Working in Nigeria

[Cyclic Hotline]

Shell helicopter taken in new Nigerian oil region unrest

LAGOS, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Youths in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta region seized a helicopter and crew working for Royal Dutch Shell and attacked oil installations at the weekend, newspapers said on Monday.

The new violence follows seperate incidents last week in which four youths were shot dead by police at the offices of U.S. oil service company Wilbros and Shell was forced to shut in 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil production.

Shell officials confirmed newspaper reports that a helicopter had been hijacked with five workers, including one expatriate, but were not immediately able to confirm reports of fresh attacks on oil installations.

Youths of the Federated Niger Delta Ijaw Communities in the oil industry hub of Warri said they had attacked flow stations operated by Shell and Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CHV - news) to demand compensation for an alleged oil spill.

"The closure of the flow stations and seizure of helicopter ... are a child's play considering our determination to ensure
(Shell) pulls out of Ijaw land until her anti Ijaw policies are abrogated,'' papers quoted the group as saying.

In violence not directly related to oil production, four people were killed and 25 houses burnt in Warri in ethnic clashes
between Urhobos and Ijaws.

Growing lawlessness in Nigeria's Niger Delta has made it increasingly difficult for Western firms to produce the oil which accounts for about 95 percent of export earnings to Africa's most populous nation.

Community leaders said Nigerian police shot dead four youths in an operation to dislodge protesters from offices belonging to U.S. oil service company Wilbros near southeastern Port Harcourt last Friday.

The same day, Shell declared force majeure -- meaning that it could not guarantee to meet export commitments -- from its Bonny Terminal, following community disturbances which shut in 100,000 bpd of crude.

[212man]

Thanks for that Cyclic.

What a bunch of bustards. Been there, seen that and got the T-shirt, it's not nice. I only hope they are safe. Perhaps this could have gone on the main news site, so that the FW guys could see what we have to put up with whilst carrying out "public transport operations".

Only 6 days till I go back, wuppy doo.

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[This message has been edited by 212man (edited 02 November 1999).]

[Cyclic Hotline]

Nigerian Youths Free Four Shell Hostages,Keep Two

LAGOS, Nov 4 (Reuters) - RoyalDutch/Shell said on Thursday that youths in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta region had freed four of six hostages taken with their helicopter.
A company spokesman would not say whether the expatriate pilot was among those released. "They released four of the hostages yesterday but are still holding two others," he told Reuters.
The hostages were seized along with the helicopter last week in renewed violence in the troubled Niger Delta region which produces most of Nigeria's oil.
Violent protests by local communities demanding more access to oil wealth have severely hurt foreign oil firms working in Nigeria over the past two years.


[This message has been edited by Cyclic Hotline (edited 05 November 1999).]

[Cyclic Hotline]

Shell Says Two Remaining Hostages Freed in Nigeria

LAGOS, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Royal/Dutch Shell said on Wednesday the last two of six hostages taken by youths in Nigeria's oil region had been freed.

The six were held along with a helicopter working for Shell.

"The two remaining hostages in the Opuama hostage incident were released this morning," a company spokesman told Reuters in Lagos.

He said the freed men appeared to be in good condition but were to undergo medical checks.

The hostages including an expatriate helicopter pilot were seized a forthnight ago in renewed violence in the troubled Niger Delta region which produces most of Nigeria's crude oil.

Four of them were released last week.

Violent protests by local communities demanding more access to oil wealth have severely hurt foreign oil firms working in (Nigeria).

[212man]

Thanks for keeping this forum informed, Cyclic.

I can confirm that the two pilots are okay, having met them, and unharmed. But.......comma.

[Jim Brown]

Interested in hearing about Bristows ops in Nigeria. Good and bad. Thanks for the info.

[212man]

e-mail me, it's too late to write and I'm back there the day after tomorrow so won't get a chance to write before then.

Without teaching grandma to suck eggs, you'll nedd about 3500+ hours, lots of twin time and an IR. 212,355 or 76 would help but not essential, 365 too. Rotation is 7 and 5 weeks.

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Another day in paradise

[John Eacott]

It's 20+ years since I worked in Nigeria, and I hope never to go near the place again.

[Thomas coupling]

That you Tweedie?..for Nigeria, eh?

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Thermal runaway.

[Magumba]

What's up in Nigeria? Still a bad political climate? Is there security for the folks posted there?
Keep your turns up!

[This message has been edited by Magumba (edited 10 June 2001).]

[Helicat]

Wish I knew - it's close to home (South Africa) and I need work!! I'll watch the topic.

[212man]

Well, bearing in mind that it is W. Africa it is never going to be particularly stable. Things are quite reasonable at present compared to the last few years, though ther have been one or two local fraccas involving expat companies. In Lagos there have been some serious attacks on vehicles too (one British High Commission vehicle).

In general, if you possess an iota of imagination and common sense, you will not be suprised by what you find. Things are slowly improving (even the moving walkways work now at Lagos airport!).

Work wise, the oil business is booming with some of the largest projects in the world going on (Shell's Bonga field is a $1 bn+ project) and the future demand for rotary support will increase without doubt. On top of that you have the same old story of an ageing pilot workforce so vacancies will increase through retirements.

If anyone wants contacts or more specific info e-mail me.

------------------
Another day in paradise

[maxvne]

Can anyone give me any info about Schriner or Bristows in Nigeria regarding pay and conditions.
Also what are the best anti malaria precautions available.
Thanks

[maxvne]

Correct spelling Nigeria

[finalchecksplease]

Try Schreiner's website and why would you want to leave sunny Shetland anyway?

http://www.schreiner.nl

[Droopstop 21]

Regarding Malaria prophalyctic, I have worked in Papua New Guinea for 10 years where Malaria is indemic. There are many schools of thought. The most heavily prescribed prophalyctic drug is doxycycline, your doc would know that one. However, the drawback is if you are taking any type of durg of this sort and you are infected with the parasite, most likely the type you have been infected with will be 'masked', and difficult to determine in order to treat properly. Personally, I have taken nothing because of the side effects. Your doc should warn you about that too. I simply dose up with a good mosquito repellant when exposing legs arms etc to the elements in morning or at dusk and spray my quarters when I have a small winged visitor. Leave the room when sprayed, that stuff is really bad too. I still haven't been infected. (Touch wood.)

Good luck and fly safe.

[Doc Cameron]

Maxvne,
I was in Nigeria with BHL for 7 yrs 'till couple of years ago, I also know a bit about ACN's ops, drop me an e-mail if you need more info.
As for chemo-proferwotsits, I rarely took them, had malaria twice, know of two ex-pats killed by it in my time there - beware of any and all advice - it's your life and your decision - see W.H.O. advice and current thinking for what to take for West Africa.
Doc

[212man]

Maxvne,
I am based ther at the moment so, again, feel free to e-mail and I'll try and help.

I tend to agree with Doc (hi, how's tricks?) about the prohy-distings. A serious point to bear in mind is that by now, most of the strains in Nigeria are resistant to the common drugs. Certainly those prescibed to aircrew (can't take Larium). The best advice seems to be preventative measures (long trousers etc) though it does seem to be a bit like Russian roullete; some people spend years there and never catch it despite no precautions at all, others do everything right and still get it.

As Doc says though, be wary of advice; there's a lot of BS on this topic.

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Another day in paradise

[Cyclic Hotline]

No helicopter connection to this story (this time), but thought it might be of interest to those connected with that part of the world!

41 Mobil Workers Seized on Nigerian Island
By John Chiahemen

LAGOS (Reuters) - Forty-one ExxonMobil oil workers, including 16 expatriates, have been kidnapped in southern Nigeria, an oil workers' union leader said on Wednesday.

Sina Luwoye, president of the PENGASAAN white-collar union, told state television that the workers were seized at their base in Finima, on Bonny Island off Port Harcourt, where Mobil has a condensate plant. It was not known where they were taken.

No official comment was immediately available from the Nigerian producing unit of the U.S. oil major, but a staff member in Lagos said the head office there had not been able to contact the Bonny base by phone for two days.

Other Mobil workers contacted in the southern Niger Delta region where most of Nigeria's over two million barrels per day of oil is produced corroborated the report.

"What you heard on the news is exactly so,'' one said, declining to elaborate.

Another said tension was running high on Bonny Island and that government officials had gone there from the nearby oil city of Port Harcourt to assess the situation.

Telephone lines to the Mobil base had been disconnected by the abductors, believed to be from the Island community, they said.

Nigeria's multi-billion dollar liquefied natural gas plant is also located on the island and has faced frequent disruptions from militant local people. One of Royal Dutch/Shell's two Nigerian export terminals is also in Bonny.

Luwoye did not explain the circumstances of the abduction or when it happened but said: "We are concerned that the workers are still being held and nobody seems to care.''

He said the workers had had no change of clothes since they were seized, suggesting they had been held for a while. It was not clear if he had been in contact with the group.

"The association (PENGASSAN) is still working with Mobil Producing to solve the problem,'' he said.

OIL FIRMS HAVE BECOME TARGETS

Multinationals producing Nigeria's mainstay oil, notably leading operator Shell, have become the targets of protests and attacks by poor local people demanding a greater share of oil wealth.

Militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta in particular have frequently kidnapped oil workers to demand compensation in the form of cash, jobs or contracts. Hostages have generally been freed unharmed.

Mobil is already facing unrest in its main producing base in southeastern Akwa Ibom state, where local people have launched a campaign demanding benefits, jobs and even the relocation of the firm's global headquarters to the area.

Local youths last month invaded Mobil's Kwa Iboe Export Terminal in Eket to press their demands, disrupting production for a day.

The kidnappings come amid a disruptive strike by Shell's senior staff that has further clouded the prospects for Nigeria's oil industry even as the government sets ambitious targets for additional production and reserves.

Shell said the strike, launched by PENGASSAN on June 18 over pay, had slashed some 400,000 barrels per day from its daily output of nearly one million barrels.

[Taff Missed]

Ah. Nigeria. Or perhaps that should be AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!! Nigeria! It all comes flooding back with dreadful clarity.

Max. I was in Nigeria with Bristow for over 10 years, I sprayed myself with Johnson's "OFF", never took anti-malarial distings, always wore long trousers in the evenings and (as far as I am aware) never had malaria. Like Doc, I know a number of people that succumbed to it but the worst I had was a hangover. (Maybe the alcohol keeps the mossies off?)

Fact of the matter is, you pay your money and take your chance. You're as likely to be killed or injured in the type of situation reported above or at a 'road-block' by some drunken, gun-toting 'policeman', as you are by malaria.

Personally, I had a bl**dy good time and look back on it with some fondness. Go back? Not a chance! Been there, done that.

--------------

If it ain't broke..........

[maxvne]

Thanks Doc and 212 man I will e-mail you both soon.

[400 Hertz]

I was in Nigeria recently. They were quick to shout the joys of Halfan, a new wonder drug for malaria:

HALFAN
HALOFANTRINE - ORAL (hal-oh-FAN-treen)

COMMON BRAND NAME(S):
Halfan

WARNING:
This medication has caused serious, even fatal, heart problems (e.g., ventricular arrhythmias), even at recommended doses. Halofantrine is not recommended for use while other medications known to cause heart problems (e.g., prolonged QT interval) are being used, nor in people who have ever used mefloquine. Halofantrine is not recommended for use if you have a history of heart problems or have had unexplained fainting episodes.

http://www.destinationrx.com/druginfo/info.asp?prodid=00007419518&name=HALFAN for more info.

And the price for all this?
HALFAN
250MG 30 pills $251.70
[Per Pill : $8.39]

Good luck.

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400 Hertz but DC is easy

[Out of Balance]

Am I correct in assuming that the recent Bell 412/212/S76/Africa ad in Flight was for Nigeria?

[212man]

I think that would be a very fair bet! (and there is only one company operating all 3 types there)

[capt tracy]

If kidnappings or mosquitoes don't get you, then just read below!


Article last updated:
Thursday, July 05, 2001 5:46 AM MST



Lawsuit filed in
helicopter crash

By MICHAEL P. MAYKO

[email protected]

NEW HAVEN -- A decision allowing a Bell 212 helicopter to fly with a corroded swash plate bearing led to a 1998 crash in Nigeria that killed three people, including a former Fairfield and Greenwich pilot, a federal lawsuit charges. The suit was recently filed by Richard Altschuler, a West Haven lawyer.

The lawsuit seeks more than $75 million in damages on behalf of the families of John Montgomery Hartley, the state resident, and Gabriel Ajamma and Paulinus Madu, both of Nigeria.

Named as defendants in the case are British Island Airways (Guernsey) International; Bristow Helicopters Ltd., which employed Hartley as a pilot; and Brass Exploration Unlimited, of England, and Baker Hughes Inc. of Houston.

Three supervisors of British Island Airways and Bristow Helicopters are also named as defendants.

Attempts to contact Baker Hughes were unsuccessful. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill in Bridgeport.

John Montgomery Hartley was a Vietnam veteran and a very experienced pilot, said Altschuler.

The helicopter plunged into the Imo River in eastern Nigeria. At the time it was carrying cargo and personnel to an oil rig owned by Brass Exploration.

Twelve days before the crash, the complaint claims the three sued employees tried to remove a corroded swash plate bolt to enable the helicopter's trunnion (pivot point) to be rotated for greasing.

The swash plate assembly allows the pilot to control the helicopter's speed, direction and movement by changing the pitch of its rotor blades.

They attempted to remove the bolt with the aid of a hammer, punch and weight block, subjecting the bolt to an induced stress, Altschuler claims in the suit. However, they failed to remove the bolt, decided to abort the further work to avoid unnecessary delays or postponement of flights and elected not to replace the bolt for commercial reasons.

Altschuler charged they left the defective bolt on the helicopter because of pressure to avoid delaying or postponing flights.

As a result on June 30, 1998, the helicopter piloted by Hartley began ripping apart in flight before plunging into the river.

In his suit, Altschuler cites Nigerian law in seeking death damages and workers' compensation.

He further charges the defendants were negligent in maintaining and ensuring the helicopter's safety.

Michael P. Mayko, who covers legal issues, can be reached at 330-6286.

[212man]

Tasteful posting.

I hope Michael P Mayko gets a few more facts right; it was 5 killed not 3.

[ 08 July 2001: Message edited by: 212man ]

[dornierboy]

The fact is 212man that the accident happened pretty much as stated and the root cause was proven and any amount of nitpicking will not change that.
The original threadstarter asked about terms and conditions in Nigeria, it's only fair that he is aware of everything he can look forward to.

[212man]

Obviously, it is pretty much fact. My assertion was that it was poor taste and also that the lawyer should be a bit more precise in his facts.

I still feel it is a fatuous response to the original query. It is analagous to someone asking what life on the North Sea is like, and someone posting the accident reports on the BA Chinook or the HS Super Puma crashes and then saying "look how dangerous it's going to be". Would you quote the TWA 800 crash in response to someone asking about flying B747s for TWA?

Anyway,nuff said.

[dornierboy]

212man,
I think the issue is not aircraft type specific, the issue raised was about commercial pressures resulting in a tragedy.
THAT is something I would be keen to know about prior to joining a company, how about you?

[jkw]

Was it not coming from Eket?

[212man]

JKW,
yes you are right it was, en-route from the Don Walker. 30th June 1998 about 1500, I remember calling on Airwork PH to see if they were still on frequency.

This isn't the place to discuss commercial pressure or otherwise.

You haven't responded to my analogies which are equally relevant. In the HS AS332 case it was a maintenance error with systemic implications.

