Summer 2008

Summer 2008 A periodical of Saudi Aramco

The King and Us King Abdullah reprises father’s historic 1947 visit to Aramco

Travel Dimensi ns

Heart’s des ire

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he landscape around Strandhill in County Sligo, Ireland, was clean and fresh after a winter rain in December 2007, when Saudi Aramco employee Margaret B. “Mags” Quinn shot this exquisitely calming photo along an idyllic country lane framed by hills and sea beyond. The poet William Butler Yeats called the area “the land of heart’s desire.” Earlier in the morning, Quinn had ducked into a seaweed bath establishment in Strandhill to escape a downpour, and when she emerged an hour or so later, the world was new. “I emerged into bright daylight with a wintry sun breaking through the clouds,” Quinn recalls. “The scenery was sharp and clear after the rain, and everything was washed clean.” She impulsively drove a mile up the road to take a photo of Knocknarea, the mountain towering over Strandhill, but she was distracted by the charming country lane and its “welcoming open gate, the curve of the road, the bare winter trees, (and) the sea and hills beyond.” Behind her, sheep dotted the hillside, so peace and tranquility flowed from every direction. She captured the image at mid-day with a Canon IXUS 800 IS digital camera on automatic setting. Quinn, the secretary to the vice president of Petroleum Engineering and Development, has been a company employee for 10 years. She is a native of County Clare, Ireland. ■ >> Submit unique or visually arresting travel photos to Dimensions magazine as high-resolution digital images (at least 300 dots per inch). E-mail images less than 9 megabytes to [email protected].

Summer 2008

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King Abdullah retraces father’s historic visit

24 Aramco pushes limits of reservoir performance 34 Global experts guide advanced research arm At a special Saudi Aramco 75th Anniversary celebration on May 20, King Abdullah presents two Saudi youths with a symbolic foundation stone for the planned King Abdullah Center for Knowledge and Culture in Dhahran. The stone is a piece of piece of core rock from Aramco’s historic Well No. 7.

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42 At Saudi Aramco, Toastmasters rules 52 Visual Dimensions: The power of flowers Inside Back Cover The Way We Were

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About the cover: In the main photo, Judith Webster Bauer, one of the Aramco children who greeted King Abdulaziz in 1947 on his second historic visit to Dhahran, shakes hands with his son, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on May 20, 2008, as he reprised his father’s visit to the community many years before. A former resident of Ras Tanura, Bauer now lives in Seattle, Washington, in the United States, and she traveled to Dhahran this year with her son, Christopher, to join in the company’s 75th Anniversary celebrations. Inset photo: Claudia Jean Hills Dixon, facing the camera, twin sister Cynthia Hills Anders and older sister Patricia Hills Finlayson greet King Abdulaziz with their mother in 1947. The twins, then almost 2 years old, turned 63 a week before the 75th Anniversary celebrations this year, flying to Dhahran to shake hands with King Abdullah during the anniversary celebrations.

The Saudi Arabian Oil Company, also known as Saudi Aramco, was established by Royal Decree in November 1988 to succeed the original U.S. concessionary company, Aramco. The Aramco concession dates back to 1933.

Saudi Aramco Dimensions is published periodically for the affiliates, customers and employees of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco).

Beginning in 1973, under terms of an agreement with the four Aramco shareholders, the Saudi Government began acquiring an ownership interest. By 1980, with retroactive financial effect to 1976, the Government’s beneficial interest in Aramco increased to 100 percent when it paid for substantially all of Aramco’s assets.

Khaled A. Al-Buraik Executive Director, Saudi Aramco Affairs

Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Council for Petroleum and Mineral Affairs determines policies and oversees operations of the Kingdom’s oil and gas industries. Saudi Aramco’s Board of Directors is chaired by HE Ali I. Al-Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

Abdallah S. Jum‘ah President and Chief Executive Officer

Ziyad M. Alshiha Manager, Public Relations Department Editor: Rick Snedeker Contributing to this issue: Delshad Kumana, Sara Bassam, Ahmad Dialdin, Stephen Brundage, Margaret Rawlings, Firas Abussaud, Jose Deluna and Rick Snedeker Production Coordinator: Rob Arndt

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About the back cover: Nothing in life relaxes with quite the same graceful elegance as a cat. Saudi Aramco employee Firas Abussaud shot this charming photo of a snoozing feline while on his honeymoon in Venice in 2005.

