Norway
After two years working in the UK office, on the detailed design of a methanol plant, I was sent to Norway to help oversee construction and commissioning. My job as a site engineer involved, amongst many tasks, solving technical queries and issuing instructions for changes that were needed as the work was carried out. The plant, when completed, produced 2,400 tonnes a day of methanol to be sold as a feed stock in the manufacture of a range of petrochemical-based products.

It took 18 months to complete the job. Before I went overseas I had to sign a special contract, which included a pay rise to make up for all the extra work I would be doing and a daily allowance. I worked 28-day shifts, during which I had to be on site for six days a week for just over three weeks and had five days at home in the UK.

The site was quite remote, so there weren't many opportunities for travelling around. But under Norwegian law, it had a welfare office which helped a lot. I could borrow bicycles and fishing rods (the fishing was great). It also organised a few trips out to the nearby town and a few local sites. I even had a night at the opera!

Working so far north was quite strange as well. I never actually saw the sun from my office during the winter because it stayed so low over the horizon. When it finally did appear I almost didn't recognise it, but the summer was absolutely brilliant - nearly 24-hour sunshine.

Australia
I'll be transferring to the Australian office in Melbourne soon, to work on proposals for an offshore project. I'll be working on the front-end design and cost estimate for three platforms to extract natural gas and liquids from the Timor Sea. Then, if the company gets the contract, I'll be involved in the detailed design and may get another assignment.

However, that will not be until three years from now. This is a dream opportunity for me. I was hoping to move to Australia at some point, but now the company is helping me. If everything goes well I'll try to make the transfer permanent.