PS Why does this new software say "sit tight we are taking you back to Nigeria"? It is not what I want to hear!!

[ 09 July 2001: Message edited by: 212man ]

[E.G.T]

i hear schreiner have been offering contracts in nigeria recently. can anyone advise of salaries and benefits.. .thanks

[Heli-Ice]

Never mind the money, where did you pick up this info?

[staticdroop]

Before applying you need minimum 3000 hrs, but try anyway.

[Ausrotor]

Hey Static, do you have a contact name and e-mail address for Schreiner.. .. .Thanks

[OopsNearly]

stickhog,Try the website <a href="http://www.schreiner.nl." target="_blank">www.schreiner.nl.</a> Good luck

[staticdroop]

Sorry i'm late getting back.. .But the one mentioned above is the one to look at as it has all the contacts for the various places. Suggest you fax or email them with your intentions and they will give you the correct contact details for their Human resources.. .Good luck.

[993RS]

Does anyone have information about working for the above company offshore in Nigeria. . .. .Any qualified opinions on working and flying in West Africa would be greatly appreciated. I've heard some horror stories about security in the region are they true?. .. .Thanks,. .. .RS

[Airtoday]

The Arsehole of the world.

Do you volunteer for promotion or is it
for the whores?


Hey if you want to ask a question ask a real one.

Let us have the truth......,

[Steve76]

Exactly how bad is it there?

My wifes relatives are working in the villages there drilling wells and teaching the locals to farm properly.

They have'nt been kidnapped yet....

[Airtoday]

Your wife will be fine. I know I started this topic but I have actually been there twice and survived both times.

Just about

[SASless]

Wasn't so much the things Nigerian....but more like the quality of engineering and maintenance standards of the operator I worked for. That and the housing standards, work roster, pay and benefits.....that made other climes and locations much more attractive. That and watching the standards creep downwards over time.....due to a lack of rotation out of Nigeria either by choice or by lack of opportunity. Going from an 8/4 rotation to 7/5 rotation made up for the real risk of being kidnapped or held hostage if you made a precautionary landing for maintenance reasons (I guess?)

Knowing the Chief Pilot cared so much that he went on leave while two aircrew were being held sure was impressive.....I know he was doing his best to negotiate the release of his pilots. The guys involved absolutely loved the fact that the company made not one search flight dedicated to finding the crew.....nor did the company stop operational flights until the crew was released.

Add that to the fact the 212's have between 28,000-31,000 hours on them and look like it....doesn't help. But....if you like to drink and play with the ladies...then this could be the place for you.....and to think...at one time it was a very nice place to be.

[XV666]

"and to think...at one time it was a very nice place to be."

When was that, SASless? About 1943, according to my old man who transitted the place around then!

I worked there in the 70's, and wild horses wouldn't drag me back to the place. Corrupt, mean, hot & humid. Mind you, only the Nigerians could work out that hazard flashers on cars are to indicate going left & right at the same time, ie going straight on at a crossroad :rolleyes:

[soggyboxers]

Time to get this a bit in perspective. I too have worked there on and off from the 1970s.
Nigeria is undoubtedly a very corrupt and dangerous country (and getting more dangerous on the streets over the last 2 years). I have personally been attacked in an attempted robbery and had 3 (failed) hijack attempts on my helicopter. The most dangerous place to be is in a moving car (especially at night due to the large number of enormous potholes, little street lighting because of the numerous power failures, and the lack of much in the way of lighting on most of the vehicles). Road accidents are the largest single killer of Nigerians between the ages of 14 and 40.
However, travel through Lagos International Airport has improved beyond belief in the last few years, there is very little in the way of harassment from officialdom there any more and the air conditioning works.
Helicopter hijackings became quite common a few years ago, but these too have now ceased. This is probably due to the fact that security has been tightened up by the operators and helicopters no longer shut down at any of the flow stations in the swamps.
The Nigerian Airspace Management Agency and the NCAA are trying to improve matters. Many formerly unserviceable navaids have been brought back into service and regulations recently changed to a mix of JARs, FARs and ICAO. Time will tell whether there is the money and/or the willpower to make the regulations effective.
None of the helicopter operators there provides decent accommodation, with the possible exception of that for the staff on the Shell operation in Port Harcourt - fine if you want to live in a luxury prison camp miles from anywhere, and (possibly?) the Mobil operation in Qua Ibo Terminal. The financial 'rewards' nowhere near compensate for the conditions in which one has to live. Communication with the outside world has improved slightly with the introduction of a GSM telephone network, but this is grossly oversubscribed and in general communication is truly awful!
There are still a lot of old helicopters out there, but they are gradually being replaced with newer types (though some of these may well prove not to be to durable in the hot, humid, tropical conditions).
The Nigerians are a very outgoing and friendly people on the whole, very ready to laugh but unfortunately, also very ready to shout. It's sad that in the oil producing areas, years of neglect and corruption siphoning off the money has resulted in severe community problems with oil company offices, camps, airfields and terminals being over-run by sometimes-armed local youths. The all too frequent instances of sabotage on fuel pipelines and the few refineries in the country producing at way below capacity due to neglect, cause the world's seventh largest oil producer to suffer chronic shortages of petrol and kerosene. I do not see this getting any better for many years. The electrical supply isn't!! Generators are essential as even when there is any power the voltage is usually very low.
As long as you bear factors like these in mind it can still be a good place to work, but the operators are going to have to improve the incentives to be there if they are going to attract and keep the number and quality of staff they need to run their operations properly.

[B Sousa]

HELLO>>>>>>Mr Moderator.
It would be nice to take this thread to African Aviation. Might get some more participation..

[Heliport]

Thanks for the suggestion Mr Sousa.
I've put a link to this thread on the African Aviation forum - that way we can all read the replies here, and learn more about Nigeria.

[SASless]

Sousa.....you are correct here....the chat is about the living conditions there...and local crime and politics...driving practices...hijackings....not much to do with helicopters here. I guess we could mention the shooting of two Bristow Helicopter Ltd (Nigeria) fixed wing pilots during an attempted armed robbery of the fixed wing crew bus in Lagos but that is a stretch.

Crew pay and benefits, accomodation, travel are all issues that are more germane to the issues in the Agony Aunt forum .

Should we not focus on issues unique to our community and use other forums for the cross community issues.

[Airtoday]

This is not a non-helicopter thread. The conditions you live and work in are very much a part of your daily and WORKING life. They interact.

If you have had a gun stuffed up your nose the night before by the local police it may well affect how you perform when you strap yourself in the next morning.

We do not disassociate ourselves from our surroundings when we start to fly.

[TomBola]

SASless, there seem to be a number of helicopter related items on this thread, especially talk of hijacks on helicopters. Is this only on helicopters or have any fixed wing aircraft been hijacked there as well? If not, then what is it about helicopter operations in Nigeria that makes them more susceptible to hijacking and have adequate measures been taken to prevent further hijackings?

[SASless]

I can only relate what information I learned from others involved in the hijackings. The ones I am aware of involved helicopters that were flying at either the Port Harcourt or Warri Shell operations for Bristow. There was one kidnapping of a couple of expats from a local bush bar near the Warri Shell camp and all the rest took place at remote sites within the operational area onshore in the swamp areas.

All of the hijackings were resolved without any real physical harm being done to the hostages beyond that caused by malaria and exposure to unsanitary conditions. The average time held of the crews seemed to be approximately three weeks before negotiations were successful in obtaining the release of the hostages. The Ex-Pat crews seemed to be the desired target....and in general the expats were treated better than the Nigerians that were taken as well.

Some of the hijackings took place after security measures were enhanced. In general, the hijackings took place after several armed individuals were able to board the helicopters posing as passengers.....having replaced the Shell HLO or placed the HLO under duress to act as though everything was satisfactory at the landing site.

Due to the on-going strife in the Niger Delta area, Shell has obtained the use of Police and Military personnel who are well armed. That being said.....they are also under orders not to use deadly force to prevent these events as it is thought that will only make the political situation worse.

I personally departed one site when I feared being hijacked by the Army troops assigned to that site for security. They were expecting to be airlifted out for time off and we arrived to fetch some village elders for a meeting with Shell. When the troops learned they were not to be carried....they became very hostile and began to run towards the aircraft brandishing their weapons. The other pilot and I made a quick Chinese Parliment meeting and departed in a most rapid manner leaving our passenger safety equipment behind. We returned later after it had all cooled off and encountered no further problem......and we hauled the Army troops out for their leave.....Shell did not have the meeting until the next day.

Hijackings can still take place at any time.....in that security measures really are insufficient to prevent them from happening.

The Bristow crew bus was shot up duriing an incident in Lagos and resulted in two fixed wing pilots being shot. Both were evacced to the UK and recovered from their wounds. One was shot in the ankle....one was shot in the butt. A total of 13-16 rounds penetrated the van with only the two pilots being wounded.....a very lucky outcome all things being considered. It is surmised the event was merely an armed robbery gone bad. Apparantly, the van had just left the Bristow Staff House enroute to the airport for the first flight of the day and was ambushed at a road junction within a few blocks of the BRC. The driver was able to force his way around the blocking traffic and the van was fired upon as he drove off from the gunmen.

Bristow enhanced the physical security at the compound, equipped the vehicles with radios, and installed curtains on the new van......elected not to hire armed guards and still dispatches the van by itself to and from the airport. The airport shuttle is still a wide open target despite these improvements.

As long as Shell and Bristow continue to ignore the risks....aircrew are still subject to being hijacked or held hostage should they land out due to mechanical problems. Most of the villages in the area understand the financial incentives to demanding payment from the oil company and the helicopter operator.

Due to the fact Bristow does not provide messing.....and staff are required to do their own shopping....then the journey downtown can have its own risks. Usually, the risk is caused by blundering into some inter-tribal fighting which can be quite violent and often results in deaths of several people each time. Combined with ordinary street crime.....grocery shopping can sometimes become an adventure.

The only real concession Bristow made for all this is by changing the work schedule from 8/4 to 7/5. The pay has remained the same....unless something has changed since I left them four months ago.

Nigeria just isn't a very nice place now a days....the Lagos Airport has really improved.....and isn't a bad experience like it used to be. Traffic is deadly....travel between cities needs to be by air.....road travel is just too risky. Nigerian domestic airlines vary greatly in regard to safety standards, some are quite good, but others are a real throw of the dice.

[ZAZOO]

Arsehole of the world!

Wow Mr. Moderator as an old member of Pprune I find it difficult to believe you allowed that one in! ( WONDERS WILL NEVER END)

After going through all your post on this one I can only thank you all for your kind and wonderful words about flying in Nigeria. (or was it the streets of Nigeria).

Well Me I am here in Nigeria and also in the thick of it all and guess what I am still waitting to be robbed or kidnapped and likewise with the rest of my colleagues here.

And by the way most of the sordid stories that Have been mentioned here I have only experienced in the streets of America ( was robbed by two gunmen getting a burger 24hrs after my arrival in Gods own country/ still have a local papers story on it) I could go on and on but what for so I can end up talking like a low life Aviator on pprune and you bet I see a lot of their post on pprune, not me my friends I have too much respect for myself and the other decent pilots I have encountered here on the pprune site and the many pprune bashes I have attended with whom I have heard all but the nonesense I have read here.

Me and some of the guys here in Nigeria have come to the conclusion a long time ago that most of these dirty postings are actually written by Pilots already in Nigeria and trying very hard to keep thier jobs in place and scaring away thier colleagues. (and if I might add with all due respect hmm hmm they are targeting the younger ones who want to come out here and experience a bit of adventure and African flying itself.)

Please do not listen to these guys if you want any info about flying in this country and also who is employing right now and what they fly e.t.c. e.t.c. just send me an email with your questions and I will be glad to help. Especialy on the rotor side.

Zazoo

[Steve76]

Thanks SASLess and ZAZOO

Both good stuff.

[Airtoday]

Hey Zazoo

When you learn the language then write your reply.

At a guess Nigerian?

[B Sousa]

Ok, I understand why the thread is here, good that some from the other forum can jump in. Lots of experience floating around the African Aviation forum.........

Anyway, dont know that I would have the Balls to do it, but it might be interesting to see what the service ceiling on a helicopter does to hijackers next time........

[SASless]

Well now....we had a pilot flying on the Texaco contract with a 355....things got a bit ugly at one of his stops....he yanks and banks...heads for the offshore rigs....upon making his approach.....sees a lot of rig workers showing a lot of attention to his landing......only to discover it wasn't his close adherence to the Cat A profile that had them interested...but the erstwhile hijacker clinging very tightly to the far side skid. Seems the 10 minute flight out of doors had cooled the perp's desire for helicopter flying. The funny part of all this was the pilot in question never suspected he had the fresh air rider. No incident report was ever filed.....seemed best no one need to hear of that....and it wasn't like the passenger in question was going to make a complaint.

[Airtoday]

Yes did that for a time but did not have an extra passenger. Did have the HLO put in a cage though.

Remember

[Airtoday]

None of us should have to put up with this sh**t but we do it.

[tally]

Nigeria is what you make of it, just like anywhere else. If security is your main concern, I believe it can be improved. I fly fixed wing and never have I encountered any hijackings or any form of personal assault. I guess flying rotary in the niger delta is a bit different. But calling the place names, makes me wonder if we learnt anything from 9-11. Like the saying goes, one man’s meat is another’s …… I am sure you made a living over there, you were not there on humanitarian grounds, doing free work for those “ poor souls” If you signed the contract and put up with the nonsense, then shut up, that is your problem. Direct your gripe to Bristow.

Flame away.

[SASless]

Tally,

Telling the truth is not calling names...the hijackings occurred, the shooting occurred, the pilots were wounded, the tribal fighting occurs frequently, the shoddy working conditions are real, the poor pay is real, and the turnover rate for pilots in the helicopter side is real......a few of the operators are still in the belief that helicopter pilots are still a dime a dozen and thus the poor conditions continue. When the situation gets so bad that they can no longer crew the operations then the changes will come.

Until then, those that fear for their job and continue to moan in the bar at night and not take their concerns to the front office merely cause a delay in the cure. As long as pilots will let their personal and professional standards slip then the working conditions in Nigeria and other less than nice places will persist. Sometimes the source of the problem is staring in the mirror at you, as is the cure.

I guess I can fly shoddy aircraft, wear gray once white shirts....carry a red and white plastic Nigerian shopping bag as a flight case, drink myself to oblivion each night, keep my bush wife for the time in country and make do. Some of us just are not prepared to do so.

We watched the living standard go south for the helicopter pilots while the fixed wing pilot's living standards, pay, and roster improved. Its one thing to sit there in relative comfort, with safe shopping available, and a nice English style pub inside the compound and tell the helicopter pilots to shut up and carry on.

Small things like the fixed wing pilots complaining about helicopter pilots riding in the cockpit jump seat and thus cutting the one reasonably sure method of getting to Lagos doesn't help matters either. To cap that....Bristow and Shell agree to let management staff to ride in the jump seat but not the pilots and engineers that are expected to make lifesaving flights in trashy aircraft in bad weather. Talk about professional respect and courtesy!

Take your cheeky butt down to the delta and live like a helicopter pilot for seven weeks....then tell us about it! Hotbed each time you come in...maybe even change houses each time as well. Be dumped at your accomodation to find no bedding, no cutlery, no towels.....no pillows.....and when you tell the company they give you some glib answer and show no concern about providing an adequate place to sleep much less enjoy being in. Try to go shopping without transport....while working almost every day. Sit in a pilots waiting room which is a 40 foot container, with seating for five....despite 20 people at a time using the facilities.....the list of insults goes on and on! No....until you have walked in those shoes....don't try to tell the other side how to make it what you can. There is a minimum standard that a professional is entitled to while plying his trade.

