Despite the global economic slowdown, China continues to grow, although at a slower pace. To maintain the pace of industrialization requires energy, particularly hydrocarbons. China has acquired E&P interests in in regions as varied as Kazakhstan, Russia, Venezuela, Sudan, West Africa, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Canada. Numbers of downstream and upstream facilities are increasing to keep pace with its rising oil consumption, driven both from industrial demand as well as a burgeoning transportation market (The passenger vehicle market is growing at a 7-10% rate over a base of 15 million cars on the road).
As the energy industry booms in China, so is the number of expatriates working in that industry. The country is undergoing high speed modernization and along with it, many cultural changes.
I lived in Southern China for a year as an expat manager at Schlumberger. It was an eye opening experience for me, both professionally and personally. My wife, who had accompanied me, still feels that it was the best foreign posting location for us. The standard of living was particularly high. We also forged some long term & close knit relationships with other expat families there.
However I would urge any expats to venture out of the “expat ghetto” and get to know the real China. Mandarin is the primary language spoken by a vast majority of people in China. The language can be a bit tricky for someone to pick up initially particularly if you’re not used to East Asian languages. Most taxi drivers do not speak or read English. The best solution is to have the address of your destination written in Chinese. I used to carry cards with common words written on it to help me move around the city. It is not that hard to develop workable Mandarin in a couple of months. However, if you are looking for fluency, I recommend attending a language school.
Finding out about expat life in China is easier these days with various online forums and communities. The new visitor can get some valuable tips through these forums. I recommend Dan Washburn’s blog Shanghaiist . Dan’s a freelance writer but has some interesting stories, and slice of life vignettes, and tips for the recently arrived resident in China.
If you are considering taking up projects in China, my advices is set aside all your preconceptions about the country and discover first hand the exciting, wonderful and the sometimes exasperating experience there.
Showing posts with label Working Abroad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Working Abroad. Show all posts
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Friday, November 7, 2008
Life in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is among the most important geographies for the upstream sector. The country currently has the 11th largest proven reserves of both oil and natural gas. Estimate indicates that there is over 2.7 billion tons of petroleum scattered in about 160 deposits.
The 9th largest country in the world is bordered by Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, China and a significant part of the Caspian Sea. It is widely believed that the Caspian shore is only a small part of a much larger deposit and that 3.5 billion tons of oil and 2.5 trillion cubic meters of gas could be found in that area.
However, I do not intended to give you the facts and figures of Kazakhstan’s natural resource nor an account of its diversity in terrain – flatlands, steppes, taigas, rock-canyons, hills, deltas, mountains, snow-capped mountains, and deserts. What I would like to dwell upon in this post is the country and its people which energy professionals might find useful in case they take up a project in the country.
Let me begin by saying that Kazakhstan is not at all like the way it was stereotyped in the movie Borat! The cities are clean, complete with ample civil amenities. There are many wide boulevards, lots of trees, and the roads are generally well kept. Though there are no published routes, it’s easy to find your way around. There are city buses, trolleys, and trams making it easy to move around. However, things are not as well kept as you progress farther from the mountains towards the outskirts. It would be a tad harsh to expect the same level of convenience in all parts of a country where the population density is less than 6 people per square kilometer.
History
Kazakhstan was part of the Russian Empire. Kazakhstan declared itself an independent country on December 16, 1991. Nursultan Nazarbayev – its communist-era leader, became the country's new president. While the country's economic outlook is improving, President Nazarbayev maintains strict control over the country's politics.
People and Religion
Kazakhstan has historically hosted a wide variety of ethnic groups with varying religions. Tolerance to other societies has become a part of the Kazakh culture. One of the major reasons of ethnic and cultural diversity is because of mass deportations of many ethnic groups to the country during Stalin's rule. Kazakhs are the largest group, followed by Russians. Kazakhstan allows freedom of religion, and many different beliefs are represented in the country. Islam is the primary religion, followed by Orthodox Christianity. The official language is Kazakh, though Russian is still commonly used for everyday communication.
Food Habits
One of the major concerns of people going abroad to stay for a longer period of time is the eating habits of the host country. Generally, diet consist of lots of vegetable and livestock meat cooked in many ways and served with traditional bread. People belonging to the Western countries might be surprised by the amount of fried food here! A Peace Corp volunteer writes in her blog that “Every soup has a little oil floating on the top”
Most of us like our tea, coffee or even a cup of hot chocolate in cold winters while during summers, we resort to juice, lemonade or even iced tea. But Kazaks drink lots of tea throughout the year. Tea breaks are common, and along with the tea breaks there is a variety of cookies and candy. Another peculiarity is that there aren’t any designated breakfast, lunch and dinner foods and it is common to have the same soup for dinner and then breakfast the following morning.
