Facilitating the protection of 1700 km Omani coastline >>"Royal Haskoning was commissioned in October 2008 to initially undertake a study for, then prepare a detailed design and finally supervise the construction of a sheltered harbour and coastguard station in Sidab, just south of Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman. The natural bay located at Sidab is presently the home of the Royal Oman Police (ROP) coastguard vessel maintenance facility. The ROP had been advised to improve these facilities and also utilise the remaining available space on the opposite side of the bay for the docking of 28 coastguard vessels of various sizes. The local Coastguard is the division of the ROP that has the responsibility of protecting the 1700km long Omani Coastline from smuggling and illegal infiltration into the country. In addition, the Coastguard provides offshore aid and rescue services to fishermen, travellers and ships, which may face difficulties at sea. Advance works have begun where the aim of the contract is to undertake reclamation works through the excavation of materials from the existing rock 'jebel', meaning 'hill', at Sidab; this is in order to facilitate the future construction of the new harbour. The primary objective is to provide a reclaimed area and access road into the site using materials quarried from the existing jebel. Secondary to this is the production of rock armour units, breakwater core material and rock grade 50 and 200 material for future works. As of January 2011 approximately 80% of the jebel has been cut and the resulting material processed. The whole operation needs to be carried out sensitively, with strict compliance to local legislation and respect for the local environment and community."There was a necessity to relocate a group of fishermen, this was a delicate situation as the fisheries industry is protected in Oman by Royal decrees, due to its traditional significance", says Neil Seddon, Resident Engineer.As Royal Haskoning is a major force in maritime design and project management it is essential to have staff who are prepared to work almost anywhere in the world. As part of this, it is essential to appreciate the variation in different cultures and their customs. "Last year I spent some time in Vietnam and this year I have been based entirely in Oman, both extremely different cultures but both fascinating," added Neil.Neil Seddonn.seddon@royalhaskoning.com+971 50 225 0931""It is essential to appreciate the variation in different cultures and their customs. Neil Seddon, Resident Engineer, Royal Haskoningrangeinternational >> 5

Oil & Gas AN EVER-DEVELOPING MARKETThe oil & gas sector is a very interesting market that has seen sustained growth recently. Royal Haskoning has developed particular expertise in the engineering of oil and gas related facilities and terminals, building on its extensive engineering knowledge of related terminals and by combining expert knowledge in the fields of marine engineering, mechanical and piping design and environmental expertise. This is further explained by Bas van Dijk, marine and civil engineering expert at Royal Haskoning, responsible for developing business in the oil and gas sector in the Middle East in general and the UAE in particular.Bas started his career in 2000 working for a contractor. He joined Royal Haskoning in 2004 and was involved in multiple oil and gas projects, including OKLNG and Bonny NLNG7+ in Nigeria and more recently a prestigious oil refinery expansion project near Abu Dhabi. Bas: "I was based in Seoul for the first eight months of 2010 to work closely together with our client on the detailed design of the future export jetty as part of the expansion project. For this project we worked with more than eight different nationalities. Apart from the day-to-day technical issues, the cultural differences turned out to be an interesting challenge as well. Nevertheless, the team worked well together, due to the individual drive and flexibility of the team members." Bas sees great potential in this sector; "For the Gulf Region as a whole the energy demand in the Far East (China, Japan and Korea) is the driving force for the increasingly strong ties between the two regions. The Korean contractors have already beaten the Americans in terms of turnover to become number one in the GCC. Within the UAE there are two major booming regions. Fujairah on the East coast, mainly for the (strategic) storage and export of crude oil and oil products and Abu Dhabi on the West coast driven by the current oil refinery capacity increase," says Bas.The oil and gas sector is very extensive, but projects typically follow a fixed process. After project initiation an economical feasibility study is started, followed by the pre-FEED stage, or 'basic design' and the actual FEED stage (Front End Engineering Design) which is then used as the tender design for the EPC stage (Engineering Procurement and Construction). This final stage includes detailed engineering design, selection of suppliers and subcontractors and actual construction >> 6rangeinternational