Yes...life is great in the Delta!:p

[Nigel Osborn]

Not having been in Nigeria since 1961, I can't make a personal comment about current conditions but a friend started in Port Harcourt about 4 weeks ago and his first email indicated he was quite happy. I'll get him to make some comment on his return next month.:rolleyes:

[ZAZOO]

Airtoday,

So sorry about my spelling I apologise sir.

But if I might add kind sir me not able to spell some of the words you have been using here does not in anyway make mine that bad and so let me for once say what I want to say....

AIRTODAY FOR ALL IT'S WORTH GO TO HELL[COLOR=skyblue]

Yes I am a Nigerian, do you have any problem with that, if so then come on man just make it clear or do you need to start another thread on that one, maybe some of your friends could help you with a topic for that one.

Last night I took time to print some of the postings on this particular thread to share with the guys (yes Nigerians, most of them avoid pprune like the plague because of the negative remarks made here about Nigeria ) in the crew lounge this morning and at the end of the day just 10mins ago actually some of us decided to print out the whole thing and fix it on the wall so that some of our so called friends :D here with us in Nigeria get to realise that we do log in to pprune and read their posts, just need to get the chief in on it and I think it can be done!

To all the guys who sent me emails about this thread well what can I say but just thank you.

Zazoo

Ahoy ARSETODAY oops sorry its my spelling again I meant AIRTODAY its time for spelling check here if your not too busy.

[tropicopter]

ZAZOO

You say,
"Well Me I am here in Nigeria and also in the thick of it all and guess what I am still waitting to be robbed or kidnapped and likewise with the rest of my colleagues here",

but that's also not a very balanced view is it - because several of your fellow Nigerian aviators, either in Bristow or ACN have been hijacked, and robbed. Certainly one Nigerian pilot was murdered in his house in Ikeja GRA recently. Probably about an equal number of Nigerian and non-Nigerian pilots have been hijacked and a lot more Nigerian pilots than non-Nigerian pilots have been robbed and murdered. I have worked in Nigeria on and off for more than 25 years and I love the place and most of the people! But I also am very aware of the dangers of being there. Several of my friends (both aviators and non-aviators) have been hijacked and murdered in the last few years. However, I know the risks and am prepared to put up with them because most of the flying there is enjoyable and the majority of the people are friendly, outgoing and hospitable.

Airtoday

Your quote about learning the language and being Nigerian is both unecessary and offensive (and quite probably racist). Many of the contributors to this forum do not have English as their first language and even if they do, there is no spell-checker here and most of us are pretty awful typists. It's not a grammatical forum but a place for people to contribute their views on things rotary, so as long as the post is understandable what the heck does it matter? Could you write a decent posting here in Igbo?
I suspect you are one of those people who are constantly moaning about Nigeria, being nice to your colleagues' faces but saying unpleasant things behind their backs. If you don't like it then why don't you leave? After all if you think it's the **sehole of the world and you chose to stay there maybe it means you are a t**d!!

:eek:

[TomBola]

Because it's always warm, the sun shines every day, most of the people are friendly and the beer's cheap!! As for the rest of the stuff - you can either take it or not.
I don't like snow, ice, deep fried meat pies, whisky chasers or the haar so I don't fly in the North Sea. If I chose to go and stay there and didn't like it, I'd walk like a man, not whinge like a cur.
:(

[Airtoday]

Hi Zazoo and Tropicopter

No offence meant on a personal (and certainly not) racist level. Some of my best friends are Nigerian.

At the end of your last thread though Zazoo I think you meant you're (as in a shortened form of you are) not as in my fifth word of this sentence.

Also Tropicopter it should not be necessary to spell unnecessary incorrectly. Or to start a sentence, let alone a paragraph, with the word "but" in upper or lower case.

It remains, though, the arsehole of the world.

[tally]

SASless,
No disrespect to you guys in the rotary wing. I understand where you coming from, at the same time learning something new about the working conditions you guys go thru. Personally, I try giving any pilot or engineers a ride when I can. But as you know some of our companies can be, you know what. I appreciate your educating us at the same time I believe we can build a comraderie out of this. BUt unfortunately, Mr Air whatever's post doesn't deal with the problem. If he is dissatisfied, let him comment on Bristow not the nigerian nation. Nigeria has nothing to do with his being treat by Bristow in a shoddy manner. Anyway, enough of that, I hope maturity will prevail.

[SASless]

The truth of the matter is that there are very many fine Nigerians who also suffer from the chaos that goes on within that country. As in any situation where foreigners are heavily engaged in work there is bound to be some resentment of them by the local guys. I can easily accept Nigerians too can be proud of their country and their people. That being said, they must also admit to themselves that the reality of the situation is that the current corruption, inter-tribal clashes, disintergration of the police and courts can not be a positive influence on the future of the country or its people.

It does not matter if you are robbed, murdered, or assaulted in Dallas, Lagos, or London....the result is the same. The point that in Nigeria your chances of being victimized is greater is factually correct. The statement that several of my friends have been murdered or whatever and because I don't like snow and ice...thus I prefer Nigeria ......well, now that is quite an interesting statement! Time for a reality check here I think.....and that statement does not pass the BS check.

My last Copilot was writing his doctorate's thesis on corruption in Nigeria....I joked with him that the condensed version would run to about 4,000 volumes. He was focusing upon corruption in relief organizations and I am sure it will be a very interesting paper when submitted to Oxford. I learned a lot from talking to him.

[tropicopter]

Airtoday,

The spelling of unnecessary was due to the aforementioned poor typing ability and lack of spell checker to help with this. If you would actually care to read my post you would discover that I have neither started a sentence nor a paragraph with the word 'but' in lower case. I deliberately left a gap after my comma to make a (dramatic) space to highlight what ZAZOO had posted. If you want to be nitpicking about spelling and grammar maybe you should cast your jaundiced eye back over your own previous posts on this thread.......or maybe all your errors were also done to make a particular point.

I'm sure that if you were to make yourself known to ZAZOO then you'd see if some of your 'best friends' really are Nigerian!

[TomBola]

SASless,
I didn't actually say 'because I don't like snow and ice...thus I prefer Nigeria'. I just said that amongst the reasons to go there are that it's warm, the sun shines every day, etc. I took my own advice about both places and left. Sounds like you did the same.

[Thomas coupling]

Possibly leading to a new or previous thread:
Why do seasoned helo pilots actually volunteer to operate in various hell holes...out there. Worse still (and irresponsible in my opinion) why do they subject their families/partners to it also:confused:
You'd think they would be equipped (professionally) to pick from a variety of more suitable jobs/areas.

If countries like this can't resolve their own internal affairs, why should outsiders get hurt/disaffected trying to help them???


tick, tick, tick, tick.....................

[Roundagain]

I suppose a tax-free salary and working for only 6 months of the year have something to do with it.

[SASless]

As a very dear friend once said while taking in the scenic sights of the main road into the Shell Camp in Warri, Nigeria..... sipping on lukewarm Heinies....with sweat rolling down our noses....and flies buzzing around the newest meat in the area....."helicopter pilots are people who like to live where the road ends....". He is so correct....think back to your helicopter career, particularly if you have done more than a few bush tours.....sometimes the more isolated the location, the more enjoyable the flying. It at least provides one with hard to believe stories to tell at the corner pub.

[Airtoday]

To all that have posted I mean no disrespect to Nigeria or the Nigerians.

But it is still the arsehole of this whole wide world.

[Nigel Osborn]

Airtoday.

If you don't have an arsehole, you can't s**t. If you can't s**t, you die.

Therefore it is very important to have an arsehole. :D :D

PS. Spell check required.:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Airtoday]

I feel like a **** now (Am thought of one probably to some people)..Thank you Nigel

[SASless]

Just received an email from a friend in Nigeria who confirms the Nigerian government has made the decision to bar civilian operators from the NAF Base in Port Harcourt.

I wonder how that has altered the plans of ACN and Bristow....bet that has thrown a real monkey wrench into their ops.....will it be back to the Shell Heliport with insufficient reject area for the 155's or over to the PHC International Airport now? Lets think what that means for commuting distances and times for the crews....and choices of dining establishments for lunch breaks.....I guess you can always run home for lunch or hit a corner chicken stand!

[TomBola]

Airtoday,
I know a man who does a good line in bulk loo paper supplies!
:)

It's certainly been an interesting thread which has attracted a huge number of views. So what next? How about one from SASless on dusty locations or one from northerly latitudes about the joys of operating helicopters in those areas?

[Airtoday]

Wipe it and go.

I don't like the likes of you staying in the country either
(Well, I wouldn't if it were mine)

Thank God it's not.

[TomBola]

Airtoday

You don't like the likes of me staying in the country. Which country would that be then - yours or mine? As you know nothing about me any more than you seem to about Nigeria ("I've been there twice". "Some of my best friends are Nigerians") I'll, treat your remarks the same as your views of Nigeria. You exhibit all the typical attitudes of many of the bigoted racists who visit Nigeria briefly and feel this gives you the right to condemn the country and its people as all being typical of the (albeit significant) number of rogues who give it a bad name overseas. You're probably one of those people who sits airing all sorts of views just like you do here in public only with other like-minded people in your crewroom at QIT or wherever, but then goes very quiet whenever a Nigerian pilot walks in. I'm amazed you bother to stay. Try airing your views in public a bit more to ordinary Nigerians and see what they have to say.
:mad:

[Airtoday]

I have nothing to say bad about your country except it is a very bad country.

The sooner you all accept that and try to change it you will have a chance in the world.

Why don't all you good Nigerians try?

[212man]

On a slight tangent, but I hate to see stories get in the way of good facts....

".. the sun shines every day..."; I think that is stretching it a bit far, especially when you refer to the QIT with the separate 'micro-climate' that exists in that corner of the gulf during the raining season.

Please carry on...

[sabretooth jockey]

I've provisionally accepted a job with Bristows, flying 212's and 412's in Africa. Any info / tips / advice, on what I can expect, would be very welcome before I sign on the dotted line.

[ambidextrous]

Before responding to your question I have one for you.Are you Bristow UK transferring to BIAGL or are you a new hire from the "old world" or the "new world"? If you're Bristow UK then ask around, there's plenty of people in ABZ with experience of Nigeria, not all of it good! What's your motivation for coming to Nigeria, out of work or just bored? Generally speaking it's been my experience that the people working in W.Africa come under the three M's i.e.Missionaries,Mercenaries or Misfits!,which are you?

[sabretooth jockey]

I'm very new to Bristows. From the people I've been speaking to, I must be one of the only people around here who have never worked for them. I've spoken to a few "old timers", but they left Nigeria over 15 years ago, so they're not much help.
I think that I class as a Misfit.

[TomBola]

SJ
There are lots of different stories (many of them apocryphal) and many opinions about Nigeria. 212/412 sounds like the Qua Ibo Terminal operation. Accommodation passable, food provided and sometimes passable, flying the usual routine offshore stuff (pretty boring).
Bristow management there not very good, but depends on the CP on the operation you go to.
The country and its people are what you make of them, as with most places. Don't get put off by lots of the 'anti' stories - go out there with an open mind and make your own decisions. The people can be a bit volatile, but anger can change to smiles in a moment if you make the effort to understand and to make people laugh. I've worked in Africa, including Nigeria, for many years and wouldn't be anywhere else. I know it's not for everyone, but most people very quickly find out whether it's their sort of place or not. If you've never worked in the Third world before, the initial culture shock can be rather off-putting, but if you stay and 'let the mosquito get in your blood' you'll never want to leave for long.
You'll have a bit of a wait whilst your licensing is sorted out and the BRC (Bristow Residential Compound) in Lagos is a fairly pleasant place with swimming pool, tennis court and squash courts. There's a pleasant bar for the evenings. In Eket you'll also find reasonable sporting facilities, including one of the few golf courses in Nigeria with 'greens' as opposed to 'browns', so if you're a golfer it may be worth taking some clubs (though you'll probably find someone willing to lend you sme on your first tour). If you're going out in the near future, it's the dry season, so the weather will be hot (around 32 degrees on the coast) with fairly low humidity (by Nigerian standards) and frequently the 'Harmattan' winds from the northeast reducing visibility to 1.5km or less.
So, come on out and join we African misfits - you may find you like it!
:D

[SASless]

There have been some changes in management at Lagos....pay is improved for the geriatric bunch doing post retirement contracts. Ferris at Eket is two thumbs up.....Washer at Shell is top shelf (for a Foster's addict!).....Port Harcourt is not the place to be unless there has been a change. Definitely go there with your eyes open....all is not what is promised....if they would go to 6 and 6....I would even consider it again. After my input on what changes needed to be made....probably do not have to worry about that however. I voted with my feet.....felt I might live longer in that 212 engineering and 76 engineerings issues were becoming downright threatening. Spares and committment to UK standards on engineering presented the most pressing concerns falled by quality of housing for bachelors, transport , and working enviroment. Seems from what I am hearing positive changes have been initiated....if they continue with a house cleaning then the place will turn itself around I hope. For a while, Bristow Nigeria had a higher turnover rate than did Evergreen Helicopters in the USA.....hell...guys left Bristow to go to Evergreen if that tells you anything!

[ambidextrous]

SJ-So you're a misfit eh,well welcome to the fold.If you haven't yet signed on the dotted line read on for an insight into your soon to be not forgotten experience.Nigeria and it's peoples are a diverse bunch,outwardly friendly but inwardly volatile,things can change in an instant.For further info.look at the websites of the USA State Dept.and UK Foreign Office.Watch your back(and your front and sides)at all times,keep your hands on your wallet,passport etc.,never forget this is the home of the 419"scam"where corruption and kleptomania have been refined to perfection.Your first sight of the BRC will be a foretaste of things to come-high walls topped with razor wire,guards on the gate,barred shutters on the doors and windows.If you've done time in a penitentiary you should be well prepared physchologically.What about fire precautions did I hear you say,don't worry there are no smoke detectors and anyway DNA testing is an exact science these days, your family will be confident it's you that's being returned to them if you're that unlucky.Gravitating to the saloon/bar on arrival will quickly see you introduced to your fellow M's.,in the background you might just be able to hear the sound of gunfire as the 1st.wave of robbers open up.If you're really lucky you might just get your 1st.beer down your throat before the power fails and the standby generator kicks in pumping it's pollutants into a toxic sky.Not for nothing is NEPA known as the "no electric power authority".But I digress-back to your fellow M's.A more diverse bunch of normal de-generates you couldn't hope to meet.From sheepshaggers to kaffir bashers,pornographers to adulterers,fornicators to drunkards,they're all here.Before you get too depressed there are a few beacons of light present,vainly casting their pearls before the trampling herd in the stygian gloom.And what of the management,entrusted with the unenviable task of leading? this bunch of social misfits?The management appear to subscribe to the Shell school of control.i.e.leading from the "derriere" position and even if required the "soixante neuf" position for those familiar with French bedroom farces.A more loveable bunch of dinosaurs from the neolithic age you couldn't hope to meet,although there are signs of +ve change with the arrival of native/colonial "wannabees".A current example of management's thinking is to be found under the heading of allowances payable on "ad hoc"operations outside Nigeria.Nigerians are paid 30o/o more than expats.of whatever hue,truly a textbook example of "reverse discrimination".Perhaps any share-owning OLOG pilot reading this might care to raise this matter at the next AGM and enquire why this should be when the major shareholders in the USA and UK are required to both observe and be seen to implement their respective countries Equality and Racial Discrimination legislation.(Woodside,Kerr McGee,Bunker Hunt ethics committee please note) If you're still reading this SJ you've certainly got stamina,which you'll need in large quantities to get thru' a tour in Nigeria.On 2nd.thoughts perhaps you ought to stay at home,pay your taxes and sleep with your wife at night,or possibly somebody else's wife if you're really lucky and leave W.Africa to the three M's.
PS.And we didn't even get to discuss the operations,weather etc.,aw shucks,save it for another day.
(Thinks-does any OLOG pilot get paid enought to own shares)?
(Double thinks-Is there such an animal as an ethical oil company)?

