In the early days of Aramco, the turning of weather in September meant time to get to exploring, and in 1951, company employees took on one of their most daring journeys.
The Arabian American Little League team had its best Little League World Series trip in years. Back row, from left, are manager James Durley, George Luo, Michael Knight, Aaron Durley, Andrew Holden, Ted Fitzmaurice, and coach Tom Timoney. Front row, from left, are Adam Mascarenhas, Ryan Somogye, Robert Eyvazzadeh, Matt Timoney, Nate Barnett, and Daniel Clark.
Here are some headlines over the past 70 years from The Arabian Sun and Arabian Sun and Flare.
H.B. "Red Caudill points out location of structure drill sites in the Rub' al-Khali to correspondent Robert T. Hartmann of the Los Angeles Times.
Sept. 5, 1951
Field Parties Head South Exploration Units on Nine-Month Gambol to Rub' Al-Khali
A three-team Exploration unit left Dhahran in successive stages Sunday and Monday for the sand dunes and gravel plains of the Rub’ al-Khali, the “Empty Quarter” of Saudi Arabia.
This area — largely unexplored and uncharted — is the scene of Exploration’s largest single concentration of activity this year. A structure drill party moved out Sunday, and a gravity-magnetometer party, and a vertical and horizontal control unit left the following day.
The field part will work through the northern and western areas of the Rub’ al-Khali until June 1, 1951, when operations will cease for the summer. Approximately 35 Americans and 200 Saudis, including escorting soldiers, will staff the party.
The second Aramco-built school for sons of Muslim and Arab employees at the intermediate grade level was officially accepted by Shaikh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Turki, Saudi Government director of Education for the Easter Province at opening ceremonies Sept. 11 at the school in Hofuf.
Sept. 13, 1961
Thirteenth Aramco-Built School Accepted by Government
The thirteenth Aramco-built school, and the second intermediate school, in the Eastern Province for sons of Muslim and Arab employees was officially accepted by Shaikh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Turki, director of Education for the Eastern Province, at an opening ceremony held Sept. 11 at the school in Hofuf.
The program of building schools for sons of Muslim and Arab employees was founded as part of a joint agreement between the Saudi Government and Aramco signed in February 1953.
Since the agreement was signed, a total of 13 schools built under the program have been opened. The first one was opened Nov. 27, 1954.
Orientation program conducted during the final days of August took newly enrolled students from the College of Petroleum and Minerals on tour of Ras Tanura terminal facilities and to the Dhahran Oil Exhibit Center, where they are pictured under the guidance of Ali A. Khalil of Aramco Public Relations.
Sept. 8, 1971
Freshmen Arrive as CPM Opens A New Academic Year
This past Monday, Sept. 6, marked the launching of college careers for a freshman class of some 200 strong as the fall term opened at the College of Petroleum and Minerals at Dhahran.
The size of this year’s new class attests to the steady growth that has characterized CPM’s seven years of operation. Its very first enrollment, in 1964, numbered 40 students; the present new class will this term boost the student body to beyond the 700 figure.
Increased facilities for this growing student body are on the horizon as construction is now under way on Phases Two and Three of CPM’s long-range building plan.
The plaque presented in Ras Tanura at a special safety award luncheon by Aramco president Ali I. Naimi to Saad R. Shaifan, general manager for Ras Tanura Refinery, cites the record-breaking data that earned the prestigious Award of Honor from the U.S. National Safety Council.
Sept. 10, 1986
RT Refinery's High Performance Earns U.S. Safety Council's Award of Honor
Aramco president Ali I. Naimi, at a luncheon held in Ras Tanura Sept. 3, presented to Saad R. Shaifan, general manager of Ras Tanura Refinery, a plaque awarded by the U.S. National Safety Council honoring the Ras Tanura Refinery with the Council’s highest award for safety and health performance, the Award of Honor.
Among all Aramco organizations working toward high corporate safety performance, the Ras Tanura Refinery marked up 9,848,629 — almost 10 million — IDI-free man-hours between September 1983 and October 1985. IDI frequency refers to “Industrial Disabling Injuries” per 200,000 Man-Hours Worked.
Confirmation that it was a record-breaking statistic was received in a letter to Naimi from T.C. Gilchrist, president of the National Safety Council, in April of this year.
Sept. 13, 2006
Little Leaguers Return After Series Wins
The Arabian American Little League (AAAL) team has returned to Dhahran after making its best Little League Baseball World Series showing since the tournament expanded to a 16-team format in 2001.
It was the team's seventh straight appearance in the Little League showcase, and after failing to do so since 1994, AALL advanced out of pool play to reach the international semi-finals.
The team lost its final game of the 2006 World Series in the semi-finals of the international bracket against an exceptional team from Japan.
“We hung in there,” manager James Durley said. “I know nobody in the world gave us a chance, but 13 people in our dugout and our fans did. They left everything they had out there on the field.”
— The Arabian Sun: September 12, 2021