It was early 1982 when I was hired to set up all the accounting and administrative functions for Steamships-Brambles Joint Venture's tug-and-barge operations up the Fly River to supply the Ok Tedi Mine, then being built in the Star Mountains of Papua New Guinea.
The Far Eastern Economic Review got it right with its headline ...
... because within just a few weeks of my having set up the accounting and billing processes, I was able to pick up the first monthly progress payment of Kina 1,231,182.92 (then well in excess of $1.5million).
Of course, what helped was that the mine construction manager I was sending my billings to was the same Bechtel Corporation I had worked for during my days on the Bougainville Copper job and that my former boss, Sid Lhotka, was again in charge of all payments. He knew I would bill him fairly and squarely and passed my billing without any question.
At the end of this very successful assignment the Steamships-Brambles Joint Venture was keen for me to continue with them indefinitely, but I wanted to move to Saudi Arabia and was handed this glowing reference:
My work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, despite having been another resounding success professionally and also fattening my bank balance, came at a huge personal cost to me - but that's a story for another day.
