King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, issued a Royal Decree to commemorate the founding day annually on February 22, which represents the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s deep historical, civilizational, and cultural roots when Imam Muhammad bin Saud established the first Saudi state in 1139 AH/1727 CE.
Photography “speaks directly to your emotions,” says Joumana El Zein Khoury, executive director of World Press Photo, which holds the world’s leading contest for news and documentary photography. Since she joined in 2021, she has organized six global partnerships to “be our guides” and diversify the images and themes that earn annual awards for top visual storytelling. And she isn’t a photographer.
One of the lessons western expats learn quickly after arriving in Kingdom is just how bone-chilling cold it can get in the desert during the winter. Arabs, of course, know all about those cold desert nights and have devised a clever garment called a bisht, which is the perfect thing for warding off the plummeting temperatures and wind chill on those frosty nights around the camp fire.
Amin Nasser, Aramco president and CEO, gave a keynote speech Sunday at the second edition of the Saudi Capital Market Forum in Riyadh. The forum was held under the auspices of His Excellency the Chairman of the Board of the Capital Market Authority, Muhammed A. Al-Quwaiz.
The Community Championships saw the return of “the fastest man in Aramco” as the 100-meter race came to Dhahran in February. This year, more than 1,500 participants of all ages competed across the company’s communities in 50 meter and 100 meter races to see who will make the finals.
I wrote a recollection after I left Saudi Arabia in 1980, and went on to Japan where I ended up playing second row for the Yokohama Country and Athletic Club (YCAC), a far cry from the wing position I played in Dhahran. Interestingly enough, Mike Galbraith, who wrote in Part 2, is the historian for YCAC. I have adapted my original ruminations for the purposes of this serialisation.
Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. Thank you for the invitation to speak here in the beautiful Kingdom of Bahrain to open a conference of thoughtful discussion, ideas, and learning. We come together this week at a time of both great challenge and opportunity for our industry.
From the Feb. 13, 1952 edition of the Sun and Flare. School students of the future may raise their eyebrows to learn that two repelling forces led to the founding of Dhahran upon Saudi Arabia's gleaming, shifting sands. But to residents of Dhahran, this phenomenon is taken for granted. Our proximity to such a unique occurrence inevitably minimizes its oddity.
From the Feb. 12, 1975 edition of The Arabian Sun. Petromin's new Riyadh Refinery is now supplying the capital city and surrounding area with 15,000 barrels of refined products daily. Crude oil for the refinery is supplied by three GOSPs in Aramco's Khurais Field through a 141-kilometer long, 12-inch diameter pipeline.
University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore is one of the prestigious institutions of Pakistan for Technological Excellence and is at par with other renowned universities of the world. Engr. Syed Naushad Shah spent 5 years at this institution, from 1994 to 1999, and completed his degree in Electrical Engineering with a specialization in Electronics and Communications.
Saudi Aramco Ex-Employees Association (SAEEA)’s wing “HALQA-E-SHERO ADAB” celebrated its 3rd program on January 14, 2023 in Karachi at the residence of Raziullah Khan. HALQAE SHERO ADAB is a wing of SAEEA, responsible for organizing mini-literary programs on URDU poetry and literature, etc. This time, a light musical program was also added.
The progress meeting of Saudi Aramco Ex-Employees Association (SAEEA) was held on February 04, 2023 at Faran Club, Karachi. This was the 1st meeting of the current year, 2023. KAF thanked Razi Khan for joining the SAEEA office bearer’s team as Cultural Coordinator.
Midafternoon on a bright and warm November day, Bdah and I drove to the outskirts of New Ain Dar near Jebel Al Riyahiyah. Bdah’s cousin runs a roadside business there where camels, goats, and sheep are kept in open-air stables and offered for sale.
Some 24 years later, eight ex-Aramcons and one much-needed friend from Bahrain happened to be on the same piece of land! We made full advantage of the fact by arranging a fabulous afternoon tea at the 5-star Merchant Hotel in Belfast. Stories were shared, memories revisited and a general disbelief at how quickly time had passed (and how silver some of our hair had turned!)
All good things come to an end, and time was called in the late 1980s on the rugby-playing side of DRUFC. In 1985/6, we won our own 7’s Invitational, the Khobar 7’s, and the Plate in the Bahrain 15’s. However, the writing was on the wall, as Dean Culshaw (Deano) noted in his Chairman’s report for that season...
From the Feb. 7, 1996 edition of The Arabian Sun. The entire 1995 Abqaiq School Yearbook will now fit in the palm of your hand. This one-of-a-kind feat is possible thanks to the ability of six students under the tutelage of Terry Cornelius, the school's computer teacher, and Bruce Drake, independent study director.
Last week, 18 Aramco professionals were recognized by president and CEO Amin Nasser after completing a four-week program at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) with top researchers in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
From the Feb. 6, 1957 edition of the Sun and Flare. A new, complete community began activity on virtually a full-scale operational level Sunday morning, Feb. 3, with the move of personnel and facilities from the former temporary camp at ‘Uthmaniyah to the permanent settlement at ‘Udhailiyah.
In celebration of the World Wetlands Day on Feb. 2, we recognize the enormous importance of wetlands and the vital roles that they play for both people and the planet. Wetlands support a wealth of unique biodiversity including amphibians, mammals, fish, dragonflies, and birds many of which have unique adaptations to their watery environment.
Bullied as a young boy, the Aramco building inspector made a promise to himself he’d become bigger and stronger. Today, he’s a body builder champion. “In high school, my weight was too low, and I was very small,” says Mohammad Abdullah Al Darwish. “Some of the boys would bully me. They would pick me up and throw me like a ball. I was very upset — it broke my heart.”