Design: Amy Reed, Herring Design, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. Printing: Sarawat Designers and Printers, Jiddah, Saudi Arabia All editorial correspondence should be addressed to: The Editor, Saudi Aramco Dimensions Public Relations Department, Saudi Aramco Box 5000 Dhahran 31311 Saudi Arabia ISSN 1319-0520 Copyright © 2008 Aramco Services Company SUMMER 2008 Printed on recycled paper www.saudiaramco.com

The King and Us King Abdullah brightens 75th Anniversary celebrations

Photos by Saudi Aramco Photo Unit, Stephen L. Brundage, Abdullah Dobais, Mohamed Shabeeb, Vicci Thompson (www.aramcobrats.com) and Ali Almobarak

MAIN PHOTO: ABDULLAH Y. AL-DOBAIS

The 75th Anniversary celebration offered a sensory feast of sights and sounds. Main photo and top inset: Saudi Aramco president and CEO Abdallah Jum‘ah addresses the King and other invited guests at first of two celebration main events on May 20. Insets above: King Abdulaziz, in 1947, and his son, King Abdullah, in 2008, paid special attention to children during their visits to the Eastern Province.

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DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia — Many people wept spontaneously and Saudi women trilled crescendos of ululation when King Abdullah ibn Abdulaziz Al-Saud arrived May 20 at the two separate main events of Saudi Aramco’s 75th Anniversary celebration. The King’s presence seemed deeply affecting for many people attending each event — Saudi and expatriate — and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques appeared genuinely touched by the warm, affectionate welcomes. King Abdullah waves to the crowd as he arrives at one of the 75th Anniversary celebrations It was Abdullah’s first visit to in Dhahran on May 20. He is flanked by Saudi Aramco president and CEO Abdallah S. Jum‘ah, Saudi Aramco and Dhahran since left; Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali I. Al-Naimi, right; and Al-Naimi’s Deputy Minister Amir Abdulaziz bin Salman, middle. he became King in 2005 and it represented a reprisal of the historic Abdulaziz, deputy governor of Riyadh Region; Prince Miqren visits of his father, King Abdulaziz Al-Saud, to the company’s bin Abdulaziz, chief of General Intelligence; and other facilities in the Eastern Province in 1939 and 1947. The princes and senior officials. Company’s anniversary commemorates 75 years since the May 29, 1933, signing of the historically monumental Meeting the King first oil exploration and production concession agreement here was a giddy, festive atmosphere in the enormous between the then-new Kingdom and Standard Oil of tent-like arenas that were erected for the May 20 California (Socal) of the United States. events, adjacent respectively to the Saudi Aramco Attending the anniversary’s main event with King Exhibit north of the main community of Dhahran and to the Abdullah on May 20 were the leaders of the Gulf CoopDhahran recreation complex on King’s Road, which includes eration Council countries, along with Saudi Minister of a theater, bowling alley and restaurants. Petroleum and Mineral Resources HE Ali I. Al-Naimi, The first program, next to the Aramco Exhibit, began who is also Saudi Aramco’s chairman; president and CEO with the King being guided on a tour through the exhibition Abdallah S. Jum‘ah; other senior government and company showcasing Saudi Aramco’s story in historic images, detailed executives; and various special invited guests, including timelines and innovative displays of the company’s key operwomen and children at both events — some of whom ations. Among the sensory barrage of sights and sounds of were present as children at King Abdulaziz’s 1947 visit. the past 75 years, the highlight of the exhibit was a simple Saudi government senior officials present included Prince yet monumental document — the original signed concession Mashaal bin Abdulaziz, chairman of the Allegiance-Pledge agreement, displayed in a glass case. Commission; Prince Met’eb bin Abdulaziz, minister of Salah Al-Dahri of the Public Relations Department, a key Municipal and Rural Affairs; Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, member of the 75th Anniversary implementation team led by Interior minister; Prince Saud Al-Faisal, minister of Foreign Mohammed Al-Maghlouth, was selected at the last minute — Affairs; Prince Abdul-Ilah bin Abdulaziz; Prince Sattam bin

