Drilling down: My life in the Sultanate of Oman

Drilling down: My life in the Sultanate of Oman
A scenic trip through northern Oman's mountains in 2019. (Image: Greg Hurrell)
Greg Hurrell
After midnight, the rising heat eased off and it became pleasantly warm. It was August 1997, and I was into the second half of my 12-hour shift in the desert. Hours earlier, the fierce sun had set, and the dust, rock and gravel underfoot threw its stored heat upwards throughout the evening.Inside my little air-conditioned cabin, the computer collated the drilling data and matched it with the drill depth. Outside, I could look up at the derrick and watch the drillpipe sink a little lower, punctuated by the squeal of the driller's brake....

More Infrastructure

The Great Expectations on Kāinga Ora and KiwiRail
Policy

The Great Expectations on Kāinga Ora and KiwiRail

The Government is continuing to refresh boards and fire up expectations.

Port of Tauranga a 'slow follower' on price hikes
Infrastructure

Port of Tauranga a 'slow follower' on price hikes

Forsyth Barr has upgraded its outlook from 'neutral' to 'outperform'.

StraitNZ wants 'level playing field' for Cook Strait services
Infrastructure

StraitNZ wants 'level playing field' for Cook Strait services

The private operator has soaked up extra demand since the Aratere grounded.

Oliver Lewis 02 Jul 2024