[SASless]

I have just received an e-mail from a most reliable source....it quotes BHL/Redhill as saying there are no vacancies for pilots in Nigeria. That is effective within the past 24 hours.

My reply was....that was yesterday.....today there will be. Reason why is the question?

But then....what price credibility under the OLOG regime? Ask any Air Log pilot about the management style that is being imported to the UK.....fits hand and glove with that in Lagos.

[weedflier]

Wow ambi - I guess you really like the place eh! :) . You don't seem to like your fellow pilots much either. Maybe it's to do with the fact that out in Nigeria you all live cheek-by-jowl, with more opportunities to really get to know the 'dark' side of your workmates than would be the case in UK, where many people just go back to their own homes after work and carry out their seedier activities in private?
However, let's just have a little balance here. Couldn't agree with you more about the management of OLOG/Bristow. However, there's probably little more actual gunfire than in the average large city in UK, and consideably less than in many cities in America. Once inside the wire-topped walls, it's nothing like a penitentiary, but I guess you guys need to have a serious dig at your inept management about the smoke detectors and fire-fighting arrangements - it can be done, as ACN improved a lot of those sorts of things when they adopted their Safety Management System (although a lot of that is still in the course of being implemented. NEPA (actually, Never Electrical Power Always) is renowned for its failures, but at least there are standby generators everywhere - though I do remember lots of problems at one Warri operation when a previous MD decided to get hold of some cheap Polish generator, rather than the more normal and reliable Caterpillar one!
I think your point about how much more Nigerian pilots are paid when on ad-hoc operations outside Nigeria is proably because they are paid a lot less than you are, for doing the same job when they are in Nigeria.
Two questions sabretooth does need to ask though, is why pilots with ACN are on 6/6 contracts when Bristow/OLOG are still on 7/5 and why he will be penalised if he stays on in Nigeria beyond the age of 58 with Bristow, when he can carry on receiving normal seniority increments up to age 65 with ACN.
At the end of the day, sabretooth, you'll either feel like Tom or like ambi, and that's just down to your personality and whether your first tour there goes well or not.

[BlenderPilot]

Holy Coow! some of the things I've read above make it sound like a rough place.

When I went for the interview with Evergreen to work in Africa the chief pilot asked, "are you sure you want to go to Africa? its rough there!" and I said "I've been to all of Mexico and Central America! Its also rough there!"

And let me tell you Mexico and Central America are probably the third world, but Cote d'Ivoire is more like the fifth world but I loved it and would have liked to stay there longer.

Nigeria sounds more like the 10th world!

Still I would like to go at least for a while just for the experience, a few months won't hurt, but just make sure you've got a backup plan just in case you don't like it.

For me one of the best things about going to Africa was that after I came back everything seemed easier, life became more enjoyable, and I appreciated everything I had soo much more.

[tropicopter]

Hi Blender,
Nigeria's not really like the 10th world, it's a bit like Cote D'Ivoire really. Generally I think the former French colonies seem to be rather better run and more friendly than the former British, Belgian, Spanish and Portuguese colonies (though the present events in Cote D'Ivoire may seem to make a mockery of that statement). One problem that Nigeria has is that it has so many people (about 17% of the entire population of the African continent I believe) and has been ruled by such corrupt leaders for so long that the corruption in society there is deep rooted at all levels. The country is wealthy, but most of that wealth has been stolen from the people by the leaders and sent to foreign banks to fund their extravagant lifestyles. Many of the people are very bright (maybe that's one reason for their success in scams like the '419' scam!) and very friendly. If you wanted to have a look for yourself Bristow and ACN often have vacancies for pilots even if they have none at the mo'. If you already have experience of flying in Africa, but have not been put off by it, I expect they would take your application seriously.
If you go, let us know what you think about the place in comparison to Cote D'Ivoire, Mexico and Central America.

[SASless]

Gunshots can be heard very close by to the BHL guesthouse....even closer in the early crew bus sometimes. Two pilots wounded a while back....both recovered. That led to the security improvements at the compound....and the addition of curtains to the "conventionally air-con'ed " bus. That incident proved the contingency plans were not very good for handling an emergency medical situation.

[SASless]

The house cleaning continues.....yet another BHL/Nigeria management level staff departs office ! Shame it happens after so many guys left because of the problems. Contact your sources there and find out the latest news !

[the wizard of auz]

Sounds like my type of place and crew, what with me being a drunken adulterating misfit I ought to fit right in. where do I sign up :D

[Yarba]

I have been thinking about going to Nigeria as it's one of the places where there are jobs going in Africa. All the replies here refer to bad management, even if the writers have different opinions about whether Nigeria is good or bad. Is Aero Contractors any better, as I hear that they are looking for pilots at the moment and they have changed to equal time touring. Are the pay, conditions and management of the 2 companies much different?

[rotorusa]

(AP) - Nigerian navy ships sailed Wednesday toward offshore drilling rigs where 97 foreigners — including 17 Americans — were being held after talks to resolve the 11-day hostage standoff broke off in deadlock. About 100 disgruntled Nigerian oil workers have been holding the foreigners aboard four drilling rigs owned by Houston-based Transocean, about 20 miles off Nigeria's coast.

I have heard that the dispute centers around Nigerian workers' demands to use helicopters for crew changes. So who gets to ride the helicopter to the beach and who takes the boat? Are there different rules for locals and foreigners or are these just some quarrelsome roughnecks looking to squeeze Transocean for more perks?

Any observations/opinions from those with experience flying these waters?

[212man]

I think you'll find it's support for 5 workers who were sacked for alleged theft. They have started letting some expat workers off one of the rigs. It's day 13 I think, so not much fun!

[Thomas coupling]

I remember reading a thread about helo ops to and from oil platforms in Nigeria about a year ago.
The place is a nightmare, who in their right mind would have anything to do with this God foresaken hell hole.

You must be desperate, on the run from a divorce case, ...or broke to fly over there.

Blow the bloody lot out of the water job done...move onto the next .


:yuk:

[SASless]

Now Thomas dear chap.....

Get 212Man to give you the straight "non-contractual" accounts of life in Nigeria.....it isn't all bad. Usually it is worse....but not bad.

Ask him to enumerate the hijackings....shootings of pilots....robberies...extortions....air crashes (airline and helicopter) that killed helicopter pilots and engineers.....deaths from disease......murders of wives by Chief Pilots....scandals...divorces....minor disasters and other interesting events that have occurred over the past dozen years or so. If you are lucky he will enlighten you about the risks to one's personal and professional standards that accrue with extended periods of duty in such environments. I am sure he has been witness to or has heard participant's accounts of such great fun. That doesn't mean good things do not happen nor that one could not actually enjoy working in Nigeria......but you do have to suffer some thorns to smell a rose there it seems.

[212man]

I'd rather not be drawn into that SASless, not here anyway.

For info, the guys started coming off on Friday, yesterday was an election day so no movements, and the remainder should be off today.

All's well that ends well!

[Blue Rotor Ronin]

Ever heard of adventure, escaping the norm Thomas. If everyone thought on a similar plane the human race might never have taken off.:E

[Gunship]

Hi all Rotorheads,

PAAN - Nigeria: There are 17 jobs available. ;)


Offshore Logistics, Inc. Announces New Contract

LAFAYETTE, La. - Aug. 27, 2002 - Offshore Logistics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OLOG) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, AirLog International, Ltd., and its affiliate, Pan African Airlines (Nigeria), Ltd. (PAAN) have signed a five-year contract with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company/Chevron Nigeria Ltd (NNPC/CNL) Joint Venture) to provide helicopter services offshore Nigeria. The revenues for the five-year contract are estimated to be $100 million. The contract's primary term is five years.

The initial contract is for ten helicopters, which will include two (2) medium twin engine, IFR aircraft and eight (8) small single engine, VFR aircraft. These aircraft will be utilized to support facilities developed by Chevron and Texaco in Nigeria. The flight operations began July 1, 2002 under an interim arrangement. NNPC/CNL can add additional aircraft to this contract during the five-year term as their activities in Nigeria expand, as is expected.

George Small, Chief Executive Officer and President of OLOG, commented that, "This contract allows our group to further expand our operations in West Africa, which is an area that has been targeted by the international oil companies for significant growth over the next decade. We have had a long-standing relationship with Chevron in other areas of the world and we look forward to this new relationship with NNPC/CNL in Nigeria. We are also pleased about our affiliation with PAAN, which has more than 40 years of operating history in Nigeria."

Small continued, "This is the culmination of a three-year effort by our organization and exemplifies the commitment by our staff and management that makes OLOG the leader in our industry."

Offshore Logistics, Inc. is a major provider of helicopter transportation services to the oil and gas industry worldwide. Through its subsidiaries, affiliates and joint ventures, the Company provides transportation services in most oil and gas producing regions including the United States Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, the North Sea, Africa, Mexico, South America, Australia, Egypt and the Far East. The Company's Common Stock is traded on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol OLOG.


A full report can be found here (pdf file)

http://www.olog.com/clientFiles/olog/files/release033.pdf

I hope this might help you guys - I really do !

Cheers and best of luck ! :ok:

G U N S S S

[Watchoutbelow]

Cheers G U N S S S , any sniff of potential work is very much appreciated.

With a bit of luck this could be the break that I need, even f it is in Nigeria, this is a great little forum for helping eachother out.

[Gunship]

Cheers Watchoutbelow,

I have looked through my info and PAAN is the best give - away I can find.

A mutual friend of the guy that is an instructor there just said the comms is 5h*t their so do not expect a quick reply, but I am sure PAAN will have REAL offices ;)

Nigeria is Nigeria - at least it is open sea work and hopefully the homebase is the rig ! :D

Cheers and good luck to you all !

Gunnss

[SASless]

PAAN is Air Log International.....signs, stationary, etc. might be different...but owned and operated by Air Log International out of Lafayette, LA. Pay scale varies with the day.....quarters are grim....onshore based....food is (was tolerable)....Escravos is shutdown every so often by invaders or strikers. A Bristow aircraft took a bullet strike on the south bank of the river across from the Chevron base camp (or so I heard). Have heard of wages varying from 3200 USD to 7000 USD........South Africans that were working for PAAN were on dogdoodoo wages....Air Log guys came in on the 412's with much higher wages. Heard the roster is 6/6 with lots and lots of flying when the operation is not shutdown for some reason. Escravos was a very miserable place to live.....no outlet beyond maybe jogging....Chevron of course is not exactly the best outfit to fly for either. Safety sure does not catch top bill....seems they finally were able to take the worst parts of the Gulf of Mexico and Nigerianize it. I would suggest taking a very hard cold look at the situation before signing on. :(

[Heliport]

There is no problem with members posting tips on this forum about available jobs. Information of that sort is very helpful to other members and does not breach the 'No Free Advertsing' rule.

The rule is intended to prevent commercial operations freeloading at PPRune's expense and causes problems with businesses who pay PPRune for their banner ads. Not surprisingly, companies who pay to advertise on the site object to others obtaining the same worldwide coverage for nothing by dressing advertisements up as posts.

Heliport
PedalStop
Rotorheads Moderators

[Gunship]

Thanks Heliport.

Think it is great of you guys.

I have a work. I am happy. Lots do not have that luxery.

Tx for the feedback SASless.

My friend is a instructor on the 412. He / they / South Africans seems quite happy ... but then they are Africans hey :E

[HeloTeacher]

I'm looking for any information anyone is willing to part with about this operator. I've tried a couple searches of past threads but haven't turned up much yet.

Thanks.

[Lu Zuckerman]

Hi Wade,

I just dialed in Aerocontractors on the address bar of my computer and went right on to their web site. I can only assume you have done this and you are looking for more personal input.

According to their website they claim to be a good firm to work for.

Miss your posts.

Lu

:ok:

[HeloTeacher]

Hi Lu,

I've been quite busy at home with family and at work so I've slowed down somewhat online.

Yes, I was hoping for some testimonials, which I have gotten.

It's good to see you are still around too.

Wade

[HeloTeacher]

Hello all,

Thus far I have heard from about a half-dozen current and ex-employees of Aero. The comments are very positive for the most part.

These guys have been generally happy with the wages. Accommodations are in a compound with individual suites/bathrooms, some sports facilities, and satellite TV. The food sounds palatable. The benefits sound pretty good. The flying sounds varied and the maintenance very good.

The only consistent negative comment has been: "its in Nigeria"

If one can handle that then all's well.

For those that asked, there you go...

[talvin]

Anyone have heard something about The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (salaries, working conditions, type of helicopters...?

Is it an interesting company?

Thanks in advance.



;)

[Slotty]

Do youmean this email,$65K a month, count me in!!!
Do you think its a skam to get me to send money???


Date: 19 September 2003 05:28:11
Subject: pilot needed

Secretary to the Hon. Chairman of petroleum,
Federal ministry of petroleum resources,
Federal secretariat, phase 1 ikoyi,
Lagos, Nigeria.
Tel:234-1-474-6914
Tel:234-8033073520,



APPLICATION FOR SERVICER
The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation needs

some
Foreign Helicopter commercial pilot to supervise
it's pilots
on the newly Off Shore Contract.
so we made some research and find some names which
the
job will be merits to, your name is among the eleven

people we made research on.
The company has offered to pay U.S $65,000(Sixty
Five
Thousand U.S.dollar)
monthly and you will be given a house and a car .
As the secretary to the firm I was told to write
letters to the eleven people to know if you are
interested .but I am writing this letter to you
because I want us to transact some personal business

together when you start working with us. I will not
write to other ten nominated people, I will tell my
boss that they are not interested.
If you are interested call me on 234-8033073520 or
reply me by email on [email protected] or
hamiducontractor@hotmail
com or on same email address.
Then I can give you details on
what to do.
Best Regards
Sec Bashiru Hamidu


:ok:

[Jed A1]

Hotmail e-mail address - classy!

US$65k / mth - Unbelievable!

[B Sousa]

Those are the Letters that one can really vent on in reply. Nigeria is the capitol of Fraud/Scams AND many folks respond with money.
Send them all your bank information so that they can deposit the $65k up front also..............Yea, right.

[212man]

NNPC does not own its own aircraft or employ pilots. They contract their aviation requirements to other companies (Aerocontractors and DANA). If they did employ pilots directly, they would almost certainly be Nigerian. The e-mail is a scam known as a '419', named after article 419 of the penal code and which deals with advanced fee fraud.

If you want to fly helicopters in Nigeria contact Olog, Bristow or Schreiner directly!

[Slotty]

Awwwww and there was me feeling really special as the 'one' could have retired in a couple of years, you gotta love those guys in Nigeria, anything for a quick buck. :}

[SASless]

Heckfire....212Man that would be just the ticket for you....Hire on with NNPC as the pilot advisor.....get yer dash under the table...drive the company car....live in the company house....flog the silverware....and backup gennie.....why heavens it would be like living on Coronation Street almost!

