In the 1970’s the Middle East saw the beginning of a dramatic rise in oil and gas exploration and production activity, with an equally dramatic growth in the expatriate community. A number of companies in the region required the skills and know-how of these expatriates to exploit the development opportunities. However, as part of the arrangement they expected a progressive transfer of skills and knowledge to come with it. A review of the same region today shows that this skills transfer has not always been delivered in full.