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MANISH BHOJWANI, COUNTRY MANAGER

Algeria has been an important market for us since opening our support office in Algiers in 1999 and securing our first major contract a year later. Manish, who is from India and based in Algiers, tells us about his ambitions for the next five years – and why he isn’t a glass half full or half empty person.


I joined Petrofac in 2004 in Sharjah as a graduate engineer… I moved through the ranks and did various project management roles in Algeria. Last, year I became Country Manager and I’m responsible for delivering and growing our business across three key areas: E&C, Asset Solutions and New Energies. As Country Manager, I enjoy the opportunity to network with key stakeholders. I’m working with clients, partners, ministries, local authorities and supply chain. You need to have a very structured approach to stakeholder management – it’s like running your own small company.

What differentiates Petrofac in Algeria is… our consistency in delivery, our commitment to clients’ needs, and how invested we are locally. We are training and developing local talent, and across all of our projects, around 80% of the workforce is local. My ambition in the next five years is to continue to make the company more local and grow Petrofac Algeria as a brand – in the same way people know Petrofac as a UK and UAE company.

We are aiming to strengthen our in-country operations to meet these ambitions… our training centre at Hassi Messaoud has reopened and we’ve signed partnership agreements with the  local wilaya (province) to recruit and upskill trainees from the population. Our support offices in Algiers and Hassi Messaoud have about 25 people across HR, logistics, finance and business development and we want to develop these offices into engineering and procurement centres, similar to those in India, Oman, the UAE and UK.

To operate successfully in Algeria… you need to have a very strong technical know-how of in-country operations. For example, if you want to import a handheld radio into the country, it could take 18 months. Or say a small piece of equipment is missing or damaged on a project. Importing at the last minute can derail your project schedule, as you need to think about where to source it from, clearing it at customs and getting it to site. We need to micro-plan in advance to prevent issues like this and have a very good understanding of local procedures.

I’m an avid sportsperson… I like to keep fit and play a lot of different sports including cricket. There are not only physical benefits; sport and fitness can teach you about discipline and the value of hard work. You need to be committed and put in the effort to get results. The same values apply to my work as well.

I was part of the first cohort of graduates in Petrofac… be sincere, hardworking, and honest. Do your job with all of your heart. Rather than being a person that sees a glass as half full or half empty, I advocate a third approach – be opportunistic and ask how can I make the glass full? Grab opportunities when you see them and go out of your comfort zone. That’s where the magic happens.



“My ambition in the next five years is to continue to make the company more local and grow Petrofac Algeria as a brand.”

WORDS CHRISTINA McPHERSON

PUBLISHED JUNE 2022

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