Century after century, home along the east-central coast of the Arabian Peninsula generally meant a house of mud or coral brick, roofed with palm thatch, in a small town or settlement. Food staples were local dates and rice, as well as fish that came to shore aboard dhows powered by the winds.
The world can’t prematurely disengage from proven and reliable energy sources like oil and gas. Falling investments in oil with $1 trillion already wiped out, is cause for concern to global energy security. Saudi Aramco produced a record 10.5 million bpd in 2016 and plans to invest $300 billion over the coming decade.
Saudi Aramco today released its 2016 Annual Review, highlighting the significant calendar year achievements in progressing its long-term strategy as the world's leading integrated energy company.
My worst fears came true the next day, July 28th, as Oran turned in his letter of resignation to be effective between September 23rd and October 23rd. He said he had decided that trying to re-adjust to living and working in 'Udhailiyah again just wasn't worth ruining his mental and physical health.
Ever since the birth of "The Age of Oil" in the mid-nineteenth century thanks to the ground-breaking efforts of innovative pioneers like Abraham Gesner and Edwin Drake, few areas of human endeavor have spawned a greater number of notable characters than the oil business.
Overall, the internet has been a boon to all of us. It has simplified exchanges of ideas and opened up whole new areas of exploration, all via our laptops, desktops, smartphones, and tablets. Unfortunately, there is a downside to the internet, a true bain, and it is more evident today than ever before.
Aramco World, Saudi Aramco's flagship publication, is widely recognized as a leading source of nonpolitical coverage of the history, geography, arts and cultures of Saudi Arabia, the Middle East and the wider Islamic world, with an emphasis on the interweavings of the plural cultures of East and West, past and present.
The NED69ers Group graduated in 1969 from the NED Government Engineering College Karachi and is spread all over the globe and are all connected with each other on e-mails and do meet occasionally in Karachi or any part of the world just to refresh their sweet old memories.
Collaboration and technology go hand-in-hand and this was on full display when the Aramco Fuel Research Center (AFRC) in Paris unveiled the latest development in its energy efficient, Octane-on-Demand (OoD) engine technology. Since 2013 the project has been a collaboration with prestigious French energy research institute IFP Energies nouvelles (IFPEN), with the goal of improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions.
Saudi Aramco, Dussur – the Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company, and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly collaborate on engines and pumps business development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
All good things must come to an end, so after nearly six weeks of living and working in Abqaiq, Oran had to fly back to 'Udhailiyah to continue his work there on Tuesday June 15th, 1976. For a couple of days, I felt rather lost and just tried to adjust to the old routine of being in camp alone again.
On June 20, 2017, many Americans shut down their computers. Others turned off their televisions. Still more set down their mobile phones for the night. Few could have imagined the next morning’s news. Fewer still would have predicted a new Arab political reality.
One of the great pleasures we derive from operating this website is having the opportunity to feature stories from Aramco annuitants through which they share with readers experiences from their years of living and working in the Kingdom...
That the government should turn to Cremona—informally known as Malta’s godfather of olive oil—for the rare white olive is not surprising. Since 1999, when he began processing oil from trees planted on his farm eight years earlier (using an imported Sicilian olive press, as there were none left on Malta at the time), the 66-year-old Malta native and retired gemologist has dedicated himself to reviving what had been a moribund industry.
In the days before desktop computers and smart phones, we used adding machines, and charts and graphs were hand-drawn, I performed entry-level project management tasks for different projects including construction schedules, manpower histograms and organization charts.
Through a break in the clouds a ray of moonlight filtered through and flickered briefly in the sky. Below, one of a group of men scanning the skies over Mecca saw it and pointed excitedly. "There it is," he said. "It is at hand!"
Tahir H. Shaikh, an assistant engineer with the East-West Pipelines/Area-I Operations Division, will be retiring after 37 years of service to Saudi Aramco.
As part of Saudi Aramco’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), Aramco Asia-Japan (AAJ) has partnered with Japan’s Arid Land Research Center (ALRC), Tottori University to support their dryland research efforts.
The next day, Saturday, May 8th, 1976, started a new period in our life, though, that was different and stimulating for both of us. Oran didn't return to ‘Udhailiyah as usual, but started on his new job in Abqaiq teaching a class of 12 Saudi Arabs about the new Sea Water Project. He was very pleased to be "back in civilization", but a bit leery of teaching...
Let’s face it, if you’re a retired Aramco annuitant like me, you’re not getting any younger. But the good news is, we have many wonderful memories to be thankful for and time left to make still more. And for those of you reading these words who are younger...