep locals happy especially with
a high youth unemployment rate. But it also
relies heavily on foreign talent and will not
want to scare them away to somewhere like
Dubai for example.”
It has been estimated that the number
of foreign workers over the age of 60 in the
private sector currently stands at about
500,000. With unemployment among Saudi
nationals in the region of 12 per cent, many
see an age cap on foreigners as a quick-fix.
But this unemployment rate is likely to
come down since the introduction last
November of strict quotas on the number
of expats a company can hire. Any firm that
breaks the limits faces tough fines.
The tax is part of the country’s “Saudisation”
programme, designed to increase job
opportunities for its local workforce and
lessen its dependence on foreigners. But
critics argue foreign workers have skills Saudi
citizens don’t possess and are often much
cheaper to employ.

REPORT
Recruiting 2013 -
What’s in Store?
April 2013
NEXUS
Much is made about turmoil in the global economy,
12 and stories of business failures and job losses seem
to feature with depressing regularity on the news.
So how is international recruiting holding up in the
storm, and what are its prospects?
B Y T I M S K E LTO N
We asked a number of recruiters how they
see 2013 shaping up. Are things improving?
And where are the jobs right now?
Answering the last question first, it seems
the jobs are everywhere, particularly when
it comes to oil and gas. “We’re continuing to
maximise operations in Saudi Arabia, along
with developing new works in Southern
Africa, and throughout the Middle and Far
East,” Tony Jay, Recruitment Advisor at
Penspen Limited, explains.
Others in the same sector see a similar
broad spread. “Brazil and Iraq remain hotspots
for exploration and production, with Africa,
Asia, Australia and the Middle East also
experiencing a surge in jobs,” Simon Coton,
Managing Director at NES Global Talent, says.
“Besides the continued development of
mega-projects, such as Gorgon in Australia,
there are a host of new projects worth in
excess of $25 billion being developed in a
number of global locations.”
According to Coton, opportunities are also
presenting themselves in the US. “A number
of big projects are taking shape in the Gulf of
Mexico, and with the potential of a shale gas
boom, and the US becoming an LNG exporter,
we expect a large number of jobs to be
created,” he says.
Amanda Marks, US-based recruitment
manager for L.A. Recruitment, agrees North
America is somewhere to watch. “The Gulf of
Mexico contains some the largest reservoirs
of recoverable oil and gas, but the pressure
is on to bring speed and transparency to the
permitting process,” she says. “Companies
making massive investments of capital and
time need predictability, and confidence that
production goals can be met. Unfortunately,
the offshore regulatory process has slowed
things up, and many companies have had to
wait for permit approval.” Despite this, she
adds, “you cannot rule out the Gulf of Mexico
– and it’s going to remain viable in the future.”
There are plenty of openings elsewhere, as
Amanda Marks continues. “We’re all watching
the significant discoveries in the North Sea,
there’s a ramp up of offshore work in Brazil,
and steady growth in West Africa and Asia-
Pacific markets. Higher gas prices will continue
to support shale and other unconventional
plays in Australia and South America,” she
says. “I also believe there’ll be continued
development in Iraq, and eventually Libya.”
Civil engineering is another important
sector where business remains strong.
“Building or rebuilding the infrastructure
required in many emerging countries to meet
economic growth targets will take a massive
share of the world’s graduating civil, electrical
and mechanical engineers for years to come.”
Simon Coton explains.
In more general employment terms, there
are geographical differences. A Hays Global
Skills Index from 2012 found countries that
had been subject to bailouts - such as Ireland,
Portugal and Spain - had much higher
unemployment than emerging markets.
“Countries such as Brazil, China and Mexico
will experience a healthy labour market in
the coming year. In addition, the European
powerhouses of Germany, Sweden and
Switzerland look to have escaped the high
unemployment seen throughout the rest of
Europe,” a Hays spokesperson said.
While many sectors are booming, skills
shortages remain a problem. In some cases
it means oil and gas projects competing for
talent with other sectors, as NES’s Simon
Coton explains. “With an estimated shortfall
of 40,000 engineers in Brazil alone, we must
work hard to fill the gap, by recruiting and
training local talent, hiring engineers from
other heavy industries, and by tapping into
talent in developing nations,” he says.
“As a FEED/Design-based oil and gas
engineering and project management group,
our areas in demand include pipelines,
mechanical, electrical, process,
instrumentation, structural, corrosion and
piping engineers, for both offshore and
onshore projects,” Penspen’s Tony Jay says.
“We see significant shortages in a lot of those
disciplines, primarily experienced graduate
engineers with a background in the industry.”
“Hot positions with skills shortages in the US
are GeoSciences, Petroleum Engineering, and
Drilling,” L.A. Recruitment’s Amanda Marks
adds. But she says the USA faces major
problems on several fronts. There’s a large
workforce of potentially retiring baby
boomers, a shortage of qualified technical
personnel, and limited work permits/visas
availability for qualified expat engineers who
aren’t already US Citizens or Green Card
holders. Moreover, “tighter funding for
projects means an overall bias regarding the
investment of capital in the increased costs
associated with work permits and visas for
foreign personnel,” she says.
Of course, skills shortages aren’t limited to
oil and gas. Health, engineering and IT are also
affected. “This is felt throughout the world,
but particularly in Europe as the demographic
is heading towards an ageing workforce,” our
Hays spokesperson says. “In France and
Germany for example, there’s an acute lack of
experienced engineers, particularly civil
engineering.” There is also the effect of
migrating labour, causing skills shortages in
the places they leave. European professionals
are leaving the Eurozone to take up
opportunities in emerging markets such as
Latin America and Asia. “But emerging markets
are also experiencing skills shortages,” Hays
says. “In Mexico there’s a shortage of real
estate professionals, and those with technical
and scientific skills. There’s also a lack of life
science professionals in Asia, as well as those
in manufacturing in FMCG (fast-moving
consumer goods) and construction.”
With the global economic situation strained,
have recruiters noticed any significant
changes within the contracts being offered?
Opinions on this seem to differ. “I would say
contracts are a lot more restrictive, and leaner
than in the past,” Amanda Marks observes.
On the other hand, Tony Jay thinks things
haven’t changed significantly. “Not that I’m
aware of, although we continually monitor
current market trends,” he says.
So has the expat recruitment market itself
changed, given the emergence of new
economic powerhouses? Are certain
nationalities better suited to specific positions?
“For our international projects, besides UK
applicants, the majority of quality responses
come, as ever, from various overseas locations,
including a high percentage from the Indian
Subcontinent,” Tony Jay explains.
With overseas recruitment, the suitability of
different nationalities for specific locations is
of course dictated by local sensibilities and
client requirements. “But there is certainly not
the extensive pool of British/Western expats
there used to be,” Tony Jay continues, pointing
out that we are all getting older. “And those
that there are, tend to steer clear of the more
inhospitable locations, and are more likely to
want family status, if available, dependant on
project/location/duration.” As a result, he says,
the trend towards hiring other nationalities on
contract is growing, creating a more flexible
and diverse workforce.
So what does today’s ‘dream expat’ look like?
“I think it’s the same type and level of
candidate most global corporations are
always looking for: someone with a degree
in their field, and at least 5-10 years of
experience, although I’ve seen the experience
drop at times to 3–5 years. But the key word
is ‘experience’!” L.A. Recruitment’s Amanda
Marks says.
“In an ideal world, the dream expat would
be an immediately available, 33/37 year old,
with overseas exposure and a relevant degree,
plus 10 years experience,” Tony Jay agrees,
being more specific, if also tongue-in-cheek.
Hays believes a ‘dream expat’ seeking a
permanent role would have their visa and/or
work permit in progress or in place, and be
ready to move at short notice. “This is
particularly important for those looking to
move to Australia or New Zealand. Language
skills are essential for those looking to move
to non-English-speaking countries, in
particular Portuguese, French and Spanish.
We also work with expats who take on
longer-term contract roles lasting 2-4 years.
They need over 15 years’ experience in their
industry, and a track record of working in the
country they are moving to.”
That’s the current situation, but what are the
prospects for the coming 12 months? “In
general terms we’re in a good position, and
looking positively to the future,” Penspen’s
Tony Jay says. “We have a number of existing
and ongoing projects, many potential
projects on the horizon for 2013, and many
new proposals being submitted. A number of
approved projects that were put on the back
burner during the global recession are now
developing well and getting closer to peak
manpower,” he adds. “As such, increasingly
innovative solutions are required to combat
the skills shortage.”
NES Global Talent expects the worldwide
war for talent to intensify in 2013, as more
projects are given the green light and the oil
REPORT
and gas industry competes with other sectors
April 2013
for technical and engineering experts.
As for L.A. Recruitment: “Optimism is high,
based on encouraging movement within the
industries we serve. But there’s definitely an
NEXUS
underlying wave of caution, both from the
corporate standpoint, and from personnel
working in the industry,” Amanda Marks says.
Overall, things look good for 2013. While
many countries are only seeing tentative signs 13
of recovery after the economic crisis,
confidence among employees and employers
is rising. Even in countries with relatively high
unemployment, companies still need to
recruit and retain skilled professionals.
“Recruiting will take more and more of a
high profile over the next 12 months, with
a much more proactive approach having to
be adopted. Sitting back and hoping quality
candidates will come to you is no longer a
realistic option (assuming it ever was),”
Tony Jay says. “Companies in our sector are
competing for the same people.”
It may be a battlefield out there, but there’s
plenty of hope yet for the job-seeking expat.
With thanks to:
Hays
www.hays.com
L.A. Recruitment
www.larecruitment.net
NES Global Talent
www.nesglobaltalent.com
Penspen Limited
www.penspen.com
EMPLOYMENT
From Salary to Selflessness
April 2013
BY ROB FLEMMING
“
NEXUS
I do believe that people who have retired still have
something to give. But when you retire, it’s all or nothing.
14
You’re suddenly cut off and five days of the week are
empty.
”
After a varied career which ranged from
working in the city to many years teaching
in Northern China, Hilary finally ‘retired’. But
simply tending the garden and discussing the
merits of the latest winner of the Man Booker
Prize wasn’t quite enough. She became a
volunteer with the Citizen’s Advice Bureau
(CAB) and currently does two, three-hour
sessions every week.
“It fills up the week a little and makes me
feel useful again. The vast majority of people
at CAB volunteer because they still want to
feel useful and be part of society. We give our
commitment and feel that we’re making a
contribution. When you’re not working, you
simply don’t feel needed. Every day at CAB,
you’re sorting out people’s problems, which
means that they feel better and so do you.
The training provided enables you to assess
people, analyse their problems and find
solutions. At the end of the day, you’ve been
the catalyst for sorting out their problems
which gives you a sense of achievement and
satisfaction.”
According to the National Council for
Voluntary Organisations, more than 20m
people across the UK volunteer every year,
donating over 100m hours of their time to
their communities every week. Estimates hold
that the work done by volunteers contributes
in excess of £40bn to the British economy.
Cynics might point out that that value can
be attributed to the fact that volunteers, by
the nature of the animal, are unpaid. The
counterpoint is that many vital services would
either not exist or be severely undermanned
without the support from volunteers.
Public organisations including the NHS,
judiciary, fire, police and rescue services all
rely heavily on the numbers of volunteers
serving within their ranks. Consider the fact
that every magistrate in the country is a
volunteer, as are special constables. Some
8,000 volunteers acted as London
Ambassadors during last year’s Olympic and
Paralympic Games. But those figures are
dwarfed by the vast army of volunteers who
give their time to the thousands of charities,
many of which provide essential support to
others in the community. A good selection of
those are looking for help now – and they’re
on your doorstep.
 The ‘Do-it’ website makes finding those
opportunities simple, allowing individuals
to choose from around 30 broad areas of
interest, giving you a list of local roles that
need to be filled. Some require specific
training while others, simply your time, life
experience and natural skills. But all require
variable levels of commitment. In general,
travel expenses and costs of necessary
training are borne by the charity.
The broad life experience of most mature
expats may lend itself well to a wide range of
roles within the voluntary sector in the UK
but there will be some who still yearn for the
overseas lifestyle. Coming to the end of your
career or turning 65 doesn’t preclude using
your professional skills, knowledge and
experience in a voluntary capacity abroad.
Although, in certain circumstances, a little
lateral thinking might be required.
Every year the United Nations Volunteers
(UNV) programme deploys around 7,500
experienced people to some 130 countries
to assist with development, humanitarian and
peacekeeping operations. At first sight, this
might not seem to fit with expat professional
skillsets but the UNV actively looks for
qualified people with specific technical
expertise. The current Areas of Demand list
includes professionals with a background
in project management, civil engineers used
to providing technical support and health
workers in a range of disciplines from
midwifery to clinical psychology. The technical
support section also cites communications,
logistics, transport, water and sanitation.
Although short-term assignments do arise,
most are based on six to 12 month renewable
contracts, offering a small allowance to cover
basic living costs. Many are based in remote,
isolated locations, 40% of which are in Africa
and 26% in Asia and the Pacific. The good
news is that there is no upper age limit and
the bad news, there is no guarantee that an
assignment will be offered even once you
have registered. But the only way to found
out more is to plough through the
information on the website – and register
your interest.
Skilled professionals, aged up to 75, are
also required by VSO to volunteer for projects
across sectors that include engineering,
health, IT, communications, finance and
management. Standard placements last
between one and two years and you will be
asked to do some fundraising beforehand.
Once you have registered your interest on
the website, VSO assesses the information
given against the needs for available roles;
you may have to wait up to 18 months before
(and if) an appropriate placement arises.
Bear in mind that the skills honed and applied
in the corporate world of multi-national
companies will here be focused on localised
projects at a somewhat low-powered level.
As an experienced hydroelectric engineer,
you could be asked to use your skills on an
irrigation project in a rural area to enable
farmers to grow their crops more efficiently,
throughout the year.
Challenges Worldwide recruits professional
volunteers across a broad range of sectors for
specific consultancy roles, aimed to grow
wealth in low-income countries. The
organisation works primarily with people, in
their 50s to mid 70s, who have either come to
the end of their career or have taken early
retirement. Providing services to small and
medium enterprises, individual projects tend
to be from four to eight weeks.
“We’re aiming to build capacity in
businesses which in turn will create skilled
well paid workers,” head of the mentoring
department, David Austin told Nexus. “We’re
always short of people with financial skills,
accountants and lawyers. But we’re also
looking for people who have run their own
businesses or have been heads of
departments in larger organisations.
“Most of the businesses have a local
involvement rather than being international.
But we did work with an American who set
up a solar power company in Uganda.”
So we’re looking for a volunteer with
engineering skills and experience? No.
www.do-it.org.uk
www.unv.org
www.vso.org.uk
www.challengesworldwide.com
www.projects-abroad.co.uk
“We’re interested in the broad transferrable
skills that people have developed during their
careers; the soft skills that have been built
around their work. In the case of solar panels,
there’s not a lot of engineering involved;
basically it’s about the ability to bolt the
panels together and there are plenty of local
people who can do that. The necessary
support is broader based. Volunteers need to
be flexible, adaptable and have an open mind
to problem solving. Really it’s about having an
open mindset.”
While the majority of projects are in Africa,
Challenges have a lot in South East Asia, some
in Central and South America and a few more
countries besides. Across three departments,
last year Challenges Worldwide deployed
between 120 and 130 volunteers. On the
other hand, the pay-to-volunteer company
Projects Abroad have sent 60,000 volunteers
around the globe since its formation in 1992,
but most of them within the last few years.
Voluntourism.
“It’s not really helpful for anyone,” David
commented. “It’s harder to find people when
somebody’s paying and the sourcing of
assignments is volunteer led. All of our work
is recipient led: they ask for the skills that
they need and we help them.”
Of the many organisations that use the
pay-to-volunteer model, Projects Abroad
stands out from the crowd, providing a range
of placements in a very wide variety of roles
across the globe. But some people have
raised concerns about their value to the
recipients and to the volunteers themselves.
Director and founder of Projects Abroad,
Dr Peter Slowe, gave Nexus his views on the
issue and the work of the company.
EMPLOYMENT
“Our service is about looking after the
volunteers and having jobs that need doing.
Otherwise there’d be no point! We have a
mass of people who want to do something
useful and use their skills. And we have to be
aware of their competencies and put them to
good use. Otherwise they wouldn’t be
satisfied. But we have to pay attention to both
parties – the volunteers and the recipients.
“When we’re opening in a new country, we
always find a local who understands local
April 2013
NEXUS
15
needs. We give guidelines as to the areas in
which we can work but they do the research.
We know the benefits and the pitfalls. Addis
Ababa, for instance, has a huge need for
social workers as they simply don’t have
enough skilled staff. We can give so much
extra but it is driven by local colleagues.
There are a huge variety of needs in a wide
range of sectors; this work serves a social
purpose and does provide long-term benefits.”
Projects Abroad Pro is the company’s
professional arm which specialises in
attracting volunteers who want to make
practical use of their skills and experience.
But it’s worth looking through the possible
projects on both sites. And the fact that you
might be a ‘senior’ does not present a
problem with either.
Volunteering is not about being
condescendingly charitable; it’s about how
you can help others who in some way or
another are less fortunate. And it’s also about
you: your satisfaction, self-esteem, the sense
of achievement and pride in being able to
give a little back.
 The
Vertical
PROJECT
Forest…well, sort of
April 2013
In the world’s more densely populated cities, finding a
patch of green in which to relax can sometimes turn out
NEXUS
to be a bit of a challenge. But later this year, Milan will
16 unveil its own novel solution.
Besides its image as a capital of fashion and
football, Italy’s second-largest city has a darker
reputation: a few years ago it was declared
Europe’s most polluted city, and even the
introduction of a traffic congestion charge has
done little to improve matters. Toxic traffic
fumes from its bustling streets are having an
alarming effect on health, with respiratory
ailments at alarming levels, particularly
among children and the elderly. Besides a
couple of public parks, there were few ways
of escaping the mayhem.
But a project that seems on the face of it to
be completely madcap is in the process of
changing all that. A group of architects has
come up with a plan to plant a new forest in
the city centre. And it won’t be any ordinary
neck of the woods either. Instead of spreading
out they have opted to go up. They’re creating
the Bosco Verticale – literally the ‘Vertical
Forest’.
In essence the forest is two residential
towers located in the central Milan district of
Isola. The shorter is 76 metres high, and the
taller reaches 110 metres (27 storeys). But the
exterior view won’t be your usual steel, glass
and concrete blocks. Instead, they will be
covered from top to bottom with green
vegetation. According to architects Stefano
Boeri, Gianandrea Barreca, and Giovanni La
Varra, who designed the 65 million euro
project, it will the first of its kind anywhere in
the world.
The intention is to restore a little piece of
www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net
Mother Nature in the heart of a concrete
jungle. It will of course be aesthetically
pleasing, but there is also a far more serious
side to the work. The two towers will play
their part in purifying the city’s clogged
airways. The plants will produce humidity,
absorb carbon dioxide, and produce oxygen,
as well as filter out dust particles and
improving the quality of life for those within.
They will also increase biodiversity within the
city, by providing an urban ecosystem able to
support birds and insects.
Besides this, the green envelope will act
as a natural climate control system, with its
leaves acting as a sunshade in summer,
protecting the residents from harmful UV rays,
and the bare branches allowing sunlight to
penetrate in winter. This will reduce the need
for mechanical heating and cooling systems.
Moreover, the designers say it will cut down
on noise pollution, by reducing traffic
disturbances rising up from the street.
As well as the plants, the buildings will
have wind and solar systems, which will help
them towards becoming energy self sufficient.
Work began on the two towers back in
2007, and they have reached their full height.
The current focus is on the interior fixtures
and fittings, and on the all-important exterior
planting. In all, around 750 trees (each
measuring either 3, 6 or 9 metres tall), 5,000
shrubs, and a further 11,000 smaller flowering
plants will be installed on the balconies that
cover the building. The area planted will be
www.porta-nuova.com
B Y T I M S K E LTO N
the equivalent of one full hectare (2.5 acres)
of forest, creating what the developers call
an ‘ecology billboard’.
But as any gardener knows, simply putting
something in soil won’t guarantee its survival.
Thus before planting could begin, the
architects had to spent two years working
alongside botanical experts, deciding on
exactly which varieties and sizes of tree would
be most likely to thrive in their unique new
home. Different types of trees were selected
based on where on the buildings they would
be positioned. The plants were then pre-
cultivated, so they could acclimatise gradually
to the conditions they will experience once
in place.
Once planting is finished and the rest of the
building complete – something expected to
happen late this year - the trees will be fed
using filtered and recycled ‘grey’ wastewater
produced by residents. Tree care will be
provided by the buildings’ staff, who are all
part of a wider urban renewal scheme called
Porta Nuova, which is attempting to beautify
the whole district.
The general idea is to help regenerate the
environment and improve urban biodiversity,
but without expanding the city outwards.
And according to the developers, such a
vertical forest only costs 5% more than a
conventional building the same size. If it
proves successful, it might become a
blueprint for urban planning of the future.
 APRIL 2013 Jobsearch