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Saudi Aramco through the years With the King’s agreement, Shaikh Abdullah Al-Sulaiman and Lloyd Hamilton sign the Concession Agreement allowing Standard Oil of California (Socal) to explore for oil in 829,000 square kilometers (320,000 square miles) of eastern Saudi Arabia.

MAY 29, 1933:

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There are 13 Americans in the camp. One of them is geologist Max Steineke, who will play a critical role in the discovery of oil in the Kingdom. He teams up with Khamis ibn Rimthan, a Bedouin guide who will also have a leading role in the search for oil.

1934 (SEPTEMBER):

1935 (APRIL):

The first test well, Dammam No. 1, is drilled into the Dammam Dome.

1937: The first American wives, Annette Henry and Nellie Carpenter, arrive in the Eastern Province in the spring. The second contingent of American wives, bringing with them the first American children, arrives in September.

much to his surprise — to handle the nerve-wracking task of ushering the King to the concession agreement display and electronic message board, and explaining them. “It can’t be put in words,” Al-Dahri said of the experience. “I was not only overwhelmed, but I was also honored to be the one to carry out such an unforgettable event in my life.” Because of the experience, Al-Dahri said, “My sense of attachment and ownership to our giant company has been reinforced, and my pride in having been an Aramcon all these years has been augmented.” He said his parents watched the event on television from their home in Medina, and called later to express to him their great pride in seeing him with the King in a high-profile capacity. His wife and two daughters were able to see the King at the second main event at King’s Road later in the day.

Compassionate,” he began. “Dear brothers, Islam was and still is God’s greatest grace on us and is the most we are proud of. Some 75 years ago, we were on the verge of completing our national unity and were ushering in an economic stage, another grace of God. What a noble stage it was that pushed us to shoulder our humanitarian role and had mutual effects on the world around us. Accordingly, we never felt fear nor lagged behind but steadfastly played our historic

‘Thanks to God’ t the interactive message board at the first event, the King wrote this message in Arabic: “Thanks to God, who blessed us with his generous gifts, as we celebrate the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the establishment of Saudi Aramco. We are proud of its achievements and its employees over all generations. You have always been an example of giving, sincerity and efficiency in work and in serving the country. I wish you God’s help to continue this excellence for the good of the country and the world.” Following the tour, guests were ushered into the newly erected tent-like structure created for the main celebration as King Abdullah acknowledged everyone attending the historic event and set the tone of pride and gratitude for everything that Saudi Aramco has accomplished for the Kingdom and its people. The King smiled and waved to those in the welcoming crowds at both temporary arenas, touching children and talking quietly to them. King Abdullah then rose to the podium to deliver his formal speech, in Arabic. “In the name of God, most Merciful, most

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1938 (MARCH 3): Dammam No. 7, down 1,441 meters (4,727 feet) in the Arab formation, strikes oil. It flows at a rate of 1,585 barrels per day (bpd). Three weeks later, it stabilizes at 3,600 bpd — a volume deemed commercially viable.

1939 (MAY 1): King Abdulaziz, on his first visit to the company’s facilities, turns a valve that sends the first tanker load of Saudi oil to the world. The tanker is named the D.G. Scofield, after the founder of Socal.

Dramatic, high-tech displays, above, characterized the 75th Anniversary exhibits in huge tents adjacent to the Saudi Aramco Exhibit. Company employees and dependents gathered at a number venues to celebrate, such as the King’s Road plaza, at left.

