Blending In

I'd like to share a little bit of what had happened during the Petronas Project Management Forum which I attended on 18 - 21 Jan. 2009 at Hotel Equatorial Melaka.


There were 6 panels from diverse expert background who were supposed to share what makes a good project management practice e.g. from Shell, Accenture, ConocoPhillips, etc. I concluded that everyone of them only touched on the basics and refused to reveal any of their trade secrets. To prove my hypothesis, I asked a question to the management consultant from Accenture, and he responded with the exact "safe" answers as I had anticipated. Very much typical invited speakers, if you wanna know more, engage me on personal basis for 1 day sharing. More knowledge = more $$$. Even the event organizer admitted this through our lunch talk. Enough said.

Apparently, 70% of the attendees came from downstream sector (those involved in petrochemical plant and processing). The upstream community were only people from Carigali, MISC and MMHE (only me and 1 Snr Mgr, Projects attended). Hence, when it came to topics such as Deepwater Field Development, majority couldn't picture what's happening. Petronas should really encourage more staff mobility between the two sectors to produce a much well rounded staff. Oh, I gladly put this comment in the Forum Evaluation Form.

One of the most memorable experience was the trip I chose to join to Petronas Penapisan Melaka. Petronas has an ambition to be at par with world class giants such as Shell and Exxon. To make it simple, the strategic movement is depicted as a house, with core pillars and strong foundation. Normally it has been depicted in MS Powerpoint presentation slide in communication session to staff. But in Melaka, they have the house built and it looks so cute. The house actually comes to life, the Melaka traditional house way.

This refinery has plenty of stations for lorries to pick up the processed gasoline and diesel. We got the chance to ask the magic question to the expert - is there really any difference between fuel we buy at Shell, Mobil, Esso, BP and Petronas? We got the answers, satisfactorily.

Huhuhu..view from the room. A very nice view and desire to splash in, but the event was so jammed pack with activities, even a slightest dip would only be in my dreams. From morning to nite, all had been planned for. I have learnt quite a lot from this forum via the plenary sessions as well as other activities, especially by talking and more talking to people, among others:

1. Why MISC cancelled the reverse take over with Ramunia - the real story.
2. What's happening to Ramunia now - the insider info.
3. Staff mobility in Petronas group of companies - facts and hypothesis.
4. Plenary session speakers - you think it's free - dream on.
5. Husbands and wives of Petronas - the do's and don't's.
6. Specialization vs. Generalization - which company practice which - the good and the bad.
7. You think they know better - afraid not!

All in all, I had really enjoyed the experience. Should thank the Chief General for giving me the opportunity to attend and explore. I had written in the Evaluation Form and actually spoken to the organizer for the future forum to be held in JB, to give chance for the people to see what's here in Pasir Gudang. If you want fun from challenge, here is the place.