future@woodgroup.com
www.wgpsn.com/careers

17
 Jobsearch APRIL 2013

Global online recruitment for the oil and gas industry

A World of Oppor tunity...

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TOP JOBS THIS MONTH
Truck Loader (LPG, Hydrocarbon, Liquids Condensate) – Kurdistan
• Coil Tubing Supervisor/Operator
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HSE Manager – UK
Senior Planner(6 Months) – Kurdistan
• Project Director – Gas Cities
Manager Operations – Middle East – Qatar
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To apply for any of the above, or to look at our full list

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For general queries – Email: info@oilexec.com
...Awaits YOU!

Commissioning & Start-up

Engineer - Saudi Arabia
Working for a main EPC Contractor, you will be instrumental
in directly contributing to the successful pre-commissioning,
commissioning and plant start-up of gas plant and associated
processes, leading through to performance testing and
operator training.
Qualifications/Experience
You should be either a Graduate in a related engineering
discipline, or educated to a minimum HND or equivalent.
Considerable site experience working in petrochemical or
related process industries is essential as is a proven track
record in start-up and commissioning.
Single status contract assignment, competitive salary, travel,
accommodation, meals and medical insurance are all provided.
For additional information, please call +44 (0) 1483 302133
or send your CV to: expat@petrolic.co.uk
www.petrolic.co.uk
18
For all your LNG Commissioning Requirements !
PPS Project Specialists Ltd, with over 30 years experience, specializes in providing
technical support to clients, primarily, in the Oil, Gas and Energy Industry worldwide,
with operational offices in the UK, Singapore, Cyprus, Romania, China and Russia.
We are currently urgently seeking highly qualified / experienced professionals for the
following positions:
Australia - Required for an LNG project
Commissioning Engineers / Completion Coordinators / Technical Authors for LNG Start
Up and OTPS / Technical Authors for Main Utilities / Technical Authors for LNG Train &
Dom Gas / Technical Authors for Storage & Loading / Commissioning Superintendent
LNG Train
Japan
Schedule Control Manager – immediate requirement
Minimum 15 years experience in Oil & Gas projects. Primavera P6 essential.
Senior Positions - Global
Utility Superintendents / Commissioning Managers / Deputy Commissioning Managers
Indonesia - FLNG FEED : Operation and Maintenance Manager - urgent requirement
Experience as operation manager for LNG, prefer also to have some background with
maintenance, some experience offshore preferred, experience working during FEED
period supervising development of O&M procedures, HAZOP reviews, budgets, etc.
University degree preferred.
Commissioning Managers for Japan
EPC project experienced in Work Planning, Scheduling, Staff Manning, Budget
FEED or Estimation jobs experienced in Work Planning, Scheduling, Staff Manning,
Budget
EPC jobs at site, experienced in Field Commissioning Execution Schedule, Field
Execution, Manning, Interface with Client
China - urgent requirement
Control Room Operators
Offshore Operations Supervisors
Note, only qualified, highly experienced candidates having worked in Oil and Gas
projects to apply.
Please forward an up-to-date CV confirming your current availability and interest.
You can apply via email or our website.
email: mark.d.cruz@ppsgroup.com.sg website: www.ppsgroupservices.com
 APRIL 2013 Jobsearch

TAKING CARE OF YOUR OBJECTIVES FOR LIFE, FOR BUSINESS, FOR SUCCESS
Meridian Business Support Ltd - One of the largest independent recruitment companies in the UK with 76 offices and affiliate offices Worldwide.
The International division of Meridian requires the following for forthcoming projects:
Norway CNC Personnel FPSO Mechanical Completion Electrical Engineer
Call Off Coordinator (Offshore) Precast Concrete Personnel Engineers (Instrumentation) Field Joint Coating Engineer
Commissioning Engineers & NDT Personnel (all disciplines) FPSO Quality & Risk Coordinators Installation Engineer
Supervisors (Subsea) FPSO Construction Superintendents Maintenance Engineer
Design Engineers New Zealand (Architectural) Material Controller
Electrical Engineers Overhead Linesmen (Distribution) Materials Engineer
Malaysia Mechanical Engineer
HVAC Cable Experts CNC Programmers
The Netherlands Naval Architect
Logistics Business Analysts Instrument Technicians NDT Engineer
Maintenance Management Commissioning Engineers UK Package Manager
Mechanical Engineers CNC Personnel Regional E&I Engineers Project Surveyor
Offshore Completion Supervisors Precast Concrete Personnel Proposals Manager
Operations Geologists Engineering & Construction Managers Belgium Quality Control Inspector
Personnel / Rotation Coordinators Electricians (Petrochemical) Coded Welders Report Co-ordinator
Pipefitters
Piping Stress Engineers SPMT (Self-propelled Modular ROV Pilot Technician
NDT Personnel (all disciplines)
Process Engineers (Decommissioning) Transport) Operators Instrument Technicians ROV Senior Pilot Technician
Project Control Engineer Sheet Metal Workers / Brake Press Electricians (Petrochemical) ROV Supervisor
Project Coordinator (Subsea) Programmers ROV Support Engineer
Project Planner (Early Phase) NDT Personnel (all disciplines) The Netherlands (offshore/onshore) Safety Officer
Senior Electrical Engineers Senior Engineer (Process, Automation, 4th/3rd Engineer Engine Room Senior Surveyor
Senior Engineer (Technical / Safety / Control & Automation) Assistant Department Head Subsea Structural Engineer
Services Survey Engineer
Reliability) Australia Survey Party Chief
Senior Engineers (Automation / Certificate & Insurance Engineer
Inspection Engineers (Offshore) Construction Fitter Test (FGT) Engineer
Subsea) Technical Leaders Construction Welder Trainee Tension Machine Operator
Senior/Principle Engineers (Subsea) Contracts Engineer Unit Head Field Joint Coating
Technical Safety Engineers South Korea Data Processor Unit Head NDT
Technical Writer FPSO Construction Superintendents Diving Specialist Vessel Manager
Telecom Design Engineers (SPI) (Electrical) Draftsman Welding Engineer
We are committed to providing clients with the ideal candidate for the job and the ideal job for the candidate, whatever their expectations
FOR VACANCIES IN EUROPE YOU MUST BE ELIGIBLE TO WORK IN THE EUROPEAN UNION
Please send a detailed CV to;
Email: adow@meridianbs.co.uk Email: kmason@meridianbs.co.uk
Fax: 0044 (0) 141 204 4144