Culture
Traditional moral values of Kazakhs are respect of the elders and hospitality to strangers. This makes it easy for foreigners to ask around and find out places. An average Kazak goes out of his way to help a tourist with language barrier. The country has an impressive 99.5% adult literacy rate, thanks to a well-structured education system comprising of many reputed universities, academies, and institutes, conservatories, higher schools and higher colleges.
Because livestock was central to the Kazakhs' traditional lifestyle, most of their current practices and customs relate in some way to livestock. For example, it is considered as good manners for an average Kazak to ask first about the health of a man's livestock when greeting him and later inquire about the human aspects of his life.
The country’s largest city – Almaty is considered to be the musical capital of Central Asia. Well-known artists such as Deep Purple, Tokyo Hotel, Atomic Kitten, Dima Bilan, Loon, Craig David, The Black Eyed Peas, Eros, Ace of Base and others have recently toured the country.
Kazakhstan is a very pleasant country with picturesque landscape almost everywhere. Once your Russian is good enough, it is almost like working in a picnic spot.
The 9th largest country in the world is bordered by Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, China and a significant part of the Caspian Sea. It is widely believed that the Caspian shore is only a small part of a much larger deposit and that 3.5 billion tons of oil and 2.5 trillion cubic meters of gas could be found in that area.
However, I do not intended to give you the facts and figures of Kazakhstan’s natural resource nor an account of its diversity in terrain – flatlands, steppes, taigas, rock-canyons, hills, deltas, mountains, snow-capped mountains, and deserts. What I would like to dwell upon in this post is the country and its people which energy professionals might find useful in case they take up a project in the country.
Let me begin by saying that Kazakhstan is not at all like the way it was stereotyped in the movie Borat! The cities are clean, complete with ample civil amenities. There are many wide boulevards, lots of trees, and the roads are generally well kept. Though there are no published routes, it’s easy to find your way around. There are city buses, trolleys, and trams making it easy to move around. However, things are not as well kept as you progress farther from the mountains towards the outskirts. It would be a tad harsh to expect the same level of convenience in all parts of a country where the population density is less than 6 people per square kilometer.History
Kazakhstan was part of the Russian Empire. Kazakhstan declared itself an independent country on December 16, 1991. Nursultan Nazarbayev – its communist-era leader, became the country's new president. While the country's economic outlook is improving, President Nazarbayev maintains strict control over the country's politics.
People and Religion
Kazakhstan has historically hosted a wide variety of ethnic groups with varying religions. Tolerance to other societies has become a part of the Kazakh culture. One of the major reasons of ethnic and cultural diversity is because of mass deportations of many ethnic groups to the country during Stalin's rule. Kazakhs are the largest group, followed by Russians. Kazakhstan allows freedom of religion, and many different beliefs are represented in the country. Islam is the primary religion, followed by Orthodox Christianity. The official language is Kazakh, though Russian is still commonly used for everyday communication.
Food Habits
One of the major concerns of people going abroad to stay for a longer period of time is the eating habits of the host country. Generally, diet consist of lots of vegetable and livestock meat cooked in many ways and served with traditional bread. People belonging to the Western countries might be surprised by the amount of fried food here! A Peace Corp volunteer writes in her blog that “Every soup has a little oil floating on the top”
Most of us like our tea, coffee or even a cup of hot chocolate in cold winters while during summers, we resort to juice, lemonade or even iced tea. But Kazaks drink lots of tea throughout the year. Tea breaks are common, and along with the tea breaks there is a variety of cookies and candy. Another peculiarity is that there aren’t any designated breakfast, lunch and dinner foods and it is common to have the same soup for dinner and then breakfast the following morning.
Culture
Traditional moral values of Kazakhs are respect of the elders and hospitality to strangers. This makes it easy for foreigners to ask around and find out places. An average Kazak goes out of his way to help a tourist with language barrier. The country has an impressive 99.5% adult literacy rate, thanks to a well-structured education system comprising of many reputed universities, academies, and institutes, conservatories, higher schools and higher colleges.
Because livestock was central to the Kazakhs' traditional lifestyle, most of their current practices and customs relate in some way to livestock. For example, it is considered as good manners for an average Kazak to ask first about the health of a man's livestock when greeting him and later inquire about the human aspects of his life.
The country’s largest city – Almaty is considered to be the musical capital of Central Asia. Well-known artists such as Deep Purple, Tokyo Hotel, Atomic Kitten, Dima Bilan, Loon, Craig David, The Black Eyed Peas, Eros, Ace of Base and others have recently toured the country.
Kazakhstan is a very pleasant country with picturesque landscape almost everywhere. Once your Russian is good enough, it is almost like working in a picnic spot.
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