[Slotty]

Quote from my latest email:-


Dear Bashiru Hamidu,

Many thanks for your email about the position of pilot with Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation.
I am very interested in this position as pilot, can you please send me more details.

Ha Ha!!
Couldn't help myself, call me bored if you wish but I want to know more about all this, do you think I'll get lucky

Slotty

[B Sousa]

Watch Slotty get a good paying job with mansion, limo and servants while we all Crap on the posting.....ha ha

[419]

212Man,
When I bought this user name, the person who sold it to me, told me that 419 was a Nigerian term for a trust-worthy person.
Have I been scammed again??

419:\

[SASless]

If you are living on Coronation Street ....you've been scammed!

[ColeFace]

NNP helicopters??

Are not there 2 or 3 MBB's in a hangar between PanAfrican and the Nigeria Police hangar with this logo on the machines? Or am I mistaken, maybe it was the National Electric Co. Either way they are derelict like the Police machines. One 206 was flyable of the 6 or so machines there.

[419]

Coleface,
The helicopters you have seen (BO 105's, 206's, and a 222) are the entire airborne division of the Nigerian police force. They sometimes move around the hangar, but they never fly. (they probably never will).

419

[SASless]

The Nigerian Police Air Wing is supposed to have spent 22 Million US Dollars for spare parts one year.....and never had a single aircraft flyable before or after that. BHL had to provide a Bell 212 for the recovery operations following the crash of a Nigerian Air Force C-130 at Lagos during that period.

Makes you wonder where the money actually got spent!:(

[crop duster]

SASeless, you know they spent it on the roads. Surely you don't think someone would have taken it? I use to work for the Leventis @ Agenebode
Barryb

[ColeFace]

The BO 105 I'm refering to are not the Nigeria police but are in the end of the PanAfrican hangar, right behind Julias Berger and have some other company name on them, I think its NNPA or whatever the national electric provider is called. In the police hangar are 2 47;s a 222 and 3 Jetrangers, one of which can fly. The portable fuel bowsers are very nice too, to bad they are derelict also. How about those 2 C500's wonder how many hrs on them, I heard 2500, the TX time on the JT15's.

[MamboBaas]

To get the latest on the 419 scam at a quite amusing site (and with a link to forward 419 fraud e-mails to the FBI and the Fraud squad of the UK police) go to:
The Lads From Lagos (http://www.scamorama.com/#notes)

Actually, the Nigerian Police Force did have at least one of their 206s flying about 2 years ago. I don't know if it's still serviceable now though!:D

[snoopymagnolia]

Gents,

Anyone working for Bristows on S-76 in Nigeria give use the deal on the working conditions, accom, aircraft, maintenance and money for captains and co-pilots.

Cheers
SM

[Joker's Wild]

At the rate things are going, it won't be long before CHC wraps up all the Nigerian work too. You may want to inquire as to how the hummingbird pays!!! :yuk:

[the coyote]

Getting a bit itchy down there already SM?

From what I've heard it's 7 on 5 off, about 45,000 sterling for a cojoe, but don't quote me.

[Mama Mangrove]

SM
If you're not Nigerian, there are no expat copilots in Nigeria. If a copilot is needed a Nigerian is employed. There are often two expat Captains flying together though. If you don't have the qualifications for Captaincy (even if you're not flying in Command) you won't get employed. These qualifications are normally determined by the oil companies Bristow is flying for. Contract is 7 weeks on 5 weeks off, pay around £42K. Accomodation depends which contract you're on. Maintenance is normally good after going thru a bad patch some years ago (see various remarks by SASless on threads here over the last few years). The main thing to prepare yourself for is not Bristow but Nigeria. It's different from a lot of places in Africa and people tend to have very polarised views about it, so if you have any friends there talk to them beforehand if you're thinking of going.

JW
Why would you think CHC will wrap up all the Nigerian work? They may be about to take over ACN, but it's no different from the situation in the North Sea or GOM. The oil companies want to keep at least 2 operators around to keep competition up and prices down. CHC pay less than Bristow, though their work schedule is 6 weeks, 6 weeks.

[onemorepilot]

Hi pprune folks.
I found this one at the Flight Internationals home page today (6 Jan 04). So they are once again looking for pilots. Are we coming closer to a better deal in Nigeria to attract pilots? Is there a new contract on its way?
What about Gabon? Will they start the work on pipeline, or is it just another rumour?

A happy new year from The North Sea Norwaysector.


Job Title: !!!!URGENT!!! Helicopter pilots SA365N or S76
Position type: Permanent
Salary: To be discussed
Region: Nigeria
Company: Gate Aerospace
Posted: Tuesday 6 January 2004
Job type(s): Flight crew
Description: Looking for experienced helicopter pilots on the 365N, S76B or S76C+.

Minimum requirements: Captain Total hours 4,000, total hours PIC 3,000 total hours Multi Engine Command 1,500, Night hours PIC 100, two years accident free for human error causes & violation free.

We would like you to send in your cv and license, so we can have a look at it.

Interviews are held on January 20th and 27th and February 17th and 18th.
Contact: Jeanne Misteli
Contact Email: [email protected]
Address: P.O. BOX 48
2400AA ALPHEN a/d RIJN
THE NETHERLANDS
Telephone: 0031 172 417 982
Fax: 0031 172 479 351
URL: www.gate-aerospace.com




flightInternationalJobs.com
http://flightInternationalJobs.com/
Printed: 6 January 2004
© 2004, flightInternationalJobs.com. All rights reserved.

[cpt]

Hello "one more pilot"
I don't know about Nigeria, but I'have never heard about a (new) onshore pipeline construction in Gabon....but I might have missed that....beeing in Gabon now I'll ask the next taxi driver I'll meet (they happen to know a lot before anybody else) .
In another hand, they told me (the taxi drivers of course) that CHC has won a contract with Pionner and will shortly base one of their helicopters in Gamba (an oil camp in southern Gabon)....
Don't know what type at the moment.

[onemorepilot]

Hi cpt

West coast of Africa seems busy. I read in the latest R&W (Jan 04, p.41) that:

"Also, CHC Helicopters (Africa) won a five-year contract renewal (with a one-year option) from Mobil Equatorial Guinea Inc. to provid two new dedicated S-76C+ aircraft to support operations off the coast of West Africa starting Mar. 1. The aircraft will be based at Malabo, Equatorial Guinea replacin two Bell 212s currently on the contract."

Nigeria can be a rough place to work. Do you have any info. about Gabon or Equatorial Guinea?

regards
O.M.P.

[Tokunbo]

The jobs advertised in Flight are for Schreiner in Nigeria (known as Aero Contractors co Nigeria there). They will have a larege number of vacancies this year. One thing to be aware of is that thewy will become part ofr CHC at the end of this month and nobody really knows what will happpen about pay etc. then. However, the operation in Nigeria is very large so there should be good job security there. It's not as bad as some people make it out to be.
The Schreiner interview takes the whole day. There's a session with the psychiatrist doing a number of drawings which he interprets and doing the Rorschach inkblot test, then there's a session with the graphologist for handwriting analysis and a personal interview with the human resource manager and the Ops Manager from Nigeria. If you're going just be yourself and don't BS.
Good luck:ok:
Now that the Camerfoon pipeline is finished they're laying off some pilots there, but there are alwasy rumors of other pipelines there and in Chad and other places around the area.

[cpt]

Hi onemorepilot,
In regard with Gabon, for the time beeing, it's a nice place to stay...very quiet and safe.
As far as Eq.Guinea is concerned I haven't been there for a while but I remember it wasn't like that at all (althouight I don't know Malabo very well but only the small continental part)
Now, I assume the side effects of fresh cash from oil don't ease up the things !

[gayflyboy]

As the ads for pilots in Nigeria are doing the rounds right now, I was wondering if there are any rotorheads out there who are working there , or who have in the past. What are the working/living/etc conditions like there??

Many thanks in advance

[419]

GFB,
As I've been based in various operations around Nigeria during the past 10 years, I feel I can give you an idea of what to expect.
If you are looking for helicopter jobs, I have a fair idea of the options of where you would be based.

1/ Lagos. This is not a bad place to work, and there is a resonably good social life available without having to travel too far. As in most Nigerian cities, there is a fair amount of crime, but as long as you are sensible, you can avoid most of the dangers. There have been a few armed robberies against expats, but generally this does not happen too often.
There are fairly good medical clinics, and if you ever have any serious problems, you've no problem getting out of the country.

2/ Port Harcourt. A very hectic city, with some of the worst traffic I've ever encountered. It can sometimes take 3 hours to travel 10 miles!. There is a very large expat community here, with corresponding social activities. There is a fairly good hospital, and again, there is easy access to the international airport.

3/ Warri. Sometimes referred to as "The wild west". In my opinion, this is the most dangerous place for expats to work at. There are often kidnappings of expat oil workers and related staff, (pilots and engineers), although, they are usually released unharmed after a few days(sometimes weeks), when a ransom has been paid. The medical facilities are a bit more basic than Lagos or P.H.

4/ Eket. I think this is the smallest of the main bases in Nigeria, and as such, it is also one of the quietest. The majority of expats working there live just outside of the main part of the town, either in a "secure" compound, or in a few rented houses. There is also a large ExxonMobil estate, which houses the ExxonMobil management, and various contracting staff. This looks a nice place to live, but as the old saying goes " looks can be deceiving".
The social life is a bit hit and miss, depending on who is on site, and the medical facilities are very basic. (if you end up here, make sure you bring a first aid kit and a few sterile needles etc)

There will be a fair few replies to you question, some saying it's a lovely place, others saying don't go, even if your life depends on it. What it all comes down to, is that the Nigerian way of life suits some people, and not others. If you do decide to go, and you find you don't like it, give it a while, and see if you can try out a different operation. You might hate one, and love another. Some people leave here after a few weeks, but othere have been here for 15-16 years.

Hope this gives you a small insight in what to expect.

419

[onemorepilot]

Hi cpt

thanks for the info. Until futher I will just sit and watch the development in Nigeria and nearby.

6/6 schedule can be good but the terms and conditions must dramaticly improve to attract me.
Shreiner offered me last year 56500 euro/year taxfree, LOL 90700 e. lifeinsurance 136100 e. Economy class airtickets. Free board and lodging (ofcourse).
Being away from family 182 days/y in an country like Nigeria or Nearby must payoff better than that.

We all have different priorities and lifesituations. A job that fits you might not fit me.

If the terms has improved since last year, please anyone share the info.

regards
O.M.P.

[B Sousa]

Take your thread to African Avaition, thats where folks currently flying there, post....
GFB may not be a name that will will ensure a job there though, they dont have a whole bunch of EO poeople to help you out...

[cpt]

Hi onemorepilot,
At a first glance,for 182 days on duty, it seems better than what we get paid in the company I'm working with....I personally try to compensate by more "on contract days" It's true that I've slowly drifted into some sort of gipsy style of living with a very short perspective of future. My ex-wife didn't like that at all (not surprisingly,neither does my "new one"!!!)
The question for all of us is, as you say so well "is it worthy ?":ouch:

[onemorepilot]

CPT

It was a plesaure "talking" to. Good luck with the futureplans.

"See" you later
O.M.P

[gayflyboy]

Thanks for the info - will check out the African section .

As far as the GFB bit and EO is concerned, I have never needed to rely on "EO" for a job. I am just good at what I do, not a quota filler.

Frankly, if my sexuality is going to be a problem for a particular employer, I don't want to be working there. I should never be an issue and I have be fortunate that it rarely has been for me (other than my departure from the RN 20 yrs ago). Am sure some colleagues may have had some issues they have kept to themselves and got on with the job.

[419]

I've heard rumours that "the grim reaper" has been visiting Bristow Nigeria again, with major job losses.
I've lost track of most of my old mates from there, and was wondering if the rumours are true.
Has anyone else heard anything else about this.?

419

[Joker's Wild]

Ooo, no takers........................................how VERY interesting.:hmm:

[419]

Maybe they've all been given the boot. Either that, or they're all still in the bar celebrating not being booted out.:\

419

[Time Out]

Any truth to the rumour that Bristow Nigeria are looking to change the roster back to the 8 on 4 off it used to be?

[rotormat]

I've heard from people working there that Bristow's are changing the touring cycle to 8 and 4. :(

[Time Out]

It's a shocking roster. I believe the other companies flying in Nigeria are still 6 on 6 off and going fine. Bristow Nigeria is extracting the last drop of blood from their pilots, as usual.

[international hog driver]

Our mob are currently doing 8 & 4 and have been for a while in Africa and it’s the pits.

4 aircrew and just as many ginger beers are ready to walk, most without jobs to go to (not including two retirees).

Will it wake up puzzle palace to the problems on contract, the failing marriages, and distraught kids when dad is away all the time.

Oil companies that expect the very best in safety and their own staff and rig pigs do 3 & 3 or 4 & 4, while the contractors do 8 & 4 and they wonder why moral is low in the logistics departments?????

The I don’t give a XXXX, attitude is rife and before too long something will come together not the way intended and there will be 10,000 managers all pointing the finger of blame at everyone else, while some kids in the real world will not understand why mummy is always crying and daddy is not coming home.

Bristow’s guy’s,

You must resist this with all you can and I mean it. In a matter of months, moral will be lower than a snakes belly, they career you once loved will now be a job that you wish you were doing anything but poleing about in the murk and haze.

And all this comes from one of the guys who is not one of the bitter and twisted ones, thankfully they are too pickled to turn on a computer…:{

:( :( :(

[soggyboxers]

8/4, we used to dream of 8/4, now we have this namby-pamby 6/6 and those of us who want 8/4 or 18/6 are told that it's impossible to fit us in to the roster. Oh for the good old days of long detachments, lousy pay, awful accommodation, strong beer and patient women that engendered such wonderful cameraderie :E

[jcitzen]

I know this has been done a number of times before on Rotorheads, but I am interested in what is currently happening jobs wise.

Are there any positions there at present ?

If so, who with ?

If not, when are there likely to be some ?

I have not toured before and am interested in starting and Nigeria seems to be paying the most at present.

I have all the right " tick in the box" re endorsement and rating and hours, but need a bit of information as to the current situation.

Thank in advance:ok:

[Thomas coupling]

Use the search engine, type in 'nigeria' and fill yer boots!

[mickjoebill]

Just returned from Nigeria where I've been filming TV commercals.
Looks like I'll be back over the comming years and would like to source suitable aircraft and pilots for filming.

Ideally AS350 355 as bracketry for camera is readily available and rates are within budget.

The local ad agencies probably have good contacts in regard to permissions ect.

Comments? :)



Mickjoebill

[jcitzen]

Thomas coupling,

Thanks for your reply. I had actually used the search engine prior to my post and found out a lot of interesting information. The problem is though, that most of the info there is at least six months old and some goes back years.

I was wondering what the present situation over there is. As in today, yesterday and if anyone has a crystal ball, tomorrow.

Cheer

[Hippolite]

A helicopter operated by Air Logstics African subsidiary Pan African Airlines and under contract to Chevron Texaco is missing offshore in Nigeria.

According to a company source the Bell 412EP helicopter with 4 pob was on a medivac mission to airlift an injured worker to Port Harcourt. Contact was lost 5 minutes after the aircraft took off from the drilling rig owned by Sedco Energy and operated by Transocean.