Penspen, an international oil & gas engineering and project management group, is seeking accomplished design and
construction engineers for a project management consultancy (PMC) team overseeing a large scale redevelopment of oil
and gas production fields [onshore & offshore] in Saudi Arabia. These are long term opportunities and we are
seeking staff who will optimise the value of our services over the next 3-4 years. CV applications are welcomed for the
following opportunities.
AL KHAFJI, SAUDI ARABIA
(Living location in Kuwait)
Senior Project Engineer, Onshore Construction
Senior Project Co-ordinator (Offshore)
Senior Project Engineers, (Onshore/Offshore)
Senior Structural Engineer (Offshore)
Senior Pipeline Engineers
Lead Design Engineers (Process, Electrical, Mechanical, Instrument)
Competitive, tax free salaries and full expatriate benefits packages are provided for all these positions.
For further information on these positions and our current / future projects, please visit the Penspen website:
www.penspen.com
Applications can be made by emailing your CV direct to Tony Jay:
t.jay@penspen.com
Please quote reference NX0413 with your application 19
 Jobsearch APRIL 2013
Project Controls Positions - Calgary
In support of a major EPC contractor, we have a demand
for high calibre Engineering Professionals.
Successful candidates will have EPC/EPCM experience
within Oil & Gas or similar environment.
We are also seeking candidates with Shutdown and
Turnaround experience.
We are recruiting for the following positions:



t


Project Leads/Managers 15+ yrs exp



t


Lead Planners/Schedulers 10+ yrs exp



t


Quantity Surveyors 10+ yrs exp



t


Lead Cost Engineers 10+ yrs exp
Interviews are scheduled to take place in the UK
in April/May 2013.
All positions are ofered on a permanent staf basis with
an excellent salary and benefits package. Relocation
allowances and visa assistance are also provided.
For a detailed specification or to discuss a position in
greater depth, please apply via email with a current CV
and contact details to jobsincalgary@nuparc.com or call
us on +353 (0) 1 243 7777.
www.nuparcengineeringjobs.com
…..for your Petroleum • Oil & Gas • Marine
Engineering • Construction positions
…is only a call away.
Contact the experts - LA Recruitment
Aberdeen +44 1224 212929 - info@larecruitment.co.uk
Doha +974 4468 9350 - doha@larecruitment.co.uk
Houston +281 657 3366 - amanda@larecruitment.net
Kuala Lumpur +603 2117 5223 - jacquie@larecruitment.co.uk
www.larecruitment.net
LA Recruitment - UK • Qatar • USA • Malaysia
20
Technical Support Overseas Limited
NEW BUILD POWER PLANTS START­UP
Our client provides specialised planning, engineering,
construcon management, and procurement services in the
Power and Energy sector in West Africa. Urgent vacancies now
exist for experienced Commissioning and support professionals
on three new build gas turbine Power Staon projects in
Southern Nigeria in the following disciplines:
1. Commissioning Manager
2. Mechanical Commissioning
3. C & I Commissioning
Applicants should possess extensive experience on GE gas
turbines (frames 5 and 9) and the Balance of Plant (BOP) aspect
of the Power Plant. BOP items including; Gas Treatment/
Condioning Equipment, Water Treatment Systems, Fire
Detecon and Fighng systems, HV Substaons, Full Power Plant
Automaon & Management Systems, Distributed Control
Systems (DCS), Electrical Monitoring & Control Systems (EMCS),
MV & LV Power Systems, Black­start & Emergency Generators,
Waste Water/Sewage Treatment Systems, etc.
Applicants must have relevant academic and/or professional
qualificaons with at least 5 years experience. Acceptable
qualificaons include; B.Sc., HND/HNC, OND/ONC, C&G and
trade and cra cerficaon by recognised professional bodies.
Remuneraon is very compeve reflecng qualificaon
and experience.
Applicaon with CVs should be sent to:
Ade Bamgbose
ade@technicalsupportoverseas.com
Tel: +447956 981766
Our client has the following urgent vacancies with an immediate start:
Yemen
General Manager – Maintenance and Construction Division
Minimum 10 yrs exp in Oil and Gas Field Services.
Knowledge of Oil Refinery maintenance, Civil construction, Oil and Gas Pipeline
construction etc.
Rotation: 90 days work – 21days off (depending on bachelor / family status).
Salary: $84, 000 - $96, 000 USD p.a. depending on experience
Immediate Start - 2 Year Contract
Nationality: British Passport Holders Only
Preferred Age Range: 40- 55 years
Preferably qualified with either Diploma or Trade Qualified with a minimum of 5 additional
years of experience in Construction Management.
Site Superintendents
Experience: Minimum of 5 to 10 years of experience at this level in Oil and Gas Field Services,
Construction
Qualification: Capable of handling workforce of approx. 300 men, incl. equipment, work-
shops and facilities of the projects and liaison with Clients at site.
Rotation: 56 days work – 28 days off.
Salary: $60, 000 - $72000 USD p.a. depending on experience
Immediate Start - 2 Year Contract
Nationality: British Passport Holders Only
Preferred Age Range: 40- 55 years
Preferably qualified with either Diploma or Trade Qualified with a minimum of 5 additional
years of experience in Construction Management.
Our client strives to be a leader in health, safety and environmental performance within
Yemen. “Our vision is to achieve zero harm to people and assets, and zero environmental
incidents. We select people who share these values, beliefs and commitment to this vision
and who demonstrate the competencies and performance associated with their roles within
the company”.
To apply for these positions, please email your up to date CV to:
contact@dh-duzz.com
 APRIL 2013 Jobsearch
Worldwide Opportunities in
Construction and Engineering Construction Superintendent
Tanajib / Offshore based – No. 2814
Single status. Rotation is 90/30days.
Australia • Canada • Africa With O/T & bonus £108K to £130K PA.
Senior Principal Electrical Engineer Caterpillar Field Service
Middle East • New Zealand Al-Khobar – No. 2813
Married status available. Saudi Aramco
experience needed. Salary with O/T
Technician (Permanent)
Europe - Ref. 2958
Find your new opportunity on £110K currently over £130K.
Waukesha Field Service
Senior Principle Structural Engineer
Al-Khobar – No. 2812
Technician (Permanent)
Married status available. Saudi Aramco Europe - Ref. 2963
experience needed. Salary with O/T
£110K currently over £130K. Interna
onal Vibra
on and
Senior Contract Administrator Performance Analyst
Saudi – No. 2809 (Permanent) - Europe
3 Years Min experience in the Gulf.
Ref. 2964
PIC Asia-Pacific Sdn. Bhd. Basic – SAR 55,000/month. Bachelor
status. Rotation 4 months/2 weeks. Process Engineer
Jakarta, Indonesia Logistics Section Head (Polymers)
Saudi, Jubail – No. 2815
Technical Authority
Geothermal Power Plant (Permanent) - Aberdeen
Single or married. Monthly salary 30,000
Projects Saudi Riyal at today is £5,300 Potential Ref. 2894
Immediate Start – 1 year initial for 25% annual bonus.
Rider Hunt International term Lead Pipeline Engineer Applica
ons to:
Project Controls Consultants
Engineering Manager
Saudi, Al Khobar – No. 2802 ksisodia@lutechresources.com
Salary with O/T USD 19,000 per month.
C&I Engineer Oil and gas design experience. Aramco Topsides Manager
Oil + Gas Civil Engineer exp. useful. Live in Bahrain.
Aberdeen - Ref. 2775
Power + Process Electrical Engineer Senior Planner
Mechanical Engineer Saudi, Al Khobar – No. 2797
Salary up to GBP 9,500 per month. Oil
Produc
on Technology
Quantity Surveyors Proposals Engineer and gas experience. Single status. Advisor - Libya - 5/3
Contracts Engineers Thailand Project Manager Shutdowns rota
on - Ref. 3452
CCGT Project Saudi, Jubail – No. 2803
Cost Engineers Salary USD 13,500 per month. Oil and
Applica
ons to:
Commissioning Managers dmconlan@lutechresources.com
Estimators gas shutdown exp. Married/single.
Malaysia Full details on these & many more
MRT Project (Sub-stations) vacancies are listed on our website Offshore Surveyor
UK + Overseas Electrical Engineer (Design) www.taylorrecruitment.com South Africa - Ref. 2783
Staff and Contract Electrical Engineer (Site) CVs to: Taylor Recruitment Ltd,
Email: david@taylorrecruitment.com
Applica
ons to:
To apply go to ‘Sign Up’ at Tel 01483 418383 aljones@lutechresources.com
UK Tel: 01483 540155 www.picworld.com.my
e-mail: and submit your CV
chris.allen@rhi-group.com
View more Power Generation Jobs at:
https://sites.google.com/site/
www.rhi-group.com picasiapacificjobboard/

Project Manager (Water Pipeline)

Business Development Director
Oil Services - London based
£120,000 plus per annum + package
Expand Oil & Gas upstream activities worldwide.
Exp. in Upstream Oil & Gas, Business
Development, Marketing, Tendering, Contracts,
Strategic Planning & Forecasting.
Construction Staff - Airport Project
Tanzania
Degree and airport experience required.
Resident Engineer
Civils /Pavement Engineer
Mechanical Engineer
Electrical Engineer
Daulton Personnel
Email CVs to:
mike.daulton@daultonpersonnel.co.uk
Website:
www.daultonpersonnel.co.uk
Location: Mauritania
Job Reference: 1869443
Salary: £60000 - £70000 per annum + net + expat
package
Job Type: Permanent
Industry: Building and Construction
You will have:
Extensive portfolio
• A relevant civil or mechanical engineer
qualification.
of clients, exciting
• Significant Pipeline experience (including
42” Diameter steel and concrete). careers worldwide
• Previous relevant experience working in
demanding environments (and internationally).
• Fluent in English (& ideally an understanding of
French).
• IT literate (Microsoft Office & Project).
Please email your Cv to
N.Underhill.10825.366@hayslcc.aplitrak.com

