We arrived in Bome at 8:30 pm Monday evening after about 34 hours of travel time. The next morning we were back in the air on a helicopter headed offshore to the FPSO (Ceiba) and platform (Okume).
Scenes from the helicopter of Bata, Equatorial Guinea.
The pyramid shaped structure below is a revolving restaurant.
Coming in for a landing on the Sendje Ceiba (FPSO).
We left Dean and Dave on the FPSO while Glenn and I headed off for Okume.
Landing deck on Okume.
My offshore home away from home.
Two full days were spent in meetings and interviews then documenting the conversations. Everyone was extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the processes. We ended the offshore visit with a tour of the platform. There are 6 platforms: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, & Foxtrot, some manned and others unmanned (I hope I got all of that right). There were ~58 people full-time on Charlie.
View of Bravo from Charley.
Looking back at Charley. Note the many stairs we went up and down.
Heading back to Bome.
We made a stop on the drilling rig to drop off and pick up passengers.
Another shot of Bata.
When we first arrived at camp, we were assigned a villa and issued a golf cart to get around. This is my villa and cart.
Views from the villa.
Wild man Dean driving his cart.
My onshore home away from home.
Entrance to the Hess camp.
The office.
Dining room and recreational facility.
We spent two more days in interviews and meetings, starting at 6 am for breakfast and working until around 10 or 11 pm. Sunday was spent pulling all of our notes together and scoring the protocols.
Dean and I took a break on Sunday to go to the market and experience a bit of the culture.
The smells at the market are indescribable.
The wood carving shop.
Our driver and negotiator.
Wheelin' and dealin' Dean Wheeler. "80...60, 80...no 60, 75...60, 75...65, 70...deal."
Heading back to camp by way of the newly refurbished coastline.
After lunch I have the amazing privilege of going into the village with Corinne O'Brien and Ginger Robertson to meet some of the women and children.
The school.
We were invited into a home (you can see the house behind me in the picture above) to see the new (4 day old) baby; a very unusual occurrence according to Corinne.
Pumping water.
A very generous offering of African corn.
The community center where Ginger and Corinne teach English and sewing and show movies.
The children came running as soon as Ginger opened the door.
Running after us as we leave.
After a week of being yards away from the beach and not getting to spend any time there due to such long hours in the office, Dean and I decide to take a walk on our final morning instead of meeting for breakfast at 6 am.
Village fishing boats hand carved out of a single tree. This one has had some repairs.
Looking back toward camp.
A final look at the dense jungle as we leave Bome and begin the long journey home.
It was an amazing experience, a great opportunity, and yet demanding in the expectations. I came away with lessons learned and hope I was able to share some best practices as well.