1940 (MAY 11): The first company school opens in al-Khobar. Classes in English and arithmetic are open to everyone, employee or not.

1942: Despite a decline of manpower due to World War II, production holds at nearly 15,000 bpd, all of it shipped to Bahrain for processing.

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Above, a young Saudi performer and Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi present a gift to King Abdullah at the 75th Anniversary celebration. At right, a ghostly face peers out from an electronic column in a 75th Anniversary display in Dhahran.

duty in the Arab, Islamic and international arenas. May I send the most noble gratitude and thanks to the maker (after God) of our unity and the initiator of our energy dream, the father of the people of Saudi Arabia, the late King Abdulaziz.” The King stressed that when the original concession was signed, “King Abdulaziz was keen that it included the best terms to ensure that the interests of the people of the Kingdom were paramount, including the recruitment and training of their sons to run this giant company in the future with full understanding of the importance of common interests of the concessionaire company.” He said King Abdulaziz’s vision was that the concession would gradually

1944 (JAN. 31): California Arabian Standard Oil Co. (CASOC), originally formed to manage the concession, incorporates the company under a new name: Arabian American Oil Company — Aramco.

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1945 (DECEMBER 19): The new 50,000 bpd Ras Tanura Refinery begins operations. The project is completed on schedule, a remarkable achievement under the circumstances. It replaces the 3,000 bpd Ras Tanura “teapot” refinery that opened in 1939.

pave the way to the day when the company would be “a purely Saudi integrated company, leading world oil companies in terms of integration and management.” Today, Saudis make up more than 86 percent of Saudi Aramco’s 55,000 employees around the world. The non-Saudi fraction of the workforce includes expatriate employees from more than 60 countries. In his speech, the King praised Saudi Aramco, not only for its role in national development but also for its support of the Kingdom’s international relations by reliably providing energy to the world and effectively dealing with global energy crises whenever they arise. “The State’s policy has created the conditions of success and distinction, granting the company the flexibility to develop its plans and to launch its practical operations, along with the transfer of technology and the acquisition of international expertise in the required fields and industries,” King Abdullah said. “So thank you very much to the men and women of Saudi Aramco.” 75 years of work lso speaking at the first main event, Al-Naimi praised Saudi Aramco’s long and successful history, which brought it to its world-leading position today. He also emphasized King Abdullah’s pivotal role in the past decade in supporting and guiding several key mega-projects and energizing Saudi Arabia’s economic and industrial capabilities, all for the sake of the people and the Kingdom. “Today, our employees, both Saudi and expat, recall 75 years of dedication and hard work to build and develop Saudi Arabia’s oil industry, an industry that has spread its wealth and prosperity throughout the Kingdom, from north

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King Abdulaziz Al-Saud visits Aramco and personally receives about 200 of Aramco’s American employees, their wives and children.

1947 (JANUARY):

Saudi Arabia becomes the fifth largest oil-producing nation. It has 80 producing oil wells, 44 in the Abqaiq area, 30 in the Dammam Dome and the rest scattered among the areas of new discovery.

1949:

to south and east to west,” said Al-Naimi. “While I realize there are no words to convey how much this event means to the Kingdom and to Saudi Aramco, I want to, through this speech, highlight the sense of appreciation and pride for all who have left their mark throughout our history of oil production. This industry will continue to bring progress and advancements in the future, thanks in no small part to the support of our country’s leadership, as well as to the dedication, hard work and innovation of this company’s valued employees.”

Above, two girls display their colorful costumes for a Latino-themed dance performed for King Abdullah. At left, Saudi boys perform a traditional Arabian Gulf dance.