Dexcrest are currently looking for contract engineers working on

various oil and gas onshore and offshore projects in the UK,
Europe, Egypt, Nigeria and America.
We take care of your oil & gas career
Lead/Senior Commission Engineers - All disciplines
Commissioning Managers Our wide variety of clients in the oil and gas industry
Lead/Senior Commissioning Technicians - All disciplines enables us to make the best match relevant to your
(Instruments/Electrical/Mechanical)
requirements, education and work experience.
Specialist Commissioning Engineers - Compression/Rotating Machinery,
Metering and Metering & Analytical, HV
Completions Managers, Certification Engineers and Project Managers T: +31 23 556 04 30
Project Lead and Senior Discipline Engineers www.atlasservicesgroup.com
Please submit CV with roles/locations applied for at
www.dexcrest.com/vacancies
21
 Jobsearch APRIL 2013
ABU DHABI – UAE
HSE Group Manager
Engineering Director EPC
Engineering Manager
Consultants
Project Manager oil/gas/EPC
Senior Process Engineer
Snr Structural Eng – offshore
Pipeline Department Head
Quantity Surveyor/Claims
ALGERIA
Construction Manager
High Rise
KUWAIT
Commissioning Managers
Power/water/HVAC
EPC – Proposal Manager x 3
Business Development
Manager Process
Senior Operations Manager
Snr Contracts Administrator
Pre- Contract
Snr Project Manager – Power
(EPC)
Project Manager Refinery &
P/Chem
Compliance Manager
Lead Design Engineer
Process
Lead Design Engineer
Electrical
OMAN
Senior Pipeline Engineer
QATAR
Planning Manager Buildings
QS Claims Specialist
(Construction)
Lead Structural Engineer
Offshore
Communications Specialist
IT
Snr Contracts Administrator
(Buildings)
Sub-Contracts Administrator
(Buildings)
SAUDI ARABIA
Project Manager Power S/S
& T/L
Project Engineer
Substations
Project Engineer
Transmission Lines
Project Engineer – Civil S/S
& T/I
TURKMENISTAN
Mechanical Construction
Manager
GENERAL
If it is over 3 months since you last
contacted PPL and you are still
looking for a new appointment, please
forward an updated copy of your CV.
This is only a small selection of our
current vacancies, for further details
please visit our website or call,
forwarding your CV to:
Premier Personnel Ltd
Email: ppl@prem-per.demon.co.uk
Website:
www.premierpersonnel.co.uk
Tel: 01372 379183
Full job descriptions for most of the
above vacancies available on request
22
WHEN YOU NEED TO BE SURE
CONTRACTS MANAGER – NSW RSL is a Recruitment
Ref 8713 AUSTRALIA – MINING & COAL Consultancy specialising in the
Ref 8695 HANDLING PLANT Oil and Gas Experienced provision of personnel within
the Oil, Gas, Petrochemical and
MANAGER OF PIPELINE personnel required Allied Industries worldwide.
Ref 8699
Ref 8712
PROJECTS/LEAD PIPELINE Exploration Seismic Please see below a selection
Ref 8685
ENGINEER – SAUDI ARABIA Interpreter – New Zealand
of some of the opportunities
we have available at present.
Ref 8688 METRO PROJECT – SAUDI ARABIA
Principal Petrophysicist, Engineering
Ref 8657 HSE Manager
Ref 8705 Project Controls Manager Senior Production Civil Superintendent – Egypt
Technologist – Malaysia Vac 12385
QA/QC Manager Construction Manager – Egypt
Primavera Expedition Planner Lead Process Engineer Vac 12374
Ref 8707 POWER PLANT PROJECTS – Vietnam Interface Manager – France Vac 12346
(CCPP/CCGT/CO-GEN) Pipeline Engineer – France Vac 12345
HR Manager – Turkey Structural Engineer – France Vac 12357
CONSULTANTS – SAUDI ARABIA Piping Engineer – France Vac 12356
Ref 8711 Commercial Manager / Contracts – Procurement Lead – Iraq
HSE Engineer – France Vac 12355
Ref 8660 Power, Energy & Water Projects Must have EPC experience
Scheduler – Japan Vac 12391
Chief Executive Officer Commissioning Manager – Japan
Mining Experienced
Ref 8704 Tendering & Estimation Manager Vac 12344
Ref 8643 Project Engineering Manager personnel required
Commercial Contract Manager – KSA
Site Electrical Engineers Mining Manager – Russia Vac 12399
Ref 8691 Lead Electrical Engineer Project Manager – KSA Vac 12398
Open Pit Mining experience
Lead Mechanical Engineer Process Engineer – South Korea
Ref 8697 Vac 12349
Commissioning Manager & Lead Please forward an up-to-date
Mechanical Engineer – South Korea
Ref 8672 Commissioning Engs CV confirming your current Vac 12350
Ref 8700 Electrical Commissioning Engineer availability and interest to: QC Manager – South Korea Vac 12375
Senior Planning Engineer gb.overseas@sgs.com Contracts Manager – South Korea
Ref 8674 Field Civil Engineer or phone +44(0) 1276 697900
Vac 12373
Field Mechanical Engineers – must have Rotating Equipment Engineer – London
Ref 8675 experience in HRSG/STG/BOP Alternatively visit our website Vac 12353
Package Equipment Engineer – London
POWER, WASTEWATER & for the latest vacancies Vac 12352
Ref 8710 DESALINATION PROJECT worldwide: Construction Foreman – Oman
SAUDI ARABIA www.sgs.com/technicalstaffing Vac 12383
Ref 8696 Site Project Controls Manager Commissioning Manager – Oman
PMC Construction Manager – Vac 12382
Ref 8694 Reverse Osmosis ATLAS INEXCO B.V. QA/QC Manager – Oman Vac 12381
Automation Consultant – Oman
MED Commissioning Engineer Worldwide – Freelance
Vac 12370
Inspectors/Expeditors
Ref 8688 CONTRACTS MANAGER / QS We’d like to get in touch with Freelance Inspectors Engineering Manager – Qatar
(Electrical, Instrumentation, Mechanical & Welding)
SAUDI ARABIA who want to be part of our Inspection/ Expediting Vac 12325
Ref 8703 database for ad-hoc work. Process Specialist – Thailand
Construction projects & M&E
Germany / Austria – Refinery Vac 12390
Ref 8630 AREA PLANT MANAGER Upgrade Project
HSE Specialist – UAE Vac 12389
Atlas Inexco Contractors B.V. is currently involved
READYMIX CONCRETE in the recruitment for a Project team for a Area Superintendent – UAE Vac 12384
Ref 8631 SAUDI ARABIA refinery upgrade in the South of Germany and in
Austria. We are currently recruiting the following
Procurement Engineer – UAE
Vac 12397
HIGHWAYS DESIGN PROJECT disciplines; Project Managers, Construction
Managers, Project Controls Leads and Contracts Engineer – UAE Vac 12396
QATAR Engineering Managers. Main focus is on
Project Manager – UAE Vac 12395
Butadiene + Infrastructure and a Crude distilling
Ref 8676 Planning Engineer Unit Revamp. Knowledge of the German Piping Designer – UK Vac 12393
Civil Engineer Team Leader – Drainage language is preferred.
Start-Up Specialist – UK Vac 12392
South Korea – Package Manager
Ref 8677 Civil Engineer Team Leader – Utilities Contract management as client representative on Site Manager (Power) – Vietnam
Design site for new build structures (stinger, beams, Vac 12359
Ref 8678 castings) for Offshore purpose.
SENIOR POWER ENGINEER With the following capabilities;
Team leader, capable of motivating and
Please visit our website
www.rsljobs.com
Ref 8679 (TECHNICAL ADVISOR/ managing of approx. 4 QC inspectors. Contract
for further details and submit
manager, good understanding of legal aspects,
LENDERS ENGINEER) result driven, driver of the planning, strict your CV now and we will contact
WARSAW, POLAND administrator of contractual documents. you with available opportunities
Communicator, able to gather and share
These are only a small
Ref 8709 UNITED KINGDOM information required necessary for all parties
involved to cooperate for a best result. selection of our current
POWER PROJECTS Cost controller, able to identify cost drivers and vacancies. We have many other
find solutions with contractors to mitigate impact
Mechanical/Senior Mech Eng – if inevitable. opportunities arising as a result
of new and ongoing contracts
Manchester United Kingdom – Subsea Project being awarded to Major EPC
Engineer
PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITES The position is for a Subsea Project Engineer, Contractors worldwide.
FOR FURTHER DETAILS OF ALL degree qualified and chartered, preferably with
THE ABOVE PLUS NEW deep water development experience. The If you have experience within
candidate should ideally have around 8 years’ the Oil, Gas and Petrochemical
VACANCIES experience and have knowledge of the design, industries – please call to
WHICH ARE UPDATED DAILY fabrication, installation and testing of one or
discuss our latest opportunities,
more of the following - subsea manifolds,
PROFESSIONAL MANAGEMENT PLET’s, XT’s, controls and umbilicals together or view our website and
RESOURCES LTD with support tooling. Experience in rigid pipeline register for job-alerts.
design is desirable. The candidate should be able
PO Box 344, EX31 3DZ, England to supervise junior engineers, specialist
TEL: 01271 319628 engineers and CAD staff and be competent to Recruitment Services
check their work.
MOBILE: 07962 318972 Limited
Please visit our website
Website:
www.pmr-worldjobs.co.uk www.atlas-group.com
to apply for these and many
Tel: +44 1903 820303 (UK)
Website: www.jobsinpower.co.uk other vacancies. You can also Email: jobs@rsljobs.com
E-mail: submit your open application
info@pmr-worldjobs.co.uk through the job section of our
website.
Website: www.rsljobs.com

JOB OPPORTUNITIES
IN SAUDI ARABIA
(OFFSHORE):
We are currently looking for
Drillers and Toolpushers on
behalf of one of our clients
for their offshore operations
in Saudi Arabia. These
positions are for jack up rigs.
Our client are an offshore
drilling specialist with one of
the largest offshore drilling
fleets in the world.
The rotation would be 28 days
on / 28 days off.
Attractive tax free salary on
offer.
Due to VISA restrictions we
can only consider British and
US nationals for these
positions at this time.
For further information
or to apply for this position
please send an up to date
copy of your CV to
matthew.tyrrell@heston.net
www.deltongroup.com
Oil and Gas Vacancies
UK
Training Material Writers
Qatar
LNG Procedure Writers
Technical Authors
Planners
Planning Engineers
Houston
Training Professionals
(Must be US citizens)
Nigeria
Assessors / Trainers
Gabon
French speaking Assessors /
Trainers
Worldwide
Training Managers
Training Coordinators
Short term and long term
Competency Assessment /
Verification Assignments, Writing &
Implementation of Competency
Units / Programmes
ALL DISCIPLINES
Please e-mail CVs to:
recruitment@deltongroup.com
www.deltongroup.com
Bureau Veritas is currently seeking to hire
experienced personnel in the following
disciplines and locations. To be considered,
please email your CV and copies of any
degrees, licenses, or professional certifications
to derek.neuman@us.bureauveritas.com
Please be sure to indicate the positions
and locations you are most interested in.
You are invited to visit our website as well
to view our other employment and project
based opportunities.
Technical Risk and Safety (QRA)
USA and Globally
Human Factors Engineers – USA
and Globally
Industrial Hygiene – USA and
Globally
Vendor Surveillance (Mechanical
Equipment) – UK, Benelux,
Norway
Vendor Surveillance (SubSea) UK,
Italy, Norway
Structural Design (Offshore)
UAE
Pipeline Engineers (Offshore)
UAE
LNG Site Construction QA/QC
Malaysia
LNG Site Construction QA/QC
China
LNG Site Construction QA/QC
Australia
Verification Engineers – Malaysia,
Singapore, Indonesia
The Offshore Partners, with its home
base in Rotterdam, Holland, is an
engineering company involved in
worldwide offshore projects. For more
details – please visit:
www.theoffshorepartners.com
For numerous upcoming projects in
2013, and expansion into related
sectors, we would be interested in
receiving CVs from:
• Offshore Deck Mechanics – Heavy
Lift projects in Irish Sea with valid
offshore certs. (EU)
• Naval Architect – China, must have
mega-yachts >100m construction
exp.
• Technical Marine Superintendent &
Chief Engineer – Offshore DP
accommodation barge (EU)
• Senior Project Manager – Brazil,
must have DP3 Pipelay vessel
construction experience
• Financial Administrator – responsible
for pay-rolling, invoicing, must be
resident in Holland
• Naval Architects, Construction
Managers, Site Supervisor –
shipbuilding / FPSO (EU resident)
• Project & Structural Engineers –
shipbuilding experience, NL (NL
resident)
Should you have relevant
experience and prerequisite
nationality as indicated, please
send your up to date résumé,
together with a salary indication
and details of your availability to
Graham Hardie:
gha@theoffshorepartners.com
APRIL 2013 Jobsearch
The Onstream Group is currently seeking to
hire experienced personnel in the following
disciplines and locations:
Positions based in the Netherlands:
• RECRUITER
Minimum 2 years recruitment experience
within Oil & Gas industry. French knowledge
will be an asset. Please send your CV to
HR@onstreamgroup.com
Positions based in Gabon:
Expat positions on 4X4 rotation. Experience
in Africa with major operators would be a
plus.
• CONDITION MONITORING ENGINEER
• CONTROL & AUTOMATION ENGINEER
AND TECHNICIANS
• CONTROL, AUTOMATION & IT DATA
APPLICATION MAINTENANCE
SUPERVISOR
• ELECTRICAL ENGINEER AND
TECHNICIANS
• LOGISTICS SUPPORT SERVICES
• MAINTENANCE COORDINATOR
• MECHANICAL ROTATING AND/OR
RECIPROCAL ENGINEER AND
TECHNICIANS
• MECHANICAL STATIC ENGINEER AND
TECHNICIANS (PIPE WORK, VESSELS,
TANKS, PIPELINES)
• OFFSHORE MAINTENANCE ENGINEER
AND TECHNICIANS
• PROCESS ENGINEER
• STRUCTURAL ENGINEER
• WORK PACK ENGINEER
• WORK PLANNING SCHEDULING
ENGINEER
• CAR MECHANICS – VW EXPERIENCE
WOULD BE A PLUS
Please send your CV to
commercial_assistant@onstreamgroup.com
For further information and a full listing of
our vacancies please visit our website:
www.onstreamgroup.com
& follow us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/TheOnstreamGroup
ewi fuel the world’s fastest growing
and developing economies. Our
clients work spans the full range of
infrastructure and development
projects.
currently we are seeking:
– Rail Systems (sub systems):
Engineer to supervise and advise
on Rail systems for large metro
project in Oman.
– Resident Engineer Marine: Large
LNG terminal requiring chartered
engineer to oversee all
construction.
– Engineering Geologist:
Hydropower project requires a
supervision engineer to oversee
underground structures and
tunnels in Peru.
– Project Manager Substations:
Senior project manager to
supervise substation construction.
– Resident Engineer, Highways:
Supervision expert to oversee
asphalt and excavation works.
– Project Manager: Design lead to
manage a number of large
tunneling projects across the
globe. Must be chartered.
– Resident Engineer/
Hydrogeologist:
Hydrogeologist required to
supervise a large potable water and
wellfield project in the Middle East.
Please visit our website for a full
listing of our vacancies:
www.ewirecruitment.com
email us for an updated list of
opportunities or information at:
Info@ewirecruitment.com
Spie Oil & Gas Services
(Thailand) Ltd.
Drilling Superintendent
Thailand Immediate Start
Senior Drilling Engineer
Thailand Immediate Start
Process/Safety Engineer
Thailand (Short Term 6 – 12
months) Immediate Start
Structural Engineer
Thailand (Short Term 6 – 12
months) Immediate Start
Electrical & Instrument Control
Engineer
Thailand (Short Term 6 – 12
months) Immediate Start
Facilities Engineer (Instrument
& Control)
Thailand/Bangladesh
Completions Engineer
Thailand/Bangladesh
Petroleum Engineer
Thailand/Bangladesh
Drilling Engineer
Thailand/Bangladesh
Senior Commissioning
Operations Mentor
Thailand/Bangladesh
Senior Commissioning E&I
Mentor Thailand/Bangladesh
Senior Commissioning Controls
Mentor Thailand/Bangladesh
Senior Commissioning Process
Engineer Mentor
Thailand/Bangladesh
Email CV’s to:
ian.webster@spie.com
Millennium Solutions are an engineering and
construction recruitment company specializing
in the sourcing, selection and provision of
industry professionals to the Construction, Oil
and Gas and Power sectors.
www.millenniumsolutions.biz
QATAR/ABU DHABI/DUBAI
Oil and Gas
Project Managers
Pipelines Plus Associated
Mechanical and Civil
Infrastructure
Our client a leading international EPC contractor
requires experienced Project Managers for 3No
projects located in Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Candidates must have a proven track record in all
aspects of the tendering and construction of
pipeline projects including all associated works as
mentioned (mech and civil)
Qualified to a minimum of degree standard from a
recognized university is essential – mechanical or
civil background preferred.
Competitive salary packages and expatriate
benefits are on offer for the right candidates.
AUSTRALIA – Oil and Gas
Construction Manager
LNG Jetty Topside
Our client, a major international contractor is
currently involved in the construction of an LNG
terminal in Western Australia and require a
Construction Manager to oversee the construction
of the Jetty Topside aspect of the project.
Candidates must have a proven track record of
LNG jetty topside construction with particular
emphasis on Structural/Mechanical/Piping
modular construction and marine experience -
$400m + project size is beneficial and can be from
either a trades or engineering background with an
emphasis on technical knowledge combined with
leadership skills and drive.
The position is camp based with FIFO on either a
15/6 or 20/8 day rotation.
A very generous package is on offer for the right
candidate – details can be supplied on application.
Australian residents/passport holders are
preferred for this position.
To apply for any of the above positions
please send your CV to:
ntimms@millenniumsolutions.biz 23
 Jobsearch APRIL 2013