5 boats, 3 helicopters and a fixed wing are currently looking for the aircraft.


HH:(

[SASless]

Any idea who the crew were....have some friends that are working there?

[Time Out]

I don't know any names, but apparently there was one American pilot, one Nigerian, plus 2 other POB.

Apparently a search aircraft reported a slick 30 NM from the rig but nothing else.

This is terrible news. Like you, SASless, I have friends over there.

[ppheli]

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP)--A helicopter ferrying an injured oil worker from an offshore drilling rig in West Africa's Gulf of Guinea disappeared Monday with an American and three Nigerians onboard, ChevronTexaco's (CVX) Nigerian affiliate said.

The chopper disappeared five minutes after it took off around 2:30 a.m. from the Sedco Energy rig, owned by Transocean Inc. (RIG) and drilling on behalf of ChevronTexaco subsidiary Star Ultra Deep off Nigeria's southern coastline, said ChevronTexaco spokesman Sola Omole.

The four people on board the helicopter were an American pilot and three Nigerians: the co-pilot, the injured oil worker and a medical worker. The latter two were employed by the oil contract firm Transocean.

ChevronTexaco has "mobilized a search-and-rescue mission involving five boats, three helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft to examine the flight path of the missing helicopter," Omole said, speaking from the commercial capital of Lagos.

The helicopter was owned by Pan African Airlines. The search was continuing and "more resources will be deployed if needed," the spokesman added without elaborating.

"Our hearts go out to the families of those onboard the helicopter," said Jay Pryor, managing director of ChevronTexaco's Nigerian operations. "We continue to hope that they will be found within the shortest possible time."

Next of kin and U.S. authorities have also been notified, ChevronTexaco said.

[Mama Mangrove]

I hear that the helicopter has been located and nobody survived. I don´t know who the crew were, except that the pilot was American and the copilot Nigerian.
A sad day. Condolences to the families of all who were on board.

[SASless]

2:30 AM...from offshore to Port Harcourt....I had nightmares about that flight....but that was in Bristow's clapped out 212's. Prayers for those lost...and their families.

[Aviator609]

The Captain's name was Dave Ellis. I had the priviledge and honour of working with him in Nigeria. He worked the helicopter offshore market as a helicopter pilot in GOM and Nigeria.

Dave was a great pilot and a great human being, a big man with an even bigger heart. He was always friendly and helpful and I can't recall a single instance where he ever bad mouthed anyone or even had the inclination to do so.

My most sincere condolences to his wife and family with their great loss.

Rest in peace old friend.

[SASless]

Does anyone know the name of the Co-pilot that was killed in the crash....or any more details of the circumstances surrounding the flight?

[Time Out]

LAGOS — no fewer than six boats, one ship, five helicopters and scores of ocean divers are currently participating in the search for the bodies of victims of a helicopter that crashed last Monday, in which four persons were killed. One body has so far been recovered from the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean, while two others have also been reportedly sighted down the ocean, sources said.

The helicopter, which crashed in Escravos may have run out of fuel, according to indications yesterday. It was learnt that although the Bell 412 helicopter flight was meant for Port Harcourt, where it was conveying an injured Chevron-Texaco worker for treatment, it however, took off first for Ofinima for refuelling.

Sources told Vanguard that the helicopter, owned by Pan-African Airlines, lost radio contact less than ten minutes after take off to Ofinima for refuelling, fuelling speculation that it may have ran out of fuel.

It was learnt that the recovery of the bodies of the American pilot of the chopper, Capt. Davies Helis, and his Nigerian counterpart, Capt. B.A.S. Ojeme, was being hampered by ocean tide, just as the body of the fourth person in the helicopter was yet to be found.

According to sources, the fact that the helicopter crashed to a depth of over 4,000ft in the ocean was further making recovery of the bodies difficult.

Vanguard gathered that aside from the one body recovered so far, the main door, emergency door and two inflated rafts of the helicopter which took off from the airstrip of SEDCO Energy Company, an oil servicing company were recovered source (http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/nationalx/nr129072004.html)

[HeloTeacher]

Quoting from a nigerian newspaper, now there's faith!

I was reluctant to post anything, not everything is appropriate but here are a couple corrections to the last.

Pilots: David Ellis. Barnabas Ojeme.

Causes are all speculation at this point.

SEDCO Energy is the name of the vessel, not an airstrip.

[sandy helmet]

Our sincere condolences from the Bajan pilots.
Dave was lead pilot on the Conoco Barbados project in 2001, and was a great friendly guy with a good sense of humor.
We are shocked and saddened to hear the news.

[jcitzen]

I was wondering what was happening on the Jobs front in Nigeria at present ( especially ACN )

I have sent them a number of E-mails but have got no replies.
I heard that they are looking for pilots but can't seem to be able to get in contact with them.

Has anyone out there had any contact with them recently.

[chevy 76]

Hoi, the add mentioned below is since April in Flight International job search. As far as I understood from a friend , this is for ACN in Nigeria, you may give a try...lots of rumours going around after CHC took over from Schreiner, about some new working condition package for the expats in ACN...nothing else heard but just rumours...
good luck

SA365 Captains
Region: Africa
Company: Wynnwith
Salary: Tax Free
Position type: Contract
Posted: Monday 12 April 2004
Job type(s): Flight crew
Description: SA365 Helicopter Captains with 300 hrs PIC on type. Must have an ATPLH with the SA365 Type Rating. 3 year renewable contracts. 6 Weeks on 6 weeks of leave schedule and excellent benefits.

[anjouan]

jcitizen
I think you'll find that, for now, they have no vacancies, but being a fairly large operator with a lot of pilots, people are always leaving so something may come up later. Have you sent a hard copy of your CV to their HR department in Hoofddorp?

[HeloTeacher]

You could spend months sending e-mails to Winnwyth and get nowhere.

Try this, if you have captaincy req's:

[email protected]
Capt. Dayo Awarun
D/Head of Flight Dept
Rotary

Hoofdoorp is probably another black hole right now with the CHC upheavals in Europe.

I don't have accurate Pan-African or Bristow's details, sorry.

[jcitzen]

Chevy 76, Anjouan and Helo Teacher,

Thank for your replies.

Have sent a E-mail to to Capt Awarun and will wait and see if I get a reply.

I have all the required "ticks in the box" for a Captains position on either the 76 or AS365 but as previously posted havn't gotten any replies.:confused:

[Bivar4]

The platform he was heading to is called FUNIWA, and apparently was going there to take fuel, as the Sedco Energy fuel system developed some kind of problem.

[SASless]

Have heard the Tail Rotor or parts of the tail rotor have been found while the search for the fuselage continues. Rumor has it that there are large blue streaks on the tail rotor which would suggest some sort of blade strike involving the tail rotor.....some short of inflight breakup maybe???

This is not first hand info....but was received from a source that can be trusted.....no attempt to make an assertation of fact...just passing on latest buzz from the network.

[goaround7]

Better half considering (fixed wing) opportunity flying out of Abidjan (where I have been for 10 days) or Lagos (where I haven't at all).

Any suggestions or comments regarding rotor wing opportunities in either of these locations for ATP/IR, 2000 hours ?

[212man]

I think CHC Africa have a 61 contract in Cote d'Ivoire at the moment; any use?

Don't think many openings in Nigeria with 2000 hours; maybe Caverton helicopters who are recruiting in Lagos.

[goaround7]

Many thanks 212 man.

Best rating to get hold of ? 212 ? 412 ? 61 ?

(Got AS350, 206L, 407)

[rotorboy]

I'd fax the cv to air log international. They have a couple of operations (Bristow/ Pan African) in that next of the woods. I am pretty sure they are flying some 407's out of Nigeria.

rb

[Nigerian Expat Outlaw]

goaround7, don't think Bristow will take you with 2,000 hrs and the ratings you mention, but Pan African might. They operate for ChevronTexaco out of Escravos and Port Harcourt and have 412s, 206s and 407s. You can get the OLOG address (they own Pan African) via the employment link on the OLOG website. Hope this helps.

[SASless]

For Pan African....call Air Log International in New Iberia....Ivan Culver or someone there will direct your call.

[go vertical]

Is it possible to work with the FAA ATPL(H) in any African Country or is there a License Conversion necessary? How is Nigeria in particular?

Thanks!!!

[212man]

In Nigeria you will need to do the air law exam and a medical and then the NCAA will issue a validation on your licence. They no longer issue Nigerian licences to expats. Normally a straight forward part of the process of joining a Nigerian based operator.

[B Sousa]

As a Commercial Pilot , I have gone through the hoops in South Africa. Its the same with an ATP. You take the Air Law Exam ($$) and the next step is a Checkride ($$). All goes well you get a Validation that is good for the length of your current FAA medical.
Air Law is a one time exam but Validation is done every medical. So for an FAA ATP with FAA Class 1 be prepared to pay for a validation every six months. One reason to have a fresh Medical when doing this. By the way there are FAA recognized Doctors in South Africa, I do beleive a bit stricter than most here in the states.
Controversy as to ATP or Commercial in that I suggest if you only need a commercial, only validate that part as its good for 12 months. Friends there say get the ATP and spend a bit more every six months then you dont have to have another check ride to upgrade......
My Email is good should I be able to help.

[SASless]

Nigerian Militia Threatens Armed Struggle


By DULUE MBACHU, Associated Press Writer

LAGOS, Nigeria - A militia group in the Niger Delta will launch "a full-scale armed struggle" to wrest control of the region's oil riches from the Nigerian government starting Oct. 1, the group's leader declared Tuesday.

Military spokesman Col. Ganiyu Adewale played down the warning, calling it "an empty threat" from a group that officials routinely dismiss as criminals.

Militia leader Moujahid Dokubo-Asari, who heads the Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force, warned oil companies that all their employees would be targets and he advised foreign embassies to pull their nationals out of the southern region.

"We will start a full-scale armed struggle" on Oct. 1 — the 44th anniversary of Nigeria's independence from Britain — Dokubo-Asari told The Associated Press by telephone.

"Any part of Nigeria, wherever we have the opportunity to strike any target, we will strike," he said on a day when crude oil prices topped $50 per barrel for the first time.

Nigeria is Africa's leading oil producer, the world's seventh-largest exporter and the fifth-biggest source of U.S. oil imports. Nearly all Nigeria's daily oil exports come from the Niger Delta region.

The violence in Nigeria, a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has put added pressure on prices of crude at a time when oil is already at historic highs.

Although it's difficult to determine the militia's strength, Dokubo-Asari claims to command 2,000 fighters and to have the support of tens of thousands more armed ethnic Ijaw fighters in the region. His group has battled government troops in the delta since April.

President Olusegun Obasanjo's government says militia members are gangsters who illegally tap pipelines and sell the oil to buy arms and fund criminal activities.

But Dokubo-Asari claims to be fighting for the self-determination of more than 8 million Ijaws, the dominant tribe in the delta.

"We will target government infrastructure and oil company personnel," Dokubo-Asari said. "Oil facilities will not be targeted since it will endanger the environment."

But Adewale, the military spokesman, played down the threat.

"All oil installations are being manned by the armed forces and oil workers are safe. The military is there to contain the situation. I foresee no problems at all," he said.

Dokubo-Asari alleged that local subsidiaries Royal Dutch/Shell, Italy's Agip and other oil multinationals in Nigeria have provided government troops with helicopters and maps that aided the bombardment of rebel camps hidden among the delta's creeks and mangrove swamps.

On Sunday, Dokubo-Asari's fighters said only helicopters belonging to Agip had helped government forces target their positions.

Shell's Nigeria unit said Tuesday in a statement that it regularly supplies Nigeria with maps as part of its regulatory obligations, but that it hasn't supplied new charts to any group since the crisis began.

Shell, which accounts for roughly half of Nigeria's daily production of 2.5 million barrels, said it had shut down an oil flow station in the Niger Delta that pumps 28,000 barrels a day because it could not get staff there to fix a "technical problem."

"The security situation in the swamps of the eastern area of operation of the Shell Petroleum Development Company is still tense, and the risk of water transportation is high," the company said in a statement.

A representative of Italy's Eni SpA, Agip's parent company in Rome, said it had no plans to evacuate staff from Nigeria and added its exports of about 200,000 barrels of oil daily would not be affected.

Nigeria's military launched its latest offensive against Dokubo-Asari's fighters early this month in response to deadly raids by his militia into Nigeria's main oil industry center, Port Harcourt, in August.

Since then, army helicopter gunships and troops in gunboats have raided and bombarded 10 towns and villages considered militia strongholds, resulting in dozens of deaths, militia leaders say.

Amnesty International said at least 500 people were killed in August alone in fighting involving rival militia groups and the army in and around Port Harcourt.

Dokubo-Asari has said his fighters will only lay down their arms if the government convenes a "sovereign national conference" to discuss self-determination and greater control of oil wealth by the inhabitants of the region.

Widespread violence in the delta often results in severe disruptions to oil operations. In March 2003, fighting between rival ethnic militia groups in the west of Niger Delta near the oil port city of Warri — which drew in government troops — forced oil companies to shut down 40 percent of Nigeria's exports for several weeks.

Oil prices topped 50 USD already....think this will help?

What say you 212Man....combat pay for night runs to the Bush Bar?

[212man]

Hey, you can't live in a tropical paradise and not have some drawbacks...............

[RDRickster]

Recently saw a documentary on PBS about the disparity between the populace in oil rich nations between the very rich and very poor (there isn't really a middle-class to speak of). Some very interesting commentary about Nigeria specifically. I've never been to West-Africa (only Kenya and Egypt). What's the deal and is this a credible threat or is it more of the same history? Your thoughts on legitimacy of the group's claims and how this will effect rotorcraft operations (keeping it helicopter related)?

[OFBSLF]

Oil prices topped 50 USD already....think this will help?Depends upon whether you are buying or selling ;)

[B Sousa]

Lets see.What do we need to get a war going.
Oil....OK
Money.....Yep
Africa..Sounds Good

Just a matter of time, before we hear someone singing. "From the Halls of Montezuma"...in Lagos

[SASless]

Bert....if you are keeping up on the latest news from DOD...they already have an offshore presence in the area....an an island base approved for operations.

It is interesting how many Non-Nigerian warships can be seen in the waters there.

[Disguise Delimit]

I hope they don't start a war yet - General Oompaloompa still hasn't sent me my US$29 million that he promised me in an email. I sent him $30,000 for the expenses, and I want to get my investment back soon...:8

[B Sousa]

Disguise
Go to the "Campfire" forum, (below African Aviation) there is a thread there with all kinds of 419 scams.
You can send me the 30k

[Vfrpilotpb]

OIl, did somone mention Oil, well that done it, Aunty Toni and Uncle George will be throwin a real humdinger of a shindig down there soon,

Mention" Oil" and you'll get their attention! are there any Fox's down there?

Vfr:cool:

[alouette]

For all you compadres out there in the field, I just got the weekly Nigerian newsflash wired into my email account. Some Watumba always got a juicy and heart breaking story on the rack. And always the same story. The poor soul not able to contact the deceased, crashed, crippled by some virus unable to spell the vowels, etc ...Enjoy


Dear Sir/MADAM,
I am Barrister Frank Obi, a Solicitor to a Mr Fredrick who used to work with shell development company in Nigeria, on the 21st of April 1999,
my client, his wife and their three children were involved in a car
accident along Sagbama Express Road that claims the lives of all occupants of the vehicle. It was very sad news and since then I have made several enquiries to your embassy to locate any of my clients extended relatives which proves unsuccessful.

