By Ed Pinter, December 07, 2016
On a rotational basis, I was assigned to work in Hassi Ramel in Algeria at the Forth Largest Natural Gas Field. In preparation, I had to go to NYC to receive several special shots not required in the US for protection on special diseases common to the Far East.
I received instructions on courtesies in a former French Colony—recently no longer a French Colony. After getting an okay on a passport and receiving my plane tickets by “special messenger,” I was on my way. We stopped in Paris, France, and changed by way of the Eiffel Tower to the local airfield. After a two-hour ride on an Air Algeria plane with loud oriental music, I arrived. At Tunis I caught a bus to go over the Atlas Mountains, southward to Hassi Ramel. On the south side of the horizon, it appeared as if we were seeing the sunrise. Actually it was my next surprise. It was several large flare towers burning off “sour gas” from the gas field—at last, Hassi Ramel.
A senior engineer from the home office assigned me a place in a semi-private bungalow. After a solid night’s rest and a hearty breakfast (American style), I was assigned to separating a 48-conductor power cable to a single junction box. Wrong, someone approved the first problem was solved by searching the field supply room for two 24-conductor junction boxes. To work outdoors, I had to apply sunblock on all my exposed skin, carry a jug of ½-gallon fresh water, a safety helmet—all in preparation to working outdoors. The day temperature ran from 95º to 115ºF. I was assigned a French Jeep (junk, compared to US Jeeps).
The next day, a Sunday, I was awakened to a job to fix the DC control power. In the battery room I found a unit had been pierced, taking out all the electrolyte, after directing a native electrician to jumper around the dead battery.
Next I was assigned to the Main Control Room. The control panels had many flow, level, pressure and temperature meters. It was easy after I set up 0 and full scale DC signals to check them.
Next I was assigned to work with English electricians (from Wales, England, Scotland and a few Irishmen). They squabbled all day long on procedures, but I wrote a direction sheet on how to synchronize the AC power system with the State Control Power System. After a lot of scrobbling, I assigned each “nation” to work together. They successfully synchronized the first time, but the next day….