3
201
arch
n M
o
lecti
m A selection of website only jobs
se
ndo www.expatnetwork.com
ra
Process Engineer LNG - Australia - Fircroft Group
Provide engineering support to design, construction and commissioning teams. Accountable for managing process engineering issues to ensure operating asset is ready to take
ownership of facilities and have capability to operate facilities safely and efficiently following handover. Provide process engineering support including ensuring compliance with
established standards, provide technical advice and manage critical drawings. Email: cmendoza-pouchet@fircroft.com

Senior Technical Consultant (Mine/Geo) - Turkey - Hays International

Deliver client services and apply your technical industry (Geological/Mine) and software product knowledge, enhancing the client’s ability to increase their profitability and
efficiency. Consult with clients to optimise their use of suitable software products and to provide high level support to users. You will be fluent in Turkish & English and have
previous experience in mining services. Email: N.Underhill.47171.366@hayslcc.aplitrak.com

ROV Support Engineer - Netherlands - Orion Group

Responsible for providing office based ROV equipment and support to vessels. Assist with procurement of all ROV equipment, parts and consumables. Review project information
to determine ROV equipment layout. Test equipment prior to shipment/mobilisation. Compile records detailing equipment levels including those on board vessels. Supervise
workshop including test & calibration equipment. Manage preventive maintenance schedules. Email: egmond.zaal@orioneng.com

Principal Mechanical Engineer - Egypt - Swan Recruitment

Principal Mechanical Engineer with responsibility for coordination and supervision for the suppliers of 3 pump package units (Condensate Export, Produced Water, Fire Water) and
the Chemical Injection Skids (Methanol, Corrosion Inhibitor). Candidates must be experienced Mechanical Engineers with 10+yrs experience and must have a short notice period.
This role is on a rotation basis of 3/1 with a 20% uplifted rate for the work in Cairo. Email: craig@swanrecruitment.com

Resident Engineer - Concrete Dam Project - Ecuador - EWI Recruitment

As Resident Engineer you will manage and supervise all works concerning the Dam, with the assistance of the supervision team, according to the FIDIC Yellow Book. As per the
Clients request you will be have a Civil Engineering Degree and have extensive experience across Hydropower and Dams. Previous working experience in South America is also
essential for this position as well as the need to speak Spanish. Email: d.ogunsola.65646.366@ewirecruitment.aplitrak.com

Site Superintendents - Yemen - D-H Associates

Monitor construction and maintenance personnel and equipment to ensure standard and procedure conformance. Assist/advise on construction strategies. Maintain site log books.
Ensure staff submit daily reports. Report issues of non-conformance relating to procedures or safety practices. Ensure equipment has been properly maintained and has necessary
inspection certification. Ensure spare parts and fuel supply is maintained by warehouse. Email: contact@dh-duzz.com

Communication Specialist - Qatar - Premier Personnel

The Communication Specialist is responsible to develop a communications strategy that maximises engagement of management and users with security responsibilities as well as
application and service users through targeted user education, mass communication and workshops. The incumbent will design the roll-out of mandatory trainings, golden rules,
social media and online tools in coordination with other IT Resilience projects. Email: ppl@prem-per.demon.co.uk

Pipeline Project Manager/Lead Pipeline Engineer - Saudi Arabia - PMR Ltd

Professional Pipeline Engineer with 15 years experience in engineering design of onshore pipelines to take lead technical role and to manage the department across a broad range
of projects. Candidates must possess a degree in engineering and have experience of working in Middle East and/or previous Saudi Aramco project standards, FEED/Detailed
Design/PMC experience and demonstrable experience to lead and manage team of engineers. Email: info@pmr-worldjobs.co.uk

Technical Safety and Risk Management Consultants - Canada - Astec Services Ltd
Highly motivated, dynamic and influential individuals with a strong background in process, oil & gas and petrochemical industries to join our team. You will have a good
understanding of technical and managerial issues fundamental to technical HSE risk engineering and management within these industries. In addition, you will have an interest in
business development and have excellent organisational and communication skills. Email: info@astecgroup.co.uk

HSE Training Administrator - Iraq - Onstream Group-ASC

Receive HSE course nominations, send out confirmations, schedule classes and obtain security approvals. Liaise with departments and ZFOD contractors on their training needs
and to explain HSE training on offer. Issue ZFOD HAS training passports and to keep up to date log of issued passports. Keep updated HSE database ensuring accurate data is
entered and all reports up to date. Email: adrianoR.94398.366@ascinternational.aplitrak.com

Design Associate (Commercial/Corporate Interiors) - China - Randstad Construction & Property Engineering
Design Associate with excellent communication skills, a strong and influential leader, drive and encourage creativity, positively manage people/processes/projects, operate
effectively/efficiently in fast pace/high pressure but fun design environment, work on own initiative, operate collaboratively and as part of team, adopt hands-on approach, instil
‘can do attitude’, be both responsive and proactive and have real passion for what you do! Email: RebeccaP.91606.366@randstadcpe.aplitrak.com

Engineering Manager - UAE - TED Recruitment

Engineering/Technical Manager to lead an Engineering team on a large scale CNG/LPG distribution network in Abu Dhabi. Suitable candidates will be degree qualified (Mechanical
or Chemical preferred) and Chartered preferred. Should have a minimum 20yrs post graduate experience in Natural Gas Distribution with at least 5yrs as Engineering Manager on
similar projects with a minimum 3yrs in a PMC/Consultants role. Email: ianthornton.93781.366@tedrecruitment.aplitrak.com

Expat or Advertiser?
Make sure www.expatnetwork.com becomes your daily habit
call us +44 208 256 0311 or email: linda.taylor@expatnetwork.com
24
 APRIL 2013 Directory

Expatriate Services
OFFSHORE COMPANIES
TRUSTS, BANKING, ACCOUNTING & ADMINISTRATION
FOR EXPATRIATES &
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Golf
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Contact: Richard A. Smith BSc (Hons) Award winning par 73 international golf course
Charterhouse Lombard Ltd (Dubai Branch) Teehouse Apartment £50 a night including breakfast (sleeps 2)
PO Box 62425, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Teehouse £100 a night including breakfast (sleeps 4)
Email: nexus@charterhouselombard.com
Tel:+971 (0) 4332 6318 Airport Transfers and Car/Driver arranged
London Branch: 1 Dock Offices, Surrey Quays Road, Email: golfinsrilanka@gmail.com
London SE16 2XU. Tel: +44 207 623 4501 Sri Lanka Mobile: +94 776011300 Doha Mob: +974 33440428
9590/0206
www.golfinsrilanka.org

Oxford Contract Services Ltd

Services for Contractors and the Self – Employed
Invoicing Issuing and Collection Services: Fixed monthly fee of £100 Inc
VAT
The invoicing service is fully flexible. You use the service to suit your
circumstances. If in any month no invoice is issued or collected then there is
no fee to pay.
All Payments made using BACS or Priority Payments via HSBC Net Banking
System. FOR SALE
For full details of the above and other services, please contact us at:
Phone: +44 (0)1624 825041 Fax: +44 (0)1624 825657
in Polemi, Paphos region, CYPRUS
4 bedroom villa in countryside location with large plot planted for olives
Email: mail@oxford.im
Mail: Norton House, Farrants Way, Castletown, Isle of Man, IM9 1NR 5 minutes walk from village, 20 minutes drive from tourist areas
Ideal rural Mediterranean getaway with fantastic view
The Management & Facilitation For more info contact:
Consultancy Ltd info@cyprusislandsales.com (Ref CY025)
Contract, Risk and Dispute Management Services
to project owners, contractors, consultants and other professionals
engaged in construction within the UK or overseas on a long term,
short term or interim basis. Andalucian Farmhouse for Holiday Rent
COMPETITIVE RATES, FLEXIBLE AS REGARDS LOCATIONS
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Luxury Family Villa For Rental

School of Engineering & Design Portugal
Postgraduate MSc courses in 5 Subject Areas: Private pool; panoramic views
• Advanced Manufacturing and Enterprise Engineering
Golfing Paradise; Excellent Food
• Civil Engineering 5 minutes drive to Luz & Lagos
• Design http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/portugal/P2446.htm
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Expat Network Members Property
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25

REPORT
Worth of the Picture
April 2013
In 1963 Don McCullin took a black and white photograph
NEXUS
of a man walking into an industrial landscape in West
26 Hartlepool. Chris Beetles Fine Photographs has signed
prints on sale for £10,500 but Phillips recently sold a copy
of the same print for £5,000 at auction. Although not a
McCullin, Getty has an image of factory workers in the
town taken in the same period and will charge £1,150
for single, non-commercial use lasting-20 years. For £540,
Alamy will provide you with a high-resolution image of
Hartlepool’s current dock area, licensed on the same
basis, but only for three years. Or you could get an
industrial colour shot, complete with smoking towers
(similar to those in McCullin’s shot), which was taken in
the Czech Republic, for £59.50 from Shutterstock.
B Y R O B F L E M M I N
Which all goes to prove that it is possible to
make money from selling photographs.
Haven’t all sorts of people told you that your
images are stunning and that you really
ought to market them? And there’s the rub.
Taking beautiful pictures and tweaking them
a little in Photoshop is creative; marketing
and selling them is business.
“I keep emailing editors but the response is
relatively poor,” Rob told Nexus. “I get about
one reply in twenty and that one usually says
simply – thanks, we’ll keep your name on file.”
Photography had been a hobby for 30
years but when Rob Morris took early
retirement from the police force, he decided
to turn professional. Diversification has been
necessary to make an income.
“Weddings, portraits, (pet portraits are
good), odds and sods to magazines. There are
lots of little bits. Printing on site [at events] is
the main revenue stream followed by
weddings. I subscribe to the Bureau of
Freelance Photographers market newsletter
and make contacts that way but the only long
term thing I’ve got from that is with Your
Chickens magazine: a few photographs and
some writing. Collections [Picture Library] has
started marketing my images. And then I
produce my own photographic artwork using
mixed media which I sell on my website.
Variety is the only way to survive.”
Picture editors are constantly on the
lookout for images that meet their needs in
terms of content and quality and are within
budget. But however good a photographer
you are, your images won’t sell unless they’re
seen. The problem is where do you start in
this highly competitive market?
Before you dip a toe in the rushing waters,
analyse your work very carefully. Can you
meet the quality requirements demanded?
Alamy’s contributor guidelines provide a good
benchmark whether or not you’re considering
making a submission to a library. Even if you
do know a jpeg from a TIFF, understand terms
such as noise and chromatic aberration, the
notes can serve as cautionary reminders.
And window-shopping for pictures similar
to your own will not only give you an
indication as to the competition but will also
reveal the gaps in the market. A search for ‘oil
and gas’ on Getty Images produces 16,590
results while a search for ‘Athabasca tar sands’
produces five. Alamy boasts 586,794 ‘sunsets’
but only 796 if you search for ‘sunsets Oman’.
If nothing else, that should tell you that there
are too many sunsets in the market place!
Vicious editing pays dividends; two brilliant
G images have a lot more value than 20,000
indifferent shots. Cull the mediocre until
you’re left with the best and then show them
to the world. Whatever your sales plan
afterwards, it pays to have some sort of
showcase and Flickr is a good place to start.
Free to join and simple to use, Flickr provides
you with a platform to showcase your best
photographs which you can share with the
whole world.
Uploaded photographs can be sorted into
sets and collections but each individual image
should be captioned and tagged.

