Shell in the Middle East | Features

Tony Campbell worked for Shell in Sudan and in the Middle East from 1956 to 1961 at a time when Shell was starting operations to market its refined oil products in the region. ‘Shell in the Middle East’ visited Tony, now 77 years old, in Cologne, in Germany, where in retirement he studies and writes about medieval architecture. He shared with us first-hand some of his memories of the region as a ‘diplomat of petroleum’…

Ton Campbell “In the old days working for Shell was exciting and extremely interesting,” says Tony Campbell. “Once out in the field we had to rely very much on our own initiative to get things done as there was at that time no big organisation to provide back-up. Today I look back with great satisfaction at my days in Shell’s Oil Products Business, working in the Marketing organisation as an engineer, building and managing new installations.

“I joined Shell because I had heard that it was a good organisation to work for and, from my own experiences, I can confirm that this was certainly true. Shell expected its employees to work hard but the company was always fair and rewarded us well.

“In the Overseas Marketing Department newcomers who were sent overseas were immediately welcomed abroad into what were then, most often, very small management teams. We also found ourselves with full social calendars with invitations to embassy functions and upper-echelon parties. Indeed, the then Chairman of Shell, Hugo Loudon, referred to us as ‘diplomats of petroleum’.

“As part of my role in Marketing I had to ensure that petroleum products were available at the right quantities, in the right places at the right times and always at the right price. I had to keep abreast of all the new commercial and technical changes and, most importantly, all of us had to take full account of, and be sensitive to, the various local political situations and act accordingly.

“However my main role was as an engineer and, as such, my job was to supervise and maintain existing facilities as well as to design and supervise the construction of new ones to support Shell in the expansion of its existing business and the introduction of new products.

“I started my association with Shell in England in 1954. Before that time I had been at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth and after finishing my National Service in the Royal Navy I went to Birmingham University to study mechanical engineering.

“Following a relatively short but intensive period of training with Shell I was thrown in at the deep end and sent off to the Shell installation in Sudan. The Sudan was a very friendly place and there was plenty of work there to keep me busy! Shell was developing its operations up country but I was based on the coast at Port Sudan where Shell had a bunkering operation. This was during the Suez Crisis.

“Shell had a tin-making plant in Port Sudan which made 10,000 five gallon tins every day. These were then filled with petrol and kerosene and sent by rail to remote corners of Sudan where there were no filling stations. We also exported large quantities to the Shell agents in the Red Sea and Yemen. I also managed the construction of several fuel storage tanks and a filling station.

“Shell Sudan was one of Shell’s oldest overseas companies, having been established in 1928.

My job focused on the development of the depot, supervising the unloading and storage of fuel supplies in our tank farm and the distribution of supplies for the up-country depots.

“In early 1958 I was sent to work for the Shell Company of South Eastern Arabia, which was later to become Shell Markets [Middle East] Limited, in Doha in Qatar. This was quite a different kettle of fish to Sudan as it was a new company and here I was really thrown in at the deep end as there was no support at all!

There were no existing facilities, apart from two aviation fuel storage tanks, nor, in fact, was there any organisation at all. There were just two Shell expatriates in the Marketing organisation in Qatar, namely Gerry Read, the Manager, and myself. Gerry had put in place all the necessary business arrangements for the development of the company and I had to help him implement those arrangements.

Doha “Our Head Quarters were in Doha, in Qatar, and my first priority was to get an office built near the location of the proposed depot in Ras Babout, but in the meantime we were offered space at the offices of the Shell Company of Qatar, a company which was busy looking for oil.

“Apart from two aviation fuel tanks, I had to organise the building of everything else from scratch in a place where there were none of the facilities, materials, supplies or skilled labour normally at hand for such projects. Once we had built the facilities we then had to set up an organisation to order the products, store and distribute them. What a unique opportunity that was! It took two and a half years and it is still, to this day, something of which I am very proud.

“It cannot be denied that Shell’s main driver in those days was, and still is today, to turn a profit, but I believe that what we did also brought real benefits to the local community. Shell’s modern facilities brought about reductions in the price of fuel for the local people, we set a good example of how to build and run a company, we obeyed the law to the letter and we paid our taxes.

Doha “Following Shell’s Business Principles, we refused to participate in any form of dishonesty or to pay bribes, and I believe the same Shell Principles are in place today. We established safety regulations to safeguard our staff and contractors, paid fair wages, treated our staff well and, when possible, trained and employed locals, always looking out for potential local candidates for senior positions.

“During the years I was in Doha with the Shell Company of South Eastern Arabia, and Shell Markets [Middle East] Limited, Shell expanded its operations to include both Dubai and Oman. I had to travel a great deal and also took on the responsibility for regional supplies and distribution, as well as the management of a small fleet of coastal tankers.

“During my time in the Middle East I travelled to Bahrain, Beirut, Dubai, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Sharjah.

“Shell’s exploration activities in the region had started under the auspices of IPC, or the Iraq Petroleum Company, in which Shell held a 23.75 per cent interest. Both Shell’s operations in Qatar and Oman were managed through IPC but in Oman the operating company was known as PD[O], Petroleum Development [Oman]. This was the forerunner of today’s Petroleum Development Oman [PDO - a Government-owned company in which Shell holds a 34 per cent shareholding].

