BasimMousilli.com » Oman

Just updated my resumé

Basim Mousilli — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:34:36 +0000

As a new-age Digital Oilfield Consultant, I am highly proficient with all of Shell’s upstream Well & Reservoir Management and Field Operations work processes. I help transform traditional oil fields into “smarter” assets with better process efficiency and rich collaborative technologies.

My top strengths include project management, systems integration, application development, and upstream oilfield management consulting. See resumé for more details…

I have a broad IT background, strong business acumen, and a proven industry reputation with Shell Oman, Shell Nigeria, and Shell Brunei conducting work process design, oilfield technology development, organization coaching, and strategic management consulting.

Click here to download my resumé in PDF format.

Living in Muscat, Oman

Basim Mousilli — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 05:08:18 +0000

Back in Oman on a business trip consulting. This time I set up a home here so I’ll be living here for 5 months. I must say, Muscat is a beautiful and soft-spoken haven. A place where you can get away and be totally in your own world. Omanis are virgin nice and have superior family values; it’s like they have seen no evil in their entire lives. Hospitality in Omani culture is unparalleled. After living in Oman for a total of 4 months, here is my review on the place…

The people are very innocent and detached from the outside world.Wherever you go, there is a small town feel to the place. The taxi drivers are very devout and peaceful and loving. You see, Omanis are not really stout, outspoken, arrogant, or lavish like other Gulf inhabitants may seem. Still, Omanis display their pride through the way they dress, the respect they show to their elders, and their village affinities.

Everyone speaks good English. People are really peaceful and open to Western ideas, but they do not rush to adopt them with blind passion as you may see in Beirut, for example. What I mean by ‘open’ is that they are not sold to misunderstood Islamic ideals that are very secular and unopen to the international world. That goes a long way for an Islamic state coming up quickly.

It is for this reason that I say that Oman has earns its gate to the international business world. Omanis language, food, tolerance, people, permitting government, natural resources, easy visa process, peaceful terrains, internet and 3G phone network infrastructure make it very inviting for foreign investments. Oman is rife with oil – Petroleum Development Oman practically builds the country, well for well. The place is growing by leaps and bounds. We tried to book a hotel and we had to go to nine hotels before finding a vacancy. Even the streets are packed – the city of Muscat can’t contain itself – it’s like the infrastructure is dated already compared to the growth the city is experiencing. A new airport is being built in addition to Seeb International. It’s funny to see a small town grow. The perversions that it will learn will be horrible. Oh, the innocence it will lose…if only it could remain.

Ok, positive note. It’s unbelievable that in one of the hottest countries of the world there are beautiful beaches that make for beautiful getaways. Diving in Oman is a fantastic thing to do on the weekends. Oh, and did I forget the seafood in Oman is the best I have ever had in my life. Do try the prawns, King Fish, and calamari…

My conclusion on Oman is that it has a unique position in the Gulf, as compared to the overtowering empires of the Emirates nearby. Oman remains the peaceful, serene, innocent getaway – a fast competitive advantage and key differentiator. On the contrary, Dubai is hustling and bustling and overflowing with hype, style, energy, and pushing the edge to create the next world’s biggest this or that. Oman is not that. Oman is a counter-balance and is here to stay and flourish slowly. Because that’s the way Oman does it. And rightfully so, it is an adorable place to escape to.

145° Heat at Wahiba Sands, Oman

Basim Mousilli — Fri, 04 May 2007 03:47:27 +0000

With nothing but a camera, a plastic knife, and a watermelon, we hit the desert at Wahiba Sands in one of the hottest months of the year, lovely July. Yeah, so what we didn’t have a compass? That’s irrelevant. The fact is we had no idea how to drive this 4×4!

After getting stuck many times in the sand, we learned and it was one of the funnest excursions I have ever taken. Our chief objective was to drive up every single sand dune at top speed and rock on down alive. It was the bumpiest ride ever and we were all hitting our head on the sides and roof of the vehicle. The pulse of energy was amazing and the dares kept on getting better and better. Mind you, we were 5 guys in the car all cursing and provoking each other on in the name of manliness.

Did I mention it was hot? I had 6 liters of water in a couple of hours – it was crazy. Yeah, so we also took a huge watermelon and a plastic knife. That, and a soccer ball. But it was hot as hell and the sand was totally unbearable on bare foot. Still we raced and played soccer and took all these crazy pictures, some of which you see here!

I don’t think I have ever been hotter in my life. Sweat was pouring down my body by the bucket. The nicest part of it all was that there was no one in sight, save a couple of Bedouin tents we found here and there. The desert landscape was perfect and beautiful, unmarred by any human impressions – impeccable. There are few scenes in nature like this – the sand was vast like an ocean all around us; the turmoil of it deadly if unaided.

So there we were, driving through the sands, and we see some camels just chilling there. This desert was the real thing. It was just like the movies. Something about it was very peaceful; nothing in sight, just the whirring whisper of the wind. There is no feeling like the tart bite of the desert – a reminder of death, the strength and desperation of solitude, and the power of God.