Tagging shots with keywords enables others
to find them more easily but choose wisely.
Think of words that you might search for if
you were looking for a particular type of
photograph. Other photographers on Flickr
trawl through the pages and their comments
can often be useful. Editors from Getty also
hunt the galleries and may just like your
material. And then use social networks like
Facebook and Twitter to tell people where
your photographs are on Flickr.
If you’re serious about the programme, get
your own website up and running on the
internet. It doesn’t have to be expensive.
Domain names are readily available, cost as
little as £3.29 per annum and tell the world
that you’re in business.
Sampicklesphotography.com, .co.uk, .net or
whatever, says who and what you are in plain
terms. Somehow, Picklespix doesn’t quite
have the same ring. And companies like
Weebly, Wix and Moonfruit host websites and
provide you with simple tools to build them –
free of charge. In some instances, you can
even add ecommerce, enabling you to sell
digital images and prints to clients.
There’s no reason why you shouldn’t try to
sell your images directly, to magazines,
newspapers, book publishers or even the
corporate market. But it’s imperative that you
know the type of images that they use and
can meet their needs. If you’re a *golfing
fanatic and take most of your stuff on various
courses, then obviously you should be
contacting all the *golfing magazines.
[Delete and replace as applicable!] If your
work covers a wide range of subject matter,
it’s a little bit harder. That requires a lot of
research and networking but there is a certain
amount of help at hand.
Members of the Bureau of Freelance
Photographers (BFP) receive a monthly
newsletter which includes the ‘current’
requirements of picture buyers and editors,
details of new magazines with the
appropriate contact details, articles,
interviews and advice. Membership also
includes a copy of the Freelance
Photographer’s Market Handbook which has
detailed lists of thousands of potential
markets in Britain. The whole membership gig
might not make sense if you’re based in
Sudan or the back end of Azerbaijan but the
handbook is available on Amazon.
For listings elsewhere, albeit with a strong
focus on US and Canadian markets, pick up a
copy of 2013 Photographer’s Market, edited
by Mary Burzlaff Bostic. Included in the price
of this mine of invaluable contact detail,
there’s a one-year subscription to
ArtistMarketOnline.com which provides you
with even more information. Which is great,
as long as you live in Ohio, California,
Nebraska et al.
Bear in mind that selling direct to the
markets means: you’re on your own. As well
as finding the right buyers and supplying the
appropriate image with the necessary quality,
you also have to negotiate a price for
licensing the photograph. And you should not
undersell. Size, placing, print runs, type of
publication, number of uses and length of
time are just a few of the considerations that
have a bearing on the amount you should
charge. One way of improving the learning
curve is to analyse a magazine and its pictures
and then go through a dummy purchase on
a library website. Choose rights managed
(RM) images and work through the pricing
options.
Or you could simply opt to submit your
precious photographs to a stock library which
will do all the work on your behalf. Once your
stuff has been accepted, the library deals with
the business side, leaving you to be creative.
[Note: that does not obviate the Facebook/
Twitter/website aspects which can be used
to point people in the right direction.] The
downsides include being thrown in with a
mass of other images and only getting a
percentage of the revenues from sales. The
upsides are that libraries tend to have client
REPORT
April 2013
lists in situ, a clear presence in the industry,
have a better understanding of a photograph’s
value, price accordingly and carry out all the
administrative tasks.
NEXUS
In terms of submission notes and image
management, Alamy’s guidelines are probably
the most comprehensive and generally reflect
other stock libraries’ requirements. But even
choosing the right library for submission 27
requires some research; the standard and
content of your work will help you to narrow
down your selection but that doesn’t
necessarily mean that you’ll be accepted.
The websites of the British Association of
Picture Libraries and Agencies (BAPLA),
Picture Archive Council of America (PACA) and
Coordination of European Picture Agencies
Stock, Press and Heritage (CEPIC) list the
thousands of members that supply images
around the globe.
Whittling those down to a short list would
indeed be a daunting task so for most Brits,
BAPLA provides more than enough choice.
Keying in the most appropriate word in the
search for image suppliers box will give you a
good target list. That could be anything from
‘general’ to ‘Africa’ or ‘energy’ but keep it
simple. Look at individual websites for more
detail and contributor information. Then take
the plunge.
If you’re hoping to make money through
sales, steer clear of microstock libraries like
iStock and Shutterstock which sell royalty free
(RF) images for peanuts. They do have their
place in a competitive market and allow
greater, inexpensive access to images. And for
photographers who can’t meet the technical
requirements of the macrostock boys, they
are an option. The arguments over the merits
and demerits of both continue to rage.
Whichever path you take, don’t let the
business take over from the pleasure of taking
photographs. Good luck.
LIFESTYLE
In God’s Waiting Room
April 2013
NEXUS
28
Who wants to live in a retirement home? Some may
look forward to the camaraderie and company, and
perhaps more importantly, for those of more extreme
advanced years, to the nursing care they provide.
Others wouldn’t – excuse the pun – be caught dead in
one, and see them as nothing more than ‘God’s waiting
room’. But what if you took one and filled it exclusively
with expats?
B Y T I M S K E LTO N
In my distant childhood, elderly people had
some distinct traits. All the women had
mauve hair, and they sat around and knitted
a lot and tutted. And the men all wore suits
and ties, even when sat in front of the
television, and tried to ignore their wives,
who were tutting at them. Everyone ate
overcooked vegetables boiled in kitchens
that consequently smelled permanently of
cabbage, and they all sat around in lacy living
rooms, dunking tasteless dry biscuits into
milky tea served in dainty china cups.
Unfair stereotyping perhaps, but through
my younger eyes they just seemed to be
waiting to die, and were passing the
intervening years by watching the wrestling
on Saturday afternoon ITV. If they ever went
out, it was only to play Bingo, dance the
Hokey Cokey, or to reminisce with one
another about the good old days during the
war.
At least, that was pretty much what my
grandparents did.
Nothing intrinsically wrong in any of that of
course (apart from the murdered vegetables),
but it always seems to me they were born old,
and had given up on life too early. Maybe it
was indeed their traumatic experiences in the
war that made them this way. But getting old
was a depressing prospect in those days.
There’s a touching moment in David
Lynch’s wonderful film The Straight Story,
when a young man sat at a bar asks the
ageing protagonist, Alvin Straight, what the
worst part is about being old. “Remembering
when you were young,” is his forthright answer.
It sums up all my early experiences with
that generation.
Time has moved on since then. My father,
whom I remember as a genuinely young man,
is approaching 80, and I can hardly pass
myself off as a spring chicken any more.
Fortunately however, attitudes to ageing have
shifted, and neither of us need fear the future
quite as much as we once might have.
Thanks to the advancing years of the baby
boomer generation (a group my father and
I managed neatly to miss at either end), the
term ‘old’ has totally changed in meaning. It’s
become unfashionable, even rejected totally,
and only used in the context of mature
cheese, or a decent pint of winter ale. Today’s
new wave of retirees won’t countenance the
idea of actually being old. They’ve merely
earned the right to leave work forever and to
spend their hard-earned cash before they die
and it passes to their children.
And three cheers for that I say.
Today’s new pensioners are definitely
spicing things up a bit. In their youth they did
something their parents never dared do – i.e.
challenge authority, and discover life was
much better as a result. As a result they shook
everything up and brought the world into
technicolour. They went travelling, they
experimented with ‘unusual herbs’ and other
chemicals, and they (most of them anyway)
eventually accepted Bob Dylan going electric.
And they’ve carried those attitudes with them
into the latter stages of their lives.
The hair may be grey (or gone), but they
wear jeans, not suits and ties, and are far
more likely to listen to Jim Morrison than
James Last. They refused to follow the
accepted norm to age gracefully, and to do
‘old people’s stuff’. Instead, most continue
doing the same things they did when they
were 20, albeit a little more slowly and
perhaps more carefully.
So how has that affected the places we
used to call ‘old people’s homes’, if there are
more people – but fewer old people – to live
in them?
I’ve always imagined that as the baby
boomers move in, life in retirement homes in
general is going to get a lot more, well, lively.
Today’s new pensioners are a go-getting
bunch with a far more positive attitude. And
expats should, you would think, be the best
of all at this, since by definition they are more
outward looking and open to new
experiences and cultures than many of their
stay-at-home peers. I’d like to hope so
anyway.
But what if you ended up in an expat-
themed retirement home, somewhere in the
world? And what if it had themed rooms,
where the residents felt like they were still on
contract with other expats? For some that
might be the retirement home from hell.
For some however, themed retirement
homes might be an amusing prospect. As a
related example, albeit a political aside, many
of us of a certain age would love to see
Margaret Thatcher and Arthur Scargill on the
same ward of a home, left to slog it out
armed with nothing but a basket of wet fish.
In fact, now I think of it, I firmly believe many
of the world’s ills could be solved with an
armoury of fresh Plaice and John Dory, and
the protagonists locked into one room until a
winner emerges.
But I digress. This is an expat retirement
home we’re talking about here, not a
fishmonger, and wherever Mrs Thatcher ends
up, it is sure to be on a piece of soil that is
forever England. So we needn’t concern
ourselves with the prospect of a chance
meeting.
Say there really was a retirement home
somewhere populated by no one but expats?
How would the residents get on? Would they
get on, or would it all end in tears? Would a
fight break out between the onshore and
offshore experts, and would there be
arguments until the end of time over who laid
the longest length of pipeline?
And where would this home be? With
blood thinning with the passing of the years,
and an increasing susceptibility to chills,
this expats’ home would have to be
somewhere very warm. Tropical perhaps.
But wherever it is, there would also have to
be the added frisson of the illegal drinks
party, held on a regular basis. So ideally it
would have to be located somewhere
alcohol is banned. After all, faking breaking
the law simply doesn’t carry the same air of
danger as actually doing so.
Ultimately, however, I think the majority of
expats wouldn’t appreciate being stuck in one
place to see out their days. Many would start
to feel restless and want to move on
somewhere else in the world before they die.
And that would probably mean forming an
escape committee.
In the old Yellow Pages (does the Yellow
Pages still exist?), if you looked under ‘Boring’
it used to say: ‘See Civil Engineering’. That’s
not a dig (no pun intended) - I’m a Civil
Engineer myself, on paper at least. But what it
means is if that you wanted to dig your way
to freedom, the Civil Engineers’ room is the
place to look for your tunnelling experts.
Once out of course, you need look no
further than the Hash House Harriers to lead
the escapees to safety in record times.
All joking aside, there is a more serious side
to retirement homes. The majority of people
who move into one do so because they need
some kind of hands-on nursing care, and for
such people the prospect is a lot less funny.
The more active people I’m describing above
generally opt to stay in their own homes for
as long as they can. Apart from anything else,
it usually works out a whole lot cheaper.
Worse than needing care though, is
needing care and not getting it. In recent
years there have been all manner of scare
stories in the press about neglect and even
abuse of residents by retirement home staff.
People who can’t fend for or look after
themselves are left to do just that, and if
secretly filmed videos are to be believed, they
are treated as a joke, or as a plaything when
they fail to cope.
LIFESTYLE
It’s frightening stuff. And would be even
more horrifying if it ever happened to a
relative, or a friend. Or even to you.
There’s a home around the corner from me
in the Netherlands. I get to nose around now
and again because it doubles as the local
polling station. The ‘inmates’ (my mother-in-
law's term, not mine) seem quite content -
even if they are playing Bingo and doing the
Dutch equivalent of the Hokey Cokey. So I
April 2013
guess in this place they must be being treated
well. But I’m not convinced it’s the case
everywhere, even in a land where healthcare
is often lauded in the British press as
NEXUS
unimpeachable. It’s not. Here too there are
stories in the news about neglect, and there
are bound to be more that haven’t come out
yet.
What the press doesn’t point out is that the 29
bad eggs in the nursing world are really in the
extreme minority. After all, saying most
retirement homes are good if not excellent
places to be doesn’t sell papers. But at least
by publicising the failures, in the UK and
elsewhere, they are provoking a reaction and
causing something to be done. Procedures
are being overhauled and regulations
tightened, and hopefully the tales of woe will
become fewer and fewer as time passes.
With each step forward the system takes,
the prospect of becoming a senior and
ending up in a home becomes slightly less
daunting. And perhaps by the time I end up
in one, I might even get to enjoy it. At the
very least, I’ll try my best not to smell of
cabbage.
 What’s
Your
Type?
LIFESTYLE
April 2013
NEXUS

30
It’s long been people’s habit to put
everything and everybody into little boxes.
Yes, it makes life easier, but just looking at
expats, you can tell that we are not all one
standardised group. We certainly do have
a number of criteria in common, after all,
we all live and work away from our country
of birth, but after that it already gets more
complicated. The reasons that each and
every one of us has forged a life abroad are
quite different, as is how we are treating
the experience, what we are getting out of it,
how we are coping. That said, however
individual we might like to think we are,
there are still, as with pretty much everything,
boxes we can be put into. How small and
narrow those boxes are, is debatable.
BY ULRIKE LEMMIN-WOOLFREY

Last year, NatWest International Personal
Banking commissioned some research into
types of expats and as a result have judged us
to fall into five main groups: ‘Lifers’,
‘Professionals’, ‘Globetrotters’, ‘Commuters’ and
‘Silver’.
‘Lifers’ are those of us who have typically
lived and worked abroad for more than 10
years and have pretty much settled abroad
permanently. This could, of course, mean
having settled in one country, or having made
the decision to roam the globe, flitting from
country to country depending on availability
of work, be it working for one company or
several. Either way, being a ‘lifer’ as I
understand it, means that life abroad is what
we, yes, I do fall into that category, have
chosen as an alternative to living in our birth
country and we intend to stay abroad for our
working life at the very least and then we’ll
most likely retire to a place other than ‘home’.
‘Professional’ expats are considered to
spend an average of three years abroad and
then return home. Those expats are mostly
found in the senior management positions in
companies all over the world and tend to be
abroad for a fixed period of time to establish
or further their career, before returning home
into the fold of, often, the same company. If
they don’t change their minds and become
‘lifers’, that is.
At ‘Globetrotters’ the categories begin to
seriously overlap, as ‘globetrotters’ tend to live
in more than one country, working either for
the same or different companies, with or
without plans to return home. Generally,
these are also ‘lifers’, and are already upsetting
the cartload of boxes.
Then there are the ‘Commuters’, classified
as expats working abroad but returning home
at regular intervals, and maintaining a home
in their country of birth; then, last but not
least, there are the ’Silver’, a category that
houses those who retire abroad, although
NatWest did not make the division between
permanent retirees and those who migrate
regularly according to the seasons.
Does any shoe fit yet?
Personally, I would fit into the
’lifer/ globetrotter’ categories. We are
definitely abroad to stay, but are not tied to
one country. To me, a ‘true’ expat is just that,
someone who roams the globe, lives in many
different countries and cultures and balks at
the thought of going back ‘home’. Wherever
that may be. Many people I have met along
the way go abroad as ‘professionals’ initially
and get stuck. Philip Evans, a Brit who is now
a successful TV chef and business man in
Macedonia fits into this category: “We wanted
So what is it that turns a
to experience something different overseas
for a couple of years, but we didn’t plan to
‘commuter’, ‘professional’ or
stay for so long. We’ve now been here for four
years and we’ve planted deep roots... had a
‘globetrotter’ into a ‘lifer’?
family, started businesses etc. We’re here for
now but we only look two-three years ahead
Reasons for living abroad are
at a time.”
Be it the growing of roots that keeps expats
as different as each and
abroad, or, as for example in the Gulf, a tax-
free income allowing a lifestyle that is not
every expat family you’ll find,
easily replicated elsewhere and the thought but most often money,
of moving back home to a non-sunny country

LIFESTYLE
only to get hit with taxes not being very lifestyle, and travel are cited.
appealing, many find themselves staying
longer than originally intended.
Then there are those who move abroad for
love. Meeting someone from another country
and culture by definition results in at least one
turning expat, not an expat that necessarily
fits into any of the above categories though,
as it was not work or lifestyle which dictated
the move, and most likely, no moves to other

