Life's a gas: My years working in Saudi Arabia

Working in Saudi Arabia meant plenty of desert driving. (Image: Greg Hurrell)

Fri, 05 Jan 2024

In the 2000s, as I worked my way around countries in the Gulf and central Asia, oil-rich Saudi Arabia lurked nearby.I spent my last 10 years in the petroleum industry in the no-fun kingdom, as I called it. Despite misgivings, my time in Saudi turned out to be the best part of my Middle East years.I'd been on a couple of long trips to Saudi in 2001 and 2002 but managed to avoid being assigned there. The infrastructure was shabby, the national oil company had a reputation for being difficult, and a trip to town offered little better than a de...

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