After these several unsuccessful attempts I, decided to trace his
relatives over the Internet, to locate any member of his family but of no avail, hence I contacted you. I have contacted you on trust to assist me in receiving the money left behind by my client before the bank he has an account with get money confiscated or declared his money as unclaimed fund following the bank policy. Particularly, the Bank where the deceased had an account valued at about $10.5 million dollars has issued me a notice to provide the next of kin of my client or have the account confiscated within the next ten official working days.

Since l have been unsuccessful in locating the relatives for over years now I seek your consent to present you as the next of kin of the deceased since you are bearing or having the same surname with my late client so that the proceeds of the transfer of this money valued at $10.5 million dollars can be paid to you as his next of kin for our mutual benefit. The sharing percentage is as follow if only you will be faithful and honest to assist me, 30% for your assistance as next of kin, 65% to me and remaining 5% should be for expenses or tax as your government may
require.
All necessary legal documents that will back up your claim of this
money will be secured by an attorney on you behalf. All I require is your
honest cooperation to enable us see this deal through. I guarantee you that this business will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect you from any breach of the law. Please get in touch with me by my email to enable us discuss further steps to follow and please
for confidential reason forward your reply to my private email
[[email protected]] or call [234-803-566-7539] for verbal
discussion.


Best Regards,
Frank Obi.[Esq.]

____________________________________________________________ _____
Diese Email wurde Gesendet, mit der Kostenlose E-mail Adresse von
www.anima24.de ihre

:}

[B Sousa]

I copied that one to the 419 scam letters on the Campfire Forum.......

[lead zeppelin]

Has anyone ever heard of someone actually falling victim to these emails?

I can't believe anyone would be that gullible...:hmm:

[alouette]

To Lead Zeppelin;

Actually I wouldn't be so sure about it of people not falling for this scam. Otherwise it would not come through. I get these messages at least twice a week...and the stories are getting kinda dull because it's always the same. But in a world of greed and evil I think there are folks out there trying to squeeze the commission out of it. Bet a dime on it, it ain't me. ;)

[B Sousa]

Led Zep.. The answer is YES and in the Millions of Dollars. In the states they have a Task Force set up to combat these letters which used to arrive by snail mail, now with the internet they are really having fun.....
Some people have more money than brains and do fall for this.
Check out all the letters as posted on the Campfire Forum under 419 scams.

[alouette]

to B Sousa;

Actually, I get jealous. I always have plane and car crashes with the sweet referal to a cnn or bbc web page. Man, you had a new twist. The story where the dude apparently got something in his thingy and in the esophagus really wraps me up.:p

By the way I forgot to add something. With people obviously falling prey to these juicy baits wouldn\'t it be possible for terrorist organizations to shift money around to undisclosed accounts. As in Quaida Network. Would not surprise me at all. Use the bank account of some fool to organize the big thing...kinda scary:uhoh:

[SASless]

Hey 212Man....tell us about the "Money Laundering Scheme" at Warri....the one where the Club Manager was gonna scrub "Dollars" and then the paper could be re-used for bigger notes or some silly thing. Led to a rapid departure from Warri for him and his Missus!

Oh yes.....people do fall for the schemes!

[Flying Lawyer]

lead zeppelin asks: "Has anyone ever heard of someone actually falling victim to these emails?
I can't believe anyone would be that gullible..."

Yes, many people all over the world have fallen for the scam, and even more have been tempted.
By coincidence, I received this e-mail from a friend this morning. Hi Tudor

How are you and the family?

I have a question for you of the "too good to be true" nature.
A guy who claims to be a barrister (I believe he is from the UK as that is where one of his e-mail addresses is from) sent us an e-mail about a man with the last name of Xxxxxxxx who died in Nigeria, with no relatives. I guess he worked for an oil company.
He claims to be the lawyer of the deceased and says that the deceased died with $10,000,000 dollars in his account with no known heirs. He says that since Mary has the same last name (we have never heard of the guy), she has the possibility of getting the money - otherwise, it will go to the state of Nigeria. Oh, and he wants 50% for bringing us this opportunity.

Question: How can I find out if this guy is legit ? Do you barristers have a registration number, or something similar that can be looked up ?
Also, as far as 50%, is that something that reasonable given the situation?
Personally, I think it is o.k. as I am doing nothing (apparently) and receiving some money.

Again, I am very skeptical. Let me know your thoughts.

Mary sends her love.
When are you coming to visit?
Take care,
D

Note: forwarded message attached.
The forwarded message included a scanned copy of what purported to be Mr. Xxxxxx's Death Certificate.

My reply included these links:
www.secretservice.gov/alert419.shtml
www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/nigeralrt.htm

My friend's no gullible country boy. He was brought up in a big American city, is (normally) very street-wise, and has lived in many different countries in the 20 years he's has been an officer in the US Navy Seals.
But notice how, although he says he's 'skeptical', he still says (referring to the 50/50 split) "Personally, I think it is o.k. as I am doing nothing (apparently) and receiving some money."
It reminds me of the definition of conman I was given years ago by a successful conman I met professionally (on an occasion when he was caught):
A conman is someone who sells nothing for something to people who want something for nothing."

There's a lot of truth in that. ;)

[212man]

SASless,
I was just about to mention it, though not directly referring to anybody! I know of a recently departed contracter (not for that reason) who also fell for it.

Scam goes; for some reason, a perfectly honest person has several hundred thousand dollars in cash in his possessions which he cannot take out odf the country. He therefore uses a special dye that disguises the money as blank paper (sort of grubby grey colour) and this can be removed with a special solvent.

Then it all goes a bit vague (never actually had the story first hand) but somehow the solvent can't be found in Nigeria and it all gets to difficult, so they decide to sell the 'money'. Hapless expat is approached and offered this 'money' at discounted price. A demonstration is given showing miraculous apperance of 50 dollar note from grubby paper, with what little solvent remains, and full details of what they need to do are given.

Happy expat walks off about 20 grand down and the proud owner of a box of very low grade paper cuttings!

I saw the box a few months ago that this contracter had left behind.

To really add to the fun, you can say you don't have enough cash to buy the 'money', at which point a local loan shark will offer to lend you the money on the proviso that you pay him back from your freshly washed (laundered?!) cash. Needless to say he isn't too impressed by your excuses, when you discover the truth, and threatens nasty things. That's the time to make a swift exit (as SASless aluded to)

Strange, but true! Scary thing is these are supposedly intelligent people doing well paid jobs.

I gather there's a cease fire being discussed...

[pulse1]

Although I cannot remember doing anything, I have received an e mail telling me that "following our secret agreement, they have sent me a packing case full of money". They tell me that the case is marked as "diplomatic papers" and I am not to tell anyone that it is money.

The case weighs 420 Kg but they have lied and only paid for 270Kg at $5700.

They gave me a UK telephone number of the Diplomatic Courier Services if I wanted to progress the package.

I couldn't see what the scam was initially but I eventually realised that, if I called the number, they would probably confirm that they had the package and tell me that there was another $5700 to pay for shipping. Oh yea? Delete!!!

[Pigy]

I am in the running for an Avionics position with Schreiner in Nigeria. Can anyone out there give me some in-depth intel on the company. I know they were taken over by CHC lately but that's it. Their web page gives no info what so ever. I would like to know what Aircraft they run, rotory and stiffy's, and where else they operate. Even if someone knows someone who works for them who would be willing to enlighten me.
Thanks.

[etienne t boy]

Pigy,

Are you going to be working on fixed wing in Lagos or helicopters in Port Harcourt? Lots of rumors of the fixed wing being sold off early next year. A number of Australians, both pilots and engineers have quit in the last few months. Working roster is 6/6 with pay at the moment in €, but strong rumors of a change to the good ole Yanqui dollare next year. Accommodation is okay for Africa and you'll get your own room and free food with internet access and satellite TV. Travel arrangements, once good are now cheap and chaotic to say the least.

In Nigeria they operate SA365N, N1, N2, N3, AS 355F1, S76B, S76 C+. Stiffys they operate Twin Otter, Dash 8 and they have a few leased B737s from JAT, plus a Lear Jet for Total Fina Elf.

They're also based in Holland (big redundancies coming up in their head office in Hoofddorp in the New Year) where they have S76B, SA365N, N3 and S61N. They have a small operation in Cameroon and Chad with a 365N3 a 365N a Dash 8 and a few Twotters.

As with so many companies the change to CHC is resulting in a lot of confusion, incertainty about the future and many think their personal circumstances will probably get worse next year. There's been no pay review in the company for 2 years now. :{

[Pigy]

Thanks Dude, that's the best intel I've had so far. I think it will be on S76's. So by what you say it will more than likely be in Pt. Harcourt if that's where Helicopters are.
Thanks again.

[Giovanni Cento Nove]

Not THE Piggy? B**** HOOKS mean anything?

[Pigy]

The very same! Go the Budju's!

[Giovanni Cento Nove]

buju


Originally an Aboriginal translation for 'v****na' the words meaning has evolved and can be used as social term to classify a good looking person.

Geographically localised to Northern Territory Australia

"Man!! Sheryl is a buju eh"

"that chick is one sik buju"

or

"i have an it*hy buju"

[BH47G5]

could someone tell me what licences are accepted in Nigeria

JAA or FAA or both

[SASless]

Last time I was there....they were doing endorsements of both....there was a time when they issued Nigerian licenses with the taking of just a couple of exams, a medical, and the usual flight tests.

[CJ2driver]

Anybody out there working for ACN ? Like to get a scoop on the company before paying $500 to register as a prospective pilot.
My job right now is not that bad to take a step in the dark.

[Nigerian Expat Outlaw]

No offence, but why would you pay to be registered as a pilot ? If they want you and they are recruiting and you are qualified, why do they need money from you ?

[ApocalypseThen]

If anybody from Nigeria is asking you for money in advance , it may not be a scam , but that`s the way to bet .

[SASless]

Absolutely do not pay anything to register. PM me....can put you in touch with some folks.

Matter of fact....expose whoever is trying to get you to pay something to register!

[Av8r]

It's an intelligence test.

If you’re stupid enough to PAY to get a job, they wouldn't want you.

It's screening process...

[CJ2driver]

quote just to clarify..
...that you have been shortlisted to work with the most reputable airline company in Nigeria....the next stage now is that your file has to be registered in our offfice with a registration fee of $500US....this fee is absolutely refundable upon commencement of job and arrival...this fee stipulates your seriousness to this job offer...

Sure like to go fly over there, but I'm still in doubt .
Thanks for your oppinions!

[Av8r]

I smell a rat.

Not this little black duck.

[Heliport]

CJ2driver

So you're on the shortlist and your $500US is absolutely refundable upon commencement of job and arrival.

And if it just so happens you don't get selected from the 'shortlist' so don't commence a job ......... ? ;)


I suppose it depends if you're prepared to gamble $500. If you do, despite the warnings, work on the basis it's $500 lost for ever and be pleasantly surprised if you get either a job or your money back.

If I were in your position, I'd take up the offer SASless has made you.

[SASless]

A simple google search for ACN revealed their web site which has a "vacancies" page.....complete with e-mail contact addresses and phone numbers.

Is this the point of contact you are using that wants the $500 cash payment? I dare say a quick e-mail to the GM of ACN will clear this up.

Will keep you guys posted....e-mail being sent in the next few minutes.

[CJ2driver]

Thanks for your input guys!
The money stays here. I am not that crazy about Nigeria anyway,
just checking my options, and better paying job would be worth a little risk. I looked them up on the web and they look solid!

[Thomas coupling]

CJ2 driver: I'll offer you a job with only a £100 deposit (non refundable unless you get the job?).
Interested?

[HeloTeacher]

Having been recruited in the last 12 months, I can say you are being scammed.

Please post the details of this con artist here to prevent anyone being caught unawares.

The company website is:

http://www.acn.aero

Use those details, even the legitimate employment agencies are a lousy way to go, in my experience.

[ruma]

There is no such thing as registration fees in getting a job with Aero-Contractors!. Somebody is trying to play a fast one on you. Beware of 419 Scam. A fast one for that matter. Looking for job with Aero? Check out at www.acn.aero there you can apply on line under vacancy and i assure you, you will get a response from them provided you are qualified as stated in their web site! Good luck

[HeloTeacher]

If you received the following email please do not respond this is a scam. They have emailed users on AvCanada 4 or 5 times in the last two years. They try to get you to send money for travel to a specific travel agency. The scam can be read on many other sites by doing a simple yahoo or google search.
I notice they are including Avcanada in the email now.


from ""donald kels" <[email protected]>"


http://www.acn.aero/images/logo_inner.gif

Dear Employee,

We are the employers agent of a private aircraft company,called Aero Contractors. We transport both local and international flights, we also have cargo aircrafts for goods and we are situated in Nigeria, West Africa. I am Donald Kels, the Recruitment Director of the Pilot Recruitment Department of Aero Contractors, our office is situated at 1-19 Aero Close, Ikeja - Lagos, Nigeria.

We got your information from AvCanada and we will say that we are really interested in getting you jobs in this highly reputable firm. We have gone through your resume and we shortlisted you and if you really know that you are interested in this reputable offer, kindly reply this mail urgently.

Thanks and regards.

Donald Kels
Tel: +234-8033599705.
_________________
Regards,

Webmaster AvCanada

[CJ2driver]

WARNING:
It is a total scam, these bastards are using the names of totally legit outfit and honest people. This poser for Donald Kels has supposely found my resume on rotorwash.com and now he is offering me a chief pilot position on a CJ2 and $75.000 annually.
This scammer's e-mail ends @yahoo.uk, quick search revealed that all e-mail addreses for the company are @acn.aero
Thanks to everyone who participated and saved me and others a lot of headache.
Next step? How about some warm wishes to Mr [email protected], and as an attachement a boot in his anus.

[L'WAAPAM]

Hi All,

I'm looking at a possible job in Nigeria (Bristows) and was searching the threads for info but the last posted was in 03.

Anyone got any updated info? housing, amenities, social etc,etc

Has it changed much in the last few years or not at all in the last 20?!!!!!

Thanks




.... last posted was in 03??
I don't know where you've been looking, but you'll find lots of information in this and the West Africa thread.

Heliport

[pstjgw]

Look at the "What's new in West Africa" thread, that is up to date.

Pstjgw

[SASless]

Alternative thought...ask BHL for copies of Exit Interviews done with departing staff.....that would make for interesting reading.

[flyer43]

SASless I'm sure that you will find a fairly even spread of those that left with good and bad feelings about BHL. It generally depends on the way each person sees the way the company treated them. Often, if somebody thinks higher of themselves than they are treated, them they have negative thoughts about the company.
I would urge caution against using "exit interviews" as a good way of assessing any company.

[SASless]

Ah but 43 dear chap....the truth is in the interviews....for exactly the reasons you cite. Treat a professional in a crappy manner and he leaves unhappy....the key question is why there are vacancies at all. If it is a happy place...with adequate pay and benefits, engineering standards that are beyond reproach, living conditions are adequate, and the staff feel satisfied with their current lot in life.....why the turnover? Why are folks leaving the employ of the company? Just be sure you are comfortable with the answer before you put yourself into that situation is all I am suggesting to you.

The real truth here is....there are no exit interviews. If you read the threads that have been posted here....you will see a constant that carries over in each one of them. I would suggest that everything that is said is not exactly true...either good or bad included and that the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

The question one has to ask himself is....are those the warts that will bother me. If you have a high tolerance for certain kinds of warts...then Nigeria and Bristow is the place for you. If on the other hand their warts are the ones that give you the willies...then maybe not.