April 2013
countries will follow. Trudi Campbell, an
Australian in the UK, came to London initially responsibility to some of the work we do here
more adaptable to life abroad, can also fit into
to experience life abroad and to work on her as volunteers outside of work/business and
any of the other categories, but really belongs
career, but got herself stuck – in the nicest that is what keeps us here and would continue
to a stand-alone category that in turn has its

NEXUS
possible way: “I have a really good career over to keep us here in the long term.” And most
own challenges. Aisha Ashraf, from Ireland
here and a few years ago I met my husband, of us, especially those with kids and probably
originally and now living in Canada, fits into
so we’ll be settling down in the UK now. “ a mortgage agree that even as a roaming
that slot, whilst her husband went from
But what about those ‘globetrotting lifers’? expat you can’t live totally ‘in the moment’.
‘commuter’ to ‘lifer’. She says:” I think ‘Trailing
Again, those often start in a ‘professional’
Spouse’ occupies a space all its own. My Aisha Ashraf puts it like this: “Living in the
31
manner, with just going abroad for a three moment – that’s not a description of life with
husband and I decided life was too short to
year university degree or a two-year contract, kids! Our experience is more a balancing act
spend it apart while he was posted abroad –
both of which were my stumbling blocks, than an all-out pleasure-fest. We have our
with two rapidly growing young children he
resulting in my never actually moving back properties back home to maintain and the
was missing so much of their lives: first steps,
home and now having lived abroad longer future needs of three children to plan for so
first day at school. The separation never got
than in my home country. And no signs of we still have to be prudent. That said, expat
any easier no matter how many times we did
growing roots as yet. Gillian Longworth life has taught us valuable lessons about living
it. We made a decision – if one goes, we all go.
McGuire, an American in Rome, however, in the present – when you don’t know what
Since leaving Ireland, the longest I’d stayed in
seems to have started to settle after a the future holds you soon learn to make the
one place was three years.”
globetrotting life abroad:” I lived in London most of what you’ve got and where you’re at. “
So what is it that turns a ‘commuter’,
as a student; in Niger, West Africa for six years; And when we turn into ‘silvers’, where do
‘professional’ or ‘globetrotter’ into a ‘lifer’?
in Zimbabwe for eight years, and now in we go? Most of us, despite mortgages back
Reasons for living abroad are as different as
Rome already for seven years. I think we will home, agree that ‘home’ is not necessarily the
each and every expat family you’ll find, but
stay here. Our friends and life are more here place to settle down, for others, the options
most often money, lifestyle, and travel are
than there. We have been living outside the are wide open. Philip Evans is still young: “I
cited. Aisha Ashraf, a self-confessed travel-nut
US for 20 years now and will probably retire have 35 years until retirement, so it’s not even
says:” I’ve always wanted to travel and see the
here in Italy, most likely in the country just close to being on the radar... family, children,
world. I have an extensive collection of ‘travel
outside of Rome. “ grandchildren etc. will dictate where we are,
books’ – not just country guides but expat
Whilst there are plenty of ‘commuters’, be but we’d both like to consider living in
and traveller narratives and biographies – the
it just those who work on and off on oil rigs another country other than Macedonia in the
diaries of Marco Polo, Paul Theroux in the
or those who jump on the train and work in future if our circumstances were different.”
Pacific Islands, Bill Bryson’s multi-continental
Paris for the week and come back to the UK at Globetrotting Aisha Ashraf is utterly
jaunts, John Simpson’s tales of life as a foreign
weekends; commuting in some shape or form flexible: “Who knows, I’m quite happy to see
correspondent for the BBC, Wilfred Thesiger’s
is becoming more and more common with what other interesting options life offers me
trek across the Empty Quarter – I read and
companies simply unwilling, or unable, to before I commit myself to anything. As things
absorbed the sights, smells and textures,
cough up a contract that encompasses the currently stand, the plan is to return to the UK
travelling thousands of miles with ne’er an
entire family. Single status abroad is definitely for the children to attend university – after
iota of jet-lag courtesy of my imagination.”
cheaper, for the company at least. But where that, your guess is as good as mine!”
Trudy Campbell agrees:” One of the best
the family is allowed to accompany the main So, did you find a box that fitted? Or was it
things about living abroad is being so close
bread-winner, suddenly a whole new more a case of a bit of everything and a dash
to so many other cultures and countries and
category of expat emerges: the ‘trailing of something completely different? I suppose
all the opportunities I have here that I
spouse’. banks have to categorise their customers, but
wouldn’t have in Australia. “
Those of us, me included, who follow their in reality expats tends to think and live
But it’s not all fun and games, and the
husband (or wife) around the globe because outside most boxes, that’s why we’re expats in
serious business of having to be grown-up
their job is either better paid, the one that the first place…
takes over at times. Philip Evans says: “We’re
allows a little adventure abroad, or is simply
not here for travel... we feel a strong sense of
 Grapevine
Lebanon Awards $348m
Contract for Two Power Plants
The Lebanese Energy Ministry has
GRAPEVINE
signed a $348m contract with a The Riyadh Development Authority (RDA) recently approved a
Danish-German consortium to build comprehensive plan to overhaul the capital city, keeping wide, open areas
a power plant in Jiyyeh and another in the city centre and building a ring road around them.
in Zouk, Lebanon’s Daily Star reports. “The project will bring about a facelift of and ways to remove obstacles facing
The contract will see Danish BWSC and
German Man Diesel build the plants, which
will have a maximum capacity of 272
megawatts, at the same locations as Lebanon’s
two largest power plants.
Energy Minister, Gebran Bassil, said that
April 2013
construction would take between 15 months
and 18 months, adding that the new plants
would run on both fuel oil and natural gas.
Its reported that British bank HSBC and the
NEXUS
EKF, Denmark’s export credit agency, have
offered to provide an extended loan for the
project. It was agreed the initial funding
would come from the Lebanese Treasury.
32 The Energy Ministry announced in May last
year that a $1.2bn project is to produce 700
additional MW of electricity.
The 700 MW plan is the first of a larger
$4.87bn comprehensive plan launched last
year to provide over 4,000 MW by 2014, and
5,000 MW by 2015.
Subsea 7 S.A. Awarded
Contracts Offshore Brazil
Subsea 7 S.A. announced in March
the award of three contracts with a
combined value in excess of US$300
million from Petrobras.
The scope of work comprises the
installation of flexible lines by the Seven Seas,
under two lump sum contracts and one day
rate contract.
The lump sum contracts encompass the
installation of two export flexible Lazy Wave
Risers at the Sapinhoa and Lula NE fields in
the Santos Pre-Salt Basin in water depths of
approximately 2,100 meters. The day-rate
contract encompasses the project
management, engineering and installation of
Petrobras-supplied flowlines and umbilicals.
Operations will commence in 2013.
Victor Bomfim, Subsea 7 Senior Vice
President for Brazil, said: "We’re proud to be
selected by Petrobras to perform these
important projects, using our in-depth
experience of operating in ultra-deep water.
We look forward to supporting Petrobras in
future developments."
Riyadh to Undergo
SR 278 bn Face-lift
downtown Riyadh and make it an
outstanding historic, administrative, economic
and cultural centre in the Kingdom,” said
Ibrahim Al-Sultan, a member of the RDA and
head of its centre for projects and planning.
He was speaking to reporters after an RDA
meeting in Riyadh, which was chaired by
Riyadh Gov. Prince Khaled bin Bandar and
attended by Deputy Gov. Prince Turki bin
Abdullah.
Al-Sultan said the plan also includes
development of housing projects in the city
centre and pedestrian pathways that would
enhance the look of the city and make it more
comfortable for citizens and residents.
“The central region will have three main
railway lines and several bus routes,” he said.
It will also house the main railway station,
which will be part of the city’s public transport
system.
“We’ll create a new cultural, heritage and
tourism route, beginning from the King Abdul
Aziz Historical Centre to the Government
Palace (Qasr Al-Hukm),” the official said.
Saudis and expatriates in Riyadh have
welcomed the plan to develop the city centre,
saying it would ease traffic and make it more
environmentally friendly.
Al-Sultan said 3,088 development projects
worth SR 278 billion are being implemented
in different parts of the Riyadh region.
Sixty-two agencies have been authorized
to follow up on the implementation of these
projects. These agencies will also generate
proposals for the development of the region
Iraq Announces Prequalifiers for Nasiriyah Project
In 2009, a Japanese consortium was selected to invest in the southern
oilfield, with reserves of more than 4 billion barrels, but the deal fell apart.
After that, the Ministry of Oil said Chevron
of the United States, Italy's Eni and Japan's JX
Nippon had expressed interest. Since then,
Chevron has taken stakes in the northern
Kurdish region, prompting Baghdad to bar
the company from doing business in the rest
of Iraq. After years of war and sanctions, Iraq
aims to produce 5-6 million bpd of crude by
2015 against current output of about 3.4
million bpd, the highest in three decades.
Iraq has three main refineries - Baiji, Daura
development. They will present regular
progress reports to the governor.
The RDA meeting approved the rules and
regulations for the development of Wadi
Haneefa and surrounding valleys. The project
aims to make use of the area as a tourist and
amusement centre while protecting its
agricultural and heritage sites.
The meeting also reviewed the region’s
investment climate and highlighted its various
investment opportunities, Al-Sultan said.
There was a visual presentation of the
public transport system for Riyadh city,
including two networks for trains and buses.
The meeting discussed RDA’s preparations
to implement the public transport project
while reviewing its specifications,
administrative and technical aspects and
routes.
Four international consortia are competing
to build a metro network in Riyadh. They
include 33 companies from 15 countries.
The bidders for the project include Vinci
and Alstom of France, Italy’s Ansaldo, Canada’s
Bombardier, Germany’s Siemens and Stadler
Bussnang of Switzerland.
Six lines of electric rail, totalling 175 km,
are planned across Riyadh to serve the
airport and the King Abdullah Financial
District currently under construction.
The RDA indicated that it might award
the contract to more than one consortium
considering the project’s huge size.
and Basra -- with a total capacity of around
567,000 bpd, but is looking to increase its
capacity to 750,000 bpd next year through
improvements in existing plants to cut its fuel
import bills. Each of the following seven
companies will receive a letter of invitation
to bid for the project:
Zarubezhneft, Russian; CNPCI, China; Brown
Energy, American; Reliance Industries, Indian;
Lukoil, Russian; Total, French; JGC & Tonen,
General, Japan.
Ma’aden Prequalifies Contractors
for $6bn Phosphates City
Four more packages are due to be tendered by state-owned mining firm
in late March or early April
Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma`aden)
is close to completing the prequalification
process for four more packages at its
proposed $6bn phosphates mining city at
Waad al-Shamal in the north of the kingdom.
MEED reported in January that engineering,
procurement and construction (EPC) contract
for the ammonia package had been released
for tender to an all-South Korean shortlist in
Petronas Expected to Award
US$2b Job to Japan’s JGC Corp.
Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is
reportedly within days of awarding
an engineering, procurement,
construction and commissioning
Package 5: sodium tripolyphosphate, purifying (EPCC) contract, estimated to be
phosphoric acid and dicalcium phosphate worth up to US$2bil (RM6.2bil) to
Package 6: utilities and offsites and infrastructure. Japanese EPC giant, JGC Corp.
The US’s Jacobs Engineering is carrying out
the front-end engineering and design (feed) International oil and gas newspaper
and the US’s Fluor is carrying out the project Upstream recently reported that the contract
management consultancy for the technical is for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) Train 9
packages, worth around $4bn, at the city. Project at its LNG Complex in Bintulu,
The city is being built so Maaden can fully Sarawak. It noted that the Japanese

January.
Now four more EPC contracts are due to be
released in late March or early April. A much
broader range of international companies
have also been invited to prequalify.
“There are four packages, which require a
wide ranging set of skills and experience from
contractors,” says an industry source based in
Saudi Arabia. “There are two technical
packages and two packages for power and
utilities, so there will be plenty of interest.”
utilise the phosphates from its Al-Khabra mine.
The scope of works for the city will include
a mining component, as well as eight
different processing plants, and a utilities and
offsites package. The phosphate produced at
Al-Khabra is low in heavy metal content and
thus ideal to be used for food production,
as well as fertiliser and animal feed. The
measured reserves of the Al-Khabra deposit
are estimated to be 236 million tonnes.
Riyadh also plans to use the city as a
GRAPEVINE
engineering giant was responsible for the
EPCC of eight earlier LNG trains at the Bintulu
complex.
In February last year, Petronas awarded a
contract for the front-end engineering design
(Feed) of the new production train at its LNG
complex to JGC Corp and a Japanese-Italian
partnership comprising Chiyoda Corp and
Saipem S.p.A.
It was reported that the job, which was
awarded under a dual-Feed scheme, would

The packages have been numbered three,
four, five and six and they are separated into
the following:
Package 3: beneficiation and phosphoric acid
catalyst for the economic development of the
area. Waad al-Shami will become the major
phosphates hub in the kingdom and a major
downstream phosphates cluster for attracting
April 2013
see the two contractors compete in the
design and in the EPCC price proposal process.
Petronas would then award one of the
contractors with the EPCC contract for the

