Fishing for Oil - OMV

OMV is back to business in Libya since many months. Oil production is running at 90% of pre-revolution level (according to OMV press release) and the expat team is back to Tripoli.

What else do you want these days ? Especially, as business outside the oil sector is very slow.

So what can you do in your free time as an expat of a company that has a very tight security policy and which does not allow too much movement in town except from the office to the camp ?

Fishing is a good option. and it is the perfect sport for Libya: Get the fishing rod ready, put it out into the sea and wait for some fish to bite. You have to be patient. Sometimes very patient. And according to Harald Scheruga (General Manager of OMV Libya - on the right in the picture) the perfect training for the business environment: No fast movements, a lot of patience, and once the fish bites you have to be fast to catch it.

Fishing on the sea also brings another positive side effect: You meet other expats (in this case the General manager of a Turkish Oil company) and can discuss with them how to catch more fish.

The environment is a bit harsh, though. Especially when you live in one of the compounds: Most companies do not allow families of expats to travel to Libya, so the time after work, and especially the weekends can become very long.

One of the expats that had been in Libya before the revolution, Gerhard Frey of OMV, misses his family and thinks back with melancholy of the times when they were all living in Regatta. He could not stand that solitude in Libya anymore, so he decided to change and be with his family in another destination where OMV is drilling for the black gold. He will though need his arabic knowledge in the new posting.

Good luck Gerhard !