UAE: Why this British expat stayed for 58 years

UAE: Why this British expat stayed for 58 years

When David Heard landed in Abu Dhabi in the former Trucial States in 1963, he never imagined that he would be witnessing the formation of a new country "” or staying on almost 58 years later to celebrate its 50th anniversary. "I came to Abu Dhabi quite by chance, leaving behind England's green and quiet fields for the red sands and glaring white tracks in the desert," Heard, 82, told Emirates News Agency (WAM) in an interview at his home in Abu Dhabi. Although his introduction to Abu Dhabi was a series of "scary" incidents, that did not deter the British petroleum engineer on the first onshore oil fields in the emirate from continuing life here and finding some of the largest oil fields in the Middle East. Heard worked with his first employer, Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company (ADPC), until 2004 for over 40 years. After retirement, he became an authentic chronicler of oil in the region with his well-researched books. He still remembers a small Dakota aircraft with four passengers, including him, making an emergency landing at an airstrip somewhere in the desert in Jebel Dhanna in Al Dhafra (western region of Abu Dhabi). The incident occurred one early