NEXUS
Package 4: sulphur and power & utilities international companies is also planned. Petronas LNG Train 9 project.
The LNG Train 9 project will add 3.6 million
tonnes per annum (mtpa) to the Bintulu
Aecom Team Lands $72m Riyadh Airport Expansion complex's existing 24 mtpa capacity.
The project is expected to increase the 33
Aecom in a joint venture has won a five-year contract for the expansion and flexibility of Petronas' LNG portfolio while
redevelopment of King Khaled International Airport (KKIA) in Saudi Arabia. supporting the overall growth of the region's
natural gas industry, analysts had said.
Aecom will provide programme support as aviation and construction services in the At an event, GE Energy president for Asia-
well as project and construction management Middle East.” Pacific Kenji Uenishi said demand for gas in
services, including administration, project The KKIA passenger terminals will be the region was expected to grow as countries
planning, design management and designed to give a future capacity of 30 such as Japan were increasingly uncertain
construction management. million passengers annually, with provision about nuclear power.
“We are delighted to play an integral part of facilities including new domestic and GE Oil & Gas last year secured a contract
in the expansion of the King Khaled international concourses, terminal renovation worth US$150mil to supply technology for
International Airport,” said Aecom chairman and new aprons. the expansion of the LNG Train 9 project.
and chief executive officer John Dionisio. The project is led by the country’s General
“Participating in this visionary project is a Authority of Civil Aviation to redevelop KKIA
major achievement for Aecom, reflecting the into a modern commercial airport designed SAOG Bags Contract in Oman
continued advancement of our innovative to industry-leading standards.
Oman National Engineering & Investment
Company (SAOG) has been awarded a
Four International Banks to Fund Turkey's Railways Projects $2.5m engineering, procurement and
construction (EPC) contract from Rural
Turkish State Railways plans to receive 900 million Turkish lira loan from Areas Electricity Company SAOC for the
four international banks for the railways investments it projected for 2013. upgrading of Madha Station in Musandam
Governorate.
Turkish State Railways (TCDD) plans to that purpose, TCDD will get 900 million TL
receive 900 million Turkish lira (TL) loan from loan from four international banks for the The SAOG was formed in 1978 to manage
four international banks for the railways railway investments in 2013. the rural electricity system for the Ministry
investments it projected for 2013. The total 900 million TL of loan will of Electricity & Water. It now employs more
TCDD said it estimated to spend 20.3 include 178.3 million TL from Islamic than 3000 people and its chairman is Aimen
billion TL between 2013 and 2015 for rail Development Bank, 479.6 TL from European Ahmed Sultan Al Hosni.
vehicles' repair and manufacturing and rail Investment Bank, 38.8 TL from the World During the last 32 years, the company has
and sea transportation and 19.5 TL of it will Bank and 203.2 TL from the China's Export- made forays into power, water and utility
be spent only for railway transportation. For Import Bank. sectors in Oman.

ExxonMobil Canada Properties has released the option for Kvaerner's joint venture
company Kiewit-Kvaerner Contractors to provide the full scope of engineering,
procurement and construction (EPC) services for the Hebron Project gravity based structure
(GBS). The contract value for Kvaerner's share of the full EPC contract is approx. USD 1.5
billion and includes work conducted to date on the Hebron project.
The work will be performed in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, with engineering
in St. John's and construction at the Bull Arm fabrication yard. The completed GBS will
be installed at the Hebron field on the Grand Banks in the Atlantic Ocean located 350
kilometers offshore from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. First oil is
anticipated by the end of 2017.
 Members Room
Stressed About Your
Takoradi First Impressions Ageing Relatives?
Since we have had a couple of
‘agey’ features in Nexus lately, we
wanted to tell you about a company
that might be useful if you have
MEMBERS

ageing family in the UK that need

help to resettle.
A Hampshire based company – just
celebrating its first anniversary – aims to make
the whole process more straightforward for
older people, and to help them downsize and
declutter at the same time. Haken Relocation
Services is run by New Zealander Catherine
Haken, who set up the business after the
April 2013

experience she had with her elderly parents,

when she helped them to relocate and
You know what they say; that Ghana is there are so many stunning beaches and downsize following her mother’s illness.
a soft touch for Africa, in so much that it is resorts that one is spoilt for choice. Within a “Relocation is increasingly common for
NEXUS

a fairly well ordered and structured society, 40Km radius there are enough fine places to people over 50, especially for those about
not mired in the depths of corruption and visit that your weekend diary would be to retire or already in retirement, where they
nepotism that is so much the mark of other constantly full for a year or more. move in order to be closer to their children,
African countries and having worked for Takoradi itself has grown fast from a small grandchildren or other relatives,” said
34 the last 20 years in some of them, I’d say port to being the centre of the offshore Catherine. “In other cases the decision may
that is correct. industry, with the usual trappings of a be due to the death of a wife, husband or
hydrocarbons capital - huge lay down areas partner, to provide family members with funds
There seems to be a lack of the guile that for drill pipe and drilling chemicals, Offices to buy a property, or simply to help generate
is endemic in other countries. When I ask for being opened by major oil industry extra capital to enjoy retirement.
a price, I am used to it being automatically contractors that you would see in Aberdeen “Relocation comes in many forms, from
doubled or trebled, so when negotiations or Qatar. moving home in the UK, to relocating to a
start I automatically divide by three. But here This has led, of course, to a premium on new country. It may involve downsizing to a
in Ghana it is not hiked up too much and in space and accommodation - it is limited and smaller, more manageable property; moving
some cases I find I am charged the same as expensive. into one of the growing range of retirement
the locals. Roads that were not designed to handle community developments; or where ill-health
The people seem more relaxed and such a load become severely congested is a factor, may require moving to an assisted
certainly immediately friendly. It always helps around rush hour and often out of rush hour. or nursing community. Whatever the
to say Etisen (hello) or Medasi (thank you). The town is at that stage where crops are circumstances, relocation is recognised as one
Ghanaians so appreciate our trying to make still grown on plots of land in between and of the most stressful events people may face
an effort and even if we say it wrong it is met around many houses and offices, which is in their lifetime.” Catherine is a member of the
by a smile that lights up their faces. really nice. But – if the Towns Fathers do not US professional body the National Association
For meeting ladies, Me Pa Wasem (I like plan the growth, it will grow to be a mess of Senior Move Managers and she works with
you) is ok to start with; don’t move to Me Do as landowners lease out land to anyone who associates across the UK in The Senior Move
Wo (I love you) till later. will pay and the smallholdings of crops will Partnership.
It’s funny how one digresses from the give way to unplanned development.
theme of an article but in a way it is all to Right now it is fairly delightful, once the www.hakenrelocationservices.co.uk
do with first impressions, even if I find myself afternoon traffic has gone down after 18:30,
describing chat up phrases.
Anyway, back to Takoradi.
one can get around and down to say Vienna
Beach – lovely, or Africa beach, to enjoy a
International Rugby
It is easy I think, to say this is a quiet
backwater, and that I need to get to Accra
drink with the waves lapping at the rocks
just a few meters away. All this ambience
Development – Interested?
every weekend to get some action. But it is with a backdrop of the stars shining and, A new company with a brilliant moniker
worth making the effort to stay and set up hopefully, a sea breeze to keep the ‘RuggerEds’, the brainchild of Glyn Chandler, is
your own social network with locals and mosquitoes away. Oh yes there are a lot of looking for global franchisees.
other expats. This weekend I am going to them, so be prepared to be bitten or take Ruggereds is a specifically designed
the graduation ceremony of someone in my precautions. educational rugby training program for 3-9
office. Why not when they are so happy to So yeah, I’m enjoying it, and rumour has year olds. The company is looking for expats
see us there, helping to mark a big day for it that there is a branch of the Hash House to establish Master Franchises in their
them. Then I am off to Cape Coast for the Harriers starting up here soon, so life will be countries. RuggerEds requires people with
Saturday night, to stay at the beautiful Ko Sa complete! disposable income and a strong desire to
resort near Elmina. work within the Youth Education market.
That’s one trouble with working at Takoradi; Steve Chadwick Interested? Visit www.ruggereds.co.uk
 Members on the Move Life, According to Millin
Steve Watling started 2013 with a new contract in Jamaica with Kier. Steve The Aliens are Back
is working near Kingston and tells Nexus that he “got the position by
contacting a colleague on spec.“ And just dropping a few hints about his
availability for work. Seems a lot of expats do the same, and are often The aliens are back, first time this year too.
successful. This is why we always encourage EN members to go onto the I haven’t been invisible for a few months now
forums to say what kind of work they are looking for – you just never know but last week things changed.
what can happen!
Looks like Elaine Anderson might be on her way out to a new job, we are I was in a Kuwait hotel having breakfast and
just awaiting confirmation – if that is affirmative, best of luck Elaine. was waiting patiently for the server to ask
John Osgerby recently returned to the Expat Network fold after an absence whether I wanted coffee or tea. I waited in vain.
of a few years, he commented: “Nexus is probably the best magazine of its She picked up the coffee pot from its stand and
kind anywhere” Thanks John, much appreciated. went to each table to my left. She poured coffee
Peter Ranger, currently working in Aqaba, Jordan where he says it is “33 on demand then went back to her station to get
degrees”. Peter commented recently on one of our ‘over 60s and working milk. She delivered a jug of milk to each guest
overseas’ features and sends a tip for people who might be interested in Aid that she had provided the coffee to.
and Development jobs. www.DevelopmentAid.org have their own job board, Next she went to each table to my right and
there are some great openings on the site for Engineers and other repeated the process. First the coffee, then the
disciplines. milk. Finally she approaches my table, turns

MEMBERS
Atli Runar Stefansson writes in to say he has been sending out lots of cvs, around and stands with her back to me, looking
for jobs on the Expat Network website and many other avenues but is first left, then right and then she walks off, puts
becoming very disappointed at the lack of replies – only two polite answers the coffee jug back on its stand and swans off into
forthcoming! He wanted to know if this was common practice – no the sunrise (I know it should be sunset but this is
responses. Well, expats have been asking that question for as many years as breakfast time and these are aliens we’re dealing
Expat Network has been in existence – if any recruiters would like to with remember…).
respond, we are all ears. Another alien life form appears so I interrupt
my breakfast to capture him. He looks a bit
startled as I ask for coffee, but he does not

April 2013
vapourize me. A few minutes later the guy brings
2015 Aramco Expats Nexus 2013 the coffee, just as I am finishing my corn flakes.
The guy pours coffee into my cup and a little in
Reunion Seems we are hitting the spot with the new and around the saucer for artistic good measure

NEXUS
year Nexus features: and then returns the coffee jug to its stand.
They are a game bunch those Aramcos, we Trevor Rudd wrote in about the ‘Blacklisted’ Now normally this simple action is followed by
just heard that the 3rd Kingdom of Saudi feature in March Nexus saying that the same server returning with a jug of milk, but
Arabia Reunion is due to hit in March 2015. “Blacklisting’ has been on the agenda for not on this occasion. The guy picks up a milk jug,
Go and have a look at the comments section a very long time and reminded us all of a turns, looks over me, through me and around me, 35
(188) at the website www.aramcoexpats.com Panorama TV special about a guy from puts the milk jug back down and follows his
and if you are planning on being there, you Liverpool who could not get a job, even colleague into the bowels of mother ship.
could consider writing up the event and though he had a completely clean record in Now I appreciate that I could get off my rear
sending some images to Nexus – we would Oil&Gas. It turns out he had been blacklisted end and go find a cow to milk but there’s a game
love to feature such a fantastic get together. for telling the supervisor on a job that he was on here. I cannot let the aliens beat me. They
not prepared to do something that was not have been treating me like this for many years
in line with the appropriate safety procedures now, turning on my cloaking device at will for
Citizenship Test associated with the job at the time. Trevor
went on to say that similar situations had
their own amusement. So I sit patiently,
pretending not be bothered by the lack of coffee
In the Expat Network monthly newsletter for arisen in his own working life because he whitener at my table.
March – our editor Sheila Hare, took the test wants to do his job in the correct way. After a while another life form appears. This
to see how far she would get, scoring a Trevor would like a ‘black list’ of employers/ one wears a badge that invites me to address her
miserable 10 out of 24, she would not have agents/contractors who expect professional as Rachel. I’m not daft enough to fall for that one
been allowed entry into Britain. This test has engineers to tow a line that puts them and though. I mean, how many aliens do you know
been an inspiration to you all (or maybe the others in danger! called Rachel? Ha, see what I mean, you have to
competitive spirit in you had to beat the get up much earlier than breakfast to catch this
kiddie out.
editor). So, Philip Strasenburgh scored a very
impressive 17 out of 24, a score of 71% (that Rather Disappointed – This use of an alien alias doesn’t phase me in
the slightest, I pretend that I haven’t seen the
was still an exclusion wasn’t it Phil?) Paul
Bauress of Santos in Ireland scored a credible Over 60s name badge, which you actually couldn’t miss as
15 and Mike Walker scored 10 and he thought it’s pinned on her shirt at just the right place to
the test wasn’t very fair at all. Fair or not none I was rather disappointed at the over 60 get you arrested for perving if you’re a slow reader,
of us have any right to live here!! article, it would have been much better if a and request a jug (no pun intended) of the white
questionnaire had been sent out to people in stuff.
Rachel, and I use this pseudonym only to make
Are you in Cyprus? this age range and then to have compiled all
the problems that such expats are observing. your life easier dear reader, glides away (some
Robert Crookes aliens glide rather than walk I’ve noticed) and
News is just breaking in the UK regarding the returns with milk. My breakfast experience is now
run on the banks by savers trying to keep Ed: Thanks Robert for your comments and for complete. Except that when I reach for the milk
their hard earned money – if you are living in sending in a very comprehensive China location I somehow manage to misjudge the distance, no
Cyprus at the moment we would love to hear report which we will feature in Nexus very soon. doubt another alien prank inflicted on me, and
from you about the current situation for I take your comments on board but would add the milk jug goes flying and the milk runs all over
expats out there. that we have tried questionnaires in the past but the tablecloth. I look around sheepishly to see
Email: Sheila.hare@expatnetwork.com had very little response. We wrote to a number who might have seen this spectacle but everyone
of expats over 60 who were working, only a few has gone, not an alien in sight. But they’re out
replied. We are very grateful to all the expats there, mark my words…
who have contributed, including your good self. Alan Millin