TALE OF ETHICS
The Professional Geologist & Ethics: A Cautionary Tale
W. L. Mathews
Your International Oil Company (IOC) employer had a very strong written business ethics and conflict of interest policy. Attendance was not man- datory at the company’s annual business ethics and conflict of interest seminars. You and some of your colleagues jokingly referred to these seminars as getting the annual “sheep dip”. Your company’s active enforcement policies were laissez- faire at best and you did not bother with industry and professional code of ethics. Management and employees did not bother with contractor gift disclosures regardless of the gift value. You were not concerned with the fact that unethical behavior and conflicts of interest could result in employment termination with serious financial and legal ramifications. From this lax environment you received your first expatriate assignment.
During that initial 3-year assignment you and your USA-based IOC employer were required to comply with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977. You were aware that foreign governments have similar anti-corruption laws and regula- tions. Your thoughts were, “Why should I concern myself? These ethical and busi- ness practices laws and standards are for others.” Corporate profits, personal financial gains and professional success were your key motivators.
Initially you served as a functional manager in the IOC’s foreign affiliate. Within a short period of your arrival your company required trucking ser- vices from the sole local contractor. You executed the contract with Edgar, the owner of the local trucking company. The two of you shook hands. Before he released your hand, Edgar looked you in the eye and asked, “Who in your company must I pay the gasosa?”
The dual meaning of the expres- sion “gasosa” was familiar. In the local language “gasosa” means ‘soft drink’. That expression was also the colloquial
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term for a bribe or a kickback. A sense of entitlement was deeply embedded in your psyche. This was in part due to the many challenges that had con- fronted you since you had arrived. These challenges included your contraction of malaria, safety, food shortages and the unbearable traffic even though you had an assigned vehicle and driver.
Feigning naiveté, you responded, “Edgar I don’t know what you mean.” Edgar politely asked, “Who must I pay the extra money for this contract?” He further explains, “It is customary to pay the boss when he gives a contract.” You could have proposed that Edgar discount his trucking rates by the value of the “gasosa”. Instead you pointed your faintly shaky index finger towards your chest and said, “The gasosa comes to me.” Edgar smiles knowingly. He passes a small envelop. That unmarked envelop established a bond between you and Edgar. Subconsciously you justified the acceptance of this benefit. You knew that Edgar would not have discounted his rates. In addition, this contract would help the joint venture achieve the man- dated local content target.
From that point the word spread quickly that you were the contact person to open the door for local businesses to provide goods and services to this inter- national company. You became their go-to-guy.
Reflecting back, all went well during your thirty years tenure with that inter- national exploration and production company. You reached your mid-fifties and elected to take an early retirement. Within days of your retirement party you signed an independent consulting contract with a small Europe-based specialty oilfield equipment and service company. Your mission was to establish a joint venture affiliate in the emerging oil-producing country in which you had met Edgar. Details in your profession-
al resumé focused on your impressive career accomplishments. A few of the highlights were the several internation- al venture office assignments, explora- tion and production duties, a multi-year stint as a rotational operations geologist, and the procurement manager position. You went so far as to take full credit for that major deep-water discovery without recognizing your colleagues who first proposed the basin depositional model and then made the correct geophysical interpretation. In addition, you had a good knowledge of that specific country’s legal framework, the language and the various local regulatory entities. You also had an established a network of important government officials and busi- nessmen in the country.
al resumé focused on your impressive
Four years later you update your CV. You had successfully formed the joint venture and registered that service company. However, that’s where your impressive CV comes to an abrupt end. You chose not to document a lunch with Walter, the country’s national oil com- pany (NOC) drilling manager. That day you chose The Fourth Dock Restaurant because it sat just below your modest office with its impressive view of the city across the bay. Furthermore, by lunching there you avoided the atro- cious traffic.
The afternoon heat was subdued by the overcast hazy sky and a mild breeze off of the bay. You had known this drill- ing manager since the days when he was a junior drilling engineer. Now, as the NOC drilling manager, Walter could approve the tender proposal sub- mitted by you on behalf of your current employer. The award of that contract was crucial to the company’s success. To get his approval, Walter only required a fee of ten percent of the estimated 5-year multi-million US dollar contract value. You would facilitate that payment and get your usual facilitation fee. You trusted Walter. You and this manager had also consummated an unsavory and useless agency agreement between the
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