Oman “In Oman PD[O] had a base on the coast at Saih Maleh, today called Mina Al-Fahal, which serviced its operations in the Interior, mainly in Fahud where PD[O] was to strike its first oil in 1959. The company also had an airstrip at Azaibah.

“In 1958 we received a request from the Shell Tourist Information Service to provide details of the paved roads and filling stations in our area. At that time there were no locally produced maps so we resorted to using Admiralty Charts and marked with a red line the only three miles of concrete slab road in Oman, between Muscat and Mattrah, and the locations of the ‘proposed’ filling stations to be built in the future. In Dubai there were no paved roads at all and once again we could only indicate our planned locations for filling stations.

“During my time with the Shell Company of South Eastern Arabia I built or expanded three depots, first in Qatar and then in Oman and Dubai. The depot in Qatar was at Ras Babout, the one in Dubai was on the Deira side of the Creek and the one in Oman at Mina Al-Fahal.

“Later on, in 1959, I also managed the construction of the first filling station to be built in Oman. This was at the Mattrah Gate and at the time it was the only filling station for 600 miles, the next being in Doha.

Dubai “As was standard good Shell engineering practice for the construction of filling stations, the ground was excavated and then a big concrete slab was laid and the fuel tanks situated on top of the slab. To this the tanks were then firmly attached. This was a measure taken in case there should be flooding to prevent the tanks from ‘floating up’’.

“The local people found this amusing as they said it never flooded because it never rained there. But we stuck to our ‘good practices’. Some years later BP built a filling station a mile up the road and did not build it the Shell way. So when it rained, and subsequently flooded, I took great pleasure in reading a report from Oman which described how the BP fuel tanks had been seen floating down the road past our station at the Mattrah Gate.

“I also built the first-ever filling station in Dubai, in 1960, on the Deira side of the Dubai Creek about two kilometres up the Creek. We were able to get business from the water side, from the local boats as well as from cars and trucks from the road side.

“Travelling around the region in those days was, in itself, an adventure. Every time one set out on a journey it felt like a new expedition, and it often was. One could get flights from Doha, on small planes down the coast to Sharjah, as there was no airport in Dubai. IPC also ran regular flights from its base in Qatar to the PD[O] base in Fahud in Oman and then on down to the PD[O] airfield at Azaibah, just outside Muscat.

Dubai “On several occasions I made my visits between the three depots by road. This involved a journey which followed the coast for miles from Muscat to Fujeirah before turning inland, crossing the dunes to Sharjah and on up to Dubai or to Qatar.

“One other good alternative means of transport was the P&O passenger boat. This was much cheaper than air travel. The boat was mainly used to bring Indian labourers to the region and operated from India to Muscat, stopping like a bus at the major ports all the way up to Basra in Iraq. However it was very well equipped and had an excellent Indian restaurant in First Class.

“Accommodation was something of a problem as there was not much of it about. There were not too many westerners around either so we all used to club together and help each other out. In Qatar I used to stay in accommodation provided by the Shell Company of Qatar. This was quite good and included a bar and cinema and, best of all, it was air conditioned.

“Until I built my own house in Oman, or should I say a house for the staff of the Shell Company of South Eastern Arabia, I used to stay at a guest house belonging to the British Bank of the Middle East or at accommodation provided by PD[O].

“At that time, in the late 1950s, old-fashioned British etiquette still prevailed. If one went on a visit to a country one was expected to pay a visit to the British Consul, Representative or Agent. One would sign the book, leave a visiting card and so receive both the protection of the ‘Crown’ and invitations to all the social and official functions.

“This practice fell by the wayside with the increasing number of visitors to the region, but not, I should add, to Dubai, where at that time there were only three British residents. If a new visitor did not comply with the rules and sign in on arrival in Dubai, even if he had visited Dubai a hundred times before, like myself, he would be snubbed by the British Consul in the street and struck off the guest lists.

“Etiquette at that time also required visitors to go in person to pay their respects to the Rulers of each country.

Dubai However, as the number of oil men in the region increased this practice also died down and only senior managers were presented.

That said, in Qatar we were all expected to go to the palace at the end of Ramadan to celebrate with the Ruler and enjoy a traditional feast of goat and rice eaten, of course, with our hands.

“I had quite a lot of contact with Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai, whom I met on many occasions to report on the progress of the construction of Shell’s depot. Sheikh Rashid was very interested in any project which he viewed as playing a positive part in the modernisation of his Emirate.”

Tony concludes, “During my time in the Middle East, despite the fact that my Arabic was fairly rudimentary, I took every opportunity to discover what I could about the people and the cultures in the region’s ‘romantic’ countries. I cherish my time both with Shell and in the Middle East and I am very glad that I was able to enjoy the experience I had. My memories are very precious to me.”

Following his time in the Middle East, Tony Campbell was posted to the Dominican Republic in Central America and later to British Honduras where, in both locations, he worked as Operations Manager. Tony retired from Shell in 1967 due to ill health.