Back in 1996 I started a 6-year period working in China for a major oil and gas multinational. My task was basically to secure rights and concessions for oil and gas exploration and production on economically viable terms throughout China wherever the technical guys thought there was some prospectivity. From a work and personal challenge point of view it was a fascinating time and we secured lots of rights and concessions on acceptable terms. Dealing with the giant Chinese government-owned enterprises was not easy particularly given the cultural differences and language problems but nevertheless there was solid success probably beyond the expectations of headquarters.