The Engineer in the International Arena
Authors: Bare Charles L. 
Published: December 2007

Introduction

My task is to contrast the role of the petroleum engineer working in the international arena with that of the individual employed in his native country. The U.S. is no longer the principal repository for the World's petroleum reserves. As a consequence, engineers concerned with petroleum technology have followed the seismic crews and drilling rigs to all areas of the world. In many countries with sizable reserves, petroleum engineering curriculums have been established in colleges and universities or special arrangements have been made to provide formal petroleum technology training for the young nationals of those countries. These engineers are now a pan of the sizable pool of international technical manpower.When you get fight down to it, there is no philosophical difference between an Indonesian working in the U.S. and an American working in Indonesia. In both instances, the individual and family must adjust to new cultural and job demands. The specific focus of this paper is the unique aspects of the engineer's job and family life that result from his choice to work in a country other than his own. It is the nature of this adjustment that I address.This is not a travelogue. I believe it is more important to discuss specific demands in the professional and personal life of the expatiate engineer. Once these are identified, I hope you will be able to determine more specifically your personal interest in an overseas career. This will require some introspection on your part to find a match between these demands and your capabilities and interests.I address four different aspect of the job:the role of the expatriate engineer,the subtleties of that role,the conduct of the engineer within this new environment. andpotential conflicts that could arise because of his expatriate status.

Role of the Expatriate Engineer

What is the role of the engineer in an overseas job? Obviously, he was imported to accomplish the very task for which he is trained. He must contribute his expertise and technical skills to accomplishing the company's petroleum development program. Within that objective, he must provide leadership to his project team and a standard of excellence in his job performance that merits the trust and support of his management and his host government.As in any job assignment, the expatriate engineer must work within the framework of organizational and governmental policies and constraints. But these job attributes are universal and are not specific to an expatriate assignment.

What are the unique roles of the expatriate? The most significant on-the-job change is the time required to train local nationals. This situation arises because the demand for imported technological manpower exists in those locations with a shortage of specific skills. The local training requirement may be for operations or technical manpower or both. Similarly, it may be necessary to devote considerable time to informing government personnel who deal with an unfamiliar industry that has unique demands for fast decisions, large capital commitments, and great financial risks.

The same principle also may apply to organization functions. In many nations developing new petroleum discoveries. there are few of the formal, complex organization relationships and functions that we take for granted. The formal organization can be dismaying to one whose experience is confined to a family business that is craft- or agriculture-centered. One of the first national petroleum engineers employed in one of Conoco's overseas subsidiaries was raised in a family whose traditional trade was pearl diving. Needless to say, this background did not provide the desired degree of confidence concerning his organizational relationships within Conoco. The demand on the expatriate employee to provide training to the local nationals is an inherent pan of an overseas job, other because it is specified in the contractual terms of the operating agreement, or because it represents the most effective means for improving on-the-job efficiency and accommodating future growth.The corollary of this training responsibility is the need to recognize local customs. By tailoring the methodology of the job to local approaches and working effectively within traditional systems, it is possible to accomplish goals that cannot be achieved in any other manner. A traditional approach may not conform to the demands of local customs. It is important to be sensitive to the social change associated with a totally new industry such as the development of significant petroleum reserves. The revenue, job opportunities, and imported labor (both skilled and unskilled) are the catalysts of social change.

JPT

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