I have lived in Dubai for the past four years but this is my second stint in the country. I first lived here from 1974 to 1978, when I was managing director of the region’s first natural gas processing plant. After that, I moved between London, my hometown of Calgary and Doha. I moved back to Dubai in 2003 and I run International Octane from here. Our processing plant is in Qatar and we sell mostly to India, but we trade from Dubai. It’s a great location because it’s easy to do business here and easy to travel.

It’s difficult to describe just how much the city has changed since my first time here. Back then, there were no paved roads and no five-star hotels. Now, there are more than you can imagine.