I also suggest there are far more folks that have been to Nigeria and are no longer there than are there and like it. There are worse places....have been to some. I have worked for outfits that are worse than Bristow Nigeria.

All helicopter outfits are the same....they have good cycles and bad cycles....the trick is to find one that has hit bottom and is on the way up....ride that pony until the top of the hill is crested and then jump ship looking for another one that is heading up the grade.

The tricky part is judging when the time to jump is right.....and the old saw of being the first rat off the sinking ship is better than being the last rat off is too true.

There are guys in Nigeria that have been there literally forever with Bristow...they have found a way to meet their expectations. There are large numbers of folks that could not find a way to adjust their standards to meet the needs there. For sure, you will meet some very interesting personalities. I have friends that are there that I treasure.

Bottom line... it all comes down to money...if you think you are being adequately compensated and can live with the existing standards then by all means go for it. You will not find it the same as BHL in the NorthSea nor anything like the British Army. That I can promise.

[flyer43]

SASless Treat a professional in a crappy manner and he leaves unhappy
I obviously hit a nerve there!! I've seen operations all around the globe and have come to know the BHNL operations quite well in recent years. As you also say All helicopter outfits are the same....they have good cycles and bad cycles.... Too true, although some have heavier leanings to one side than the other.
However, your comment The tricky part is judging when the time to jump is right.....and the old saw of being the first rat off the sinking ship is better than being the last rat off is too true suggests that you are not the most reliable member of any company, so exit interview or not, they probably treated you correctly! Employees who are only on board while the going is good do very little to assist company stability. The payback generally arrives in lower than expected salaries and poorer terms of service. The choice is yours......

[Phoenix Rising]

Flyer43 - Actually for the record SASLess's previous employer who is actually a good friend of mine, had sterling praise for him and was sorry to see him leave. In fact also spoke to a the Chief Pilot and DOM and both of them also had great things to say about him, so before you make a negative comment about someone remember that this is a very small industry and we all know someone who works or knows someone, if you get my drift.

Oh and in case you are wondering, NO I have never met SASLess in person, so there is no sticking up for a friend post required.

Cheers

PR.

[flyer43]

Phoenix Rising Point taken, and you are probably right, but as stated by SASless - All helicopter outfits are the same....they have good cycles and bad cycles....the trick is to find one that has hit bottom and is on the way up....ride that pony until the top of the hill is crested and then jump ship looking for another one that is heading up the grade.
Doesn't give me a very comfortable feeling about his reliability.
And before you ask, I've got no axe to grind with SASless or anybody. I don't know him and I spent many happy years working for Bristow. I certainly wasn't "riding any ponies" but left due to lack of fulfilment at that particular time in my life. (OK, so my "exit interview" would not have read well at the time, but I do not hold anything against the company - they were just going through a time of large changes)

[SASless]

Flyer...

You make my point with your last post....you left....just as I left...just as others have left. Probably if we combined our evaluations of the place we left they would pretty much read the same. The key thing being....the reasons we left are "common" issues and most could easily be remedied with little or no expenditure of funds.

Loyalty is a word you are grasping for but have not latched onto yet.....we have to remember that loyalty is a two way street. In the helicopter industry that has not been the case for years.

You suggest I was "unreliable"...I suggest you meant to say dis-loyal....and I would point out to you how the longest serving pilots in the NorthSea got treated by Bristow during the layoff of the senior 52 pilots based upon age. That is how loyalty is repaid these days. They did the same thing at Eket/Mobil and had to rehire a lot of the guys when they could not man the operation. Look at the way the older guys take a pay cut after retiring and then return as contractors....that is loyalty? Many of those pilots had been with Bristow for many hard years too....is that the kind of loyalty you endorse?


In the old days of Bristow when it was run by the Old Man....layoffs were rare...."gardening leave was common" and Bristow was a good place to work. It had a personal touch that is geniuninely missing now. The Old Man got his pound of flesh but he took care of the people and demonstrated a certain amount of respect to those that made the money for him.

In this day and time...with the bean counters running the business...loyalty is a hopeless issue. When the contracts go away....so do the redundant staff....no gardening leave nowadays. Used to be the long serving staff were the last to go...not the first.

Thus, I would suggest your defense of the benevolence of your prospective emloyer might be overstated.

I have been outspoken...sometimes even right....sometimes not so right...but I have tried to maintain as high a professional standard as I can no matter how bush a place I have been. Some at the loftier places of power did not care for my candor but I did not see a lot of rightous indignation over what was being said.

The last time I arrived in Nigeria to start a contract....there was a bare house to live in....and by bare I mean no bedding, no towels, no pots or pans, dishes....nothing but a couple of chairs and some broken down old beds. It took an ultimatum to get the place furnished to the Bristow Bachelor standard. I know my arrival was a surprise....I took three weeks to get there after agreeing to the contract. As I said...treat a professional like a professional and things will work out. That set the tone for the rest of the contract there. Aircraft were refused by the customer engineering rep....a former BHL Chief Engineer....the 76 program was in shambles....

There is a time to jump ship.....sometimes that is the harder thing to do....but at the same time the exact right thing to do if your concerns are not being given a fair hearing.

Remember the loyalty issue......it is a two way street.

[joedirt]

flyer43....
You're remarks are more suited for military ops, where the call of duty serves higher moral grounds..........:rolleyes:
On the other hand your providing a service (civilian), and they in return pay you. If they don't pay the market price, you leave. Their loss, but their indirect decision made this so.....
So lay off the moral highground of reliability issue, and salute SASless outstanding moral for giving his family the best return on investment when he is working.

[flyer43]

OK, so call it what you want - Loyalty or reliability. Loyalty is indeed a two way street.
It was interesting to note that SASless suggested that BHL was a much better and more supportive company when the old man was around, and yet that was when I and many like me left. But most of us were pretty loyal to the company for the most part, and the company was generally loyal in return. There were other issues at the time.
As for my thoughts being more suited to the military - you couldn't be more wrong there! Yes, if you pay someone enough they will generally stay, but I thought that the issue here was not respecting somebody's professionalism. Does that only have to be by paying them top dollar? I think not. What it means to me is making somebody feel respected for what they do. This may not necessarily mean earning more than the next guy, but it would seem that a lot of guys think so. Maybe that is one of the reasons that the heli industry sees such a high turnover in staff. So many pilots are "jumping ship" that it is becoming more and more difficult for the operators to plan ahead. It's also fair to say that for those operators primarily supporting the oil industry, there are periods of "Feast and Famine" due to contracts moving across and poor foreward planning amongst other things.
As I said before, I'm not pointing fingers at SASless, he seems quite capable of doing that for himself!
So back to the original quesiton for this thread -
Nigeria Operations Update - Has it changed much in the last few years or not at all in the last 20?!!!!!
I would think that nothing much has changed - Nigeria, be it working for BHL, CHC, Bloggs Helicopters or anybody else is either a place you get on with or don't. If you are happy with the money, can put up with the in country problems and are happy with the salary, then it's the place for you! Otherwise, look somewhere else.

[Heliport]

flyer43

There's not much point having a go at people who respond to requests for information because they say things you don't like/ think are wrong.
Those who need information can choose from the various views posted or, wiser still, learn from a cross-section of different views.


Heliport

[flyer43]

Heliport - Much appreciated, but it wasn't me that asked the original question, I was simply getting the pre-merged thread back to its original question posed by L'WAAPAM as it had been rather heavily hijacked by others, and me of course.:O

Later edit - Heliport, I see that you have changed your original comment re "why ask a question when you already know the answer?" and can only say that I agree totally with your last paragraph. I'm just trying to err caution for some of our readers as there are two sides to most stories. The title of this site implies "Rumours" are rife and, in any case, you should never believe everything you read on the Web unless it is from a totally reliable source or can be otherwise substantiated.

Cheers F43

[212man]

"Nigeria Operations Update - Has it changed much in the last few years or not at all in the last 20?!!!!!"

Well I can vouch that it has changed a lot in the last 9 years.

Lagos airport is now absolutely fine; Aircon works, escalators and travalators work, customs are polite and efficient with no hint of bribary, carrousels work and the crowds are kept away from the exit as you walk out.

In country, there is a GSM network and internet, so communications are relatively normal. Transport between bases is by Jet rather than Twin Otter.

Aircraft are mainly modern (EC-155, S-76 C+ and 412s on the way)

Some things never change though.

[flyer43]

212man
The "some things" were the ones I was alluding to! And probably what L'WAAPAM was really enquiring about.

The international airport has certainly improved, even in the few years that I have been visiting the country.

[anjouan]

Flyer 43,

You obviously don’t know SASless, who is a really good pilot. It’s just Bristow who he had a problem with when they didn’t want to hear opinions other than their own. He fell out with an individual who has probably been responsible for more people leaving Bristow than any other single person in the company history. Unfortunately, they have learned nothing as he’s still employed by them as a manager, albeit in a different location now.

But to get back to the thread...

Customs are still definitely into bribery at Lagos airport and last week the baggage carousels broke down yet again for several hours.

Bristow work a slightly longer touring roster than Aero Contractors, but in return for that they're paid a slightly higher salary in a stable, strong currency (especially as Aero will shortly be getting paid in US$). Their accomodation is mostly a lot better than that of Aero, the only problem being that you can be in very upmarket housing in a lousy area, miles from any local amenities. Messing may be done centrally or you have to buy and cook your own food. You'd need to check what applies to the contract you're being offered. Also be very careful about Bristow if you're over 55 years old. A few years ago they suddenly got rid of most of the pilots they had in Nigeria over the age of 57. No chance of the 'gardening leave' which was often offered during the days of old man Bristow. Of course, suddenly they needed people again and were trying to get some of them back, but several went to Aero. Bristow is definitely not the caring company of 20 years ago :{

As for whether Nigeria is a good place to work, that's down to you. It's definitely a more dangerous place to live than most places in Europe. Some people love it, some hate it and some tolerate it because they get what they need from it. It's the same the whole world over. You'd never get me driving to work in freezing cold in the dark, working wearing a rubber bag and then driving home in the cold and dark, as long as there's somewhere warm to work - even if I do have to endure a few other hardships to do so. I've never yet found anywhere to work where I was able to have my gateau and eat it :)

[Makila]

Anjounan

Yes SASless may be the worlds greatest pilot- I don't
him. But his obvious Bristow bashing/whining has been a part
of rotorheads for the past couple of years.


Get over it please

[flyer43]

anjouan
I've already pointed out that I've no axe to grind with SASless, or anybody else for that matter. But grudges shouldn't be harboured for so long and thrust down everybodies throats.
There are those postings where I can appreciate that he is very knowledgeable and others where he just bangs very large drums - the same can be said of some other regular contributors, but in the main Rotorheads gives a pretty good reflection of the temperature of our industry.

[SASless]

Makila,

The last time I left the warm loving embraces of Bristow Nigeria, I provided my own exit interview treatise to Redhill at their request. I retain a copy of that now and have considered making it public. Unfortunately it is name specific in a lot of instances and that would not be appropriate for a public forum. Also, that was an internal company communication and that should be left that way. A review of it by those knowlegeable of the course of events would see that what I said was accurate....and was said well ahead of any changes being made.

Several of the concerns I presented to them have been addressed. You will recall the shakeup in the Lagos management, removals of some site management, and some realignment of duties and responsiblities.

You have seen the promotion of well qualified Nigerians to positions of authority finally and the expenditure of lots of money to bring the S-76 fleet up to some semblance of quality after the bad years. The decrepit old 212's are finally heading off to where old elephants go to die.

Unfortunately, not all of the sources of problems have been removed....but they have made progress.

Bashing as you call it....was addressed in paragraph one of the summary I provided.

The attitude then prevailing was that anything Bristow did, however they did it, no matter how it was done, was better than anything, anyone, any where could do.....and any suggestion that was not the case was patently ignored and actively punished.

That attitude as I promised to them, resulted in some very real problems.....ergo the changes finally. The situation had deteriorated to the point that Redhill had to do something.

You can call it bashing if you wish.....I suggest that if you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem in these situations. Some people find it hard to stand up and speak the truth particularly in an environment that does not welcome the truth.

I have not seen a lot of folks taking issue with the facts of what I have said about the situation in Nigeria. I do hear a few guys take issue with me for having said it.

If what I am saying is wrong factually.... refute it. Come forth, take your stand....provide your own account of what the situtation was/is and substantiate what you say. Those that are considering going there will be the better off for it. It will assist them in making an informed decision...at least we can be supportive of other pilots that way and work together to improve our working environment.

One of our posters says nothing has changed in 20 years.....now that is an enlightened position. Coming from a consultant....I wonder....I really do. I am sure his final report to his clients says that....."nope, everything is fine...just like it has been for 20 years...no changes needed, nothing could stand modernization....nope....you run a perfect operation." Think he might be an old style Bristow Manager of some kind?

For some reason, I find it hard to give him much credance that being true....that he thinks nothing has changed.

[flyer43]

SASless

Nope, never reached the exhalted ranks of manager in the company - highest I got was TRE. As for painting nice rosy pictures for everybody, I can assure you I pull no punches.
Since you have obviously checked my profile, you should also respect that, as a consultant, I have client confidentiality at stake, therefore can say no more than I have. My comment regarding little has changed in the 20 years was a general comment on the way the average pilot sees working in Nigeria. Other than a change in aircraft type and some improvements in the general infrastructure, most seem to find something or other to complain about.
I think Anjouan has summed it up nicely ;
As for whether Nigeria is a good place to work, that's down to you. It's definitely a more dangerous place to live than most places in Europe. Some people love it, some hate it and some tolerate it because they get what they need from it. It's the same the whole world over.

[SASless]

That we all agree upon....

[Makila]

Thanks SAS for such an open post. Lets all agree
that Nigeria is not perfect, but let potential employees
check it out for themselves- regardless of any personal
differences we may have had there.

They will even find an overhauled BRC on arrival !!!!!

[Helipolarbear]

I agree with most comments....Nigeria is a place everyone should experiance, especially in the rotorhead world.
It has many beautiful and interesting features. It's also a very scary place on a humanity and common sense scale, kinda like a message to mankind! How not to rule and progress society with so much wealth. A very sad and beautiful place ......somewhere between Barbados and Baghdad!!!!:cool:

[mayotte]

I am thinking of work in Nigeria because their seems to be plenty of vacancies there at this moment. I've seen things on other thread and it seem some people are leaving CHC for OLOG because pay is better and they don't know if their salary will be so good when OLOG makes up its mind. Some people say OLOG pays more but you have to work one month a year more, though friends say they have better housing and better traetment by the management.

What's the view of those working there now as to which would be the better company to apply to. I have S76 on my license and I know that both companies fly this.

[Nigerian Expat Outlaw]

IMHO it would be impossible to choose between them. In the short term it has to be OLOG because they do pay better at the moment. But in the long term, who knows ? Probably not even the bean counters.

I hear CHC are going to get really aggressive and try to put OLOG out of Nigeria, but some companies (eg Shell/ExxonMobil) won't touch them. My money is on OLOG. They seem to be going through a revamp and appear to have client loyalty.

Not authoritative, just my thoughts.

Cheers,

NEO

:ok:

[flyer43]

Interesting thoughts there. Where did you get the notion that certain companies would not consider looking at CHC? Surely, all operators are considered on their capabilities and merits, which means that provided they pass muster during audit they will be considered.
I would suggest thinking twice before leaving either operator out of the equation!