A proud tradition um‘ah spoke next, reflecting upon the company’s successful past and promising future, and expressing on behalf of Saudi Aramco’s employees their pride for being part of this historic moment and for working in the home of the Saudi oil industry. “We are proud to have inherited a strong tradition of devotion and dedication to our work,” said Jum‘ah, “as well as a culture that we call the culture of Saudi Aramco, built on the discipline, commitment, reliability and accountability of each and every employee. Under the guidance of our country, the company has been allowed to work independently and on pure business acumen — two key elements in the success of Saudi Aramco and its competitive prowess.” “As proud as we are of our past and present, we see an even brighter future ahead of us,” Jum‘ah said. “The work and projects we have now will make us better prepared for the next 75 years; they cement Saudi Aramco’s status as a fully integrated company, one of a kind in terms of its expertise, its size and its fundamental role nationally and globally.”

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center’s purpose and all that it would offer to the people of the country. The King later laid the foundation stone for the Center, which will include a world-class public library and archive, museum and exhibitions hall, theater and children’s education center. The Center will be committed to human development in all its forms, to building bridges of understanding across generations and cultures, and to promoting knowledge, creativity and volunteerism. After the speeches, 75 children came on stage to entertain the guests, dancing to Arabic songs written specially for Saudi Aramco’s 75th Anniversary, with lyrics by employee Haifa Khalid, a popular Saudi poet, and sung by Mohammed Abdo, one of Saudi Arabia’s most beloved singers. Entertainment was followed by gifts given to King Abdullah and the GCC leaders. The 2nd main event rom there, the anniversary celebration moved to the second main event at the King’s Road complex in Dhahran, where a representative group of families welcomed King Abdullah and the GCC leaders in a re-creation of King Abdulaziz’s historic second visit to the Eastern Province and Aramco in 1947. Several hundred men, women and children attended the event.

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Knowledge & Culture Center um‘ah introduced Saudi Aramco’s latest gift to the Kingdom, the King Abdulaziz Center for Knowledge and Culture, which will be built on that very spot near the Saudi Aramco Exhibit. A short film outlined the

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Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline), the world’s longest oil pipeline, is completed so oil can travel 1,719 kilometers (1,068 miles) overland from the Abqaiq oil fields to the Mediterranean Sea port at Sidon, Lebanon.

1950:

1951 (AUGUST 15):

Drilling is completed on the first offshore well in the Middle East, Safaniya Well No. 1.

Aramco confirms scale of Ghawar and Safaniya, the world’s largest oil field and the largest offshore oil field, respectively. Together they hold more than 100 billion barrels of oil. 1956:

1957: Aramco TV comes on the air, the first Arabic-language television station in Saudi Arabia. One-third of the station’s airtime is devoted to educational subjects.

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This celebration was, in part, a re-enactment of that visit, from the setup of the tents down to the visitors, some dressed as they would have been in the 1940s. Costumes included women’s white gloves and hats. ‘This great adventure’ iles Snyder, who was one of the children who shook hands with King Abdulaziz in 1947, said a few words about both momentous occasions, then and now. “What was the 1947 event like? It was wonderful,” said Snyder. “We American kids were able to shake the hand of a real king! We all remember the event well. We remember the sight Saudi Aramco employees cheer during president and CEO Abdallah Jum‘ah’s of the King, seated in a large easy chair atop a speech at an employee appreciation event in Dhahran in conjunction with the colorful carpet, with a little table with cookies 75th Anniversary celebration. on it beside him. He was surrounded by his of Saudi Aramco an unforgettable event in our lives and colorful retinue, including many of his sons.” those of our children.” “Today, we join not as children but as adults; many of us are grandparents,” Snyder said. “When we were young, Employee Celebrations that sense of magic was everywhere, living as we did in the he following day, special Employee Celebrations for Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Snyder said of his experiences. the 75th Anniversary were held at various sites, and “Each of us regards ourselves richer, wiser, more tolerant Abdallah Jum‘ah delivered a speech to employees and understanding because of this great adventure.” in Dhahran that was broadcast via satellite to other similar Snyder concluded his remarks with a request: “Just as celebrations around the country, extolling the contributions we had the honor of being photographed with your father, of company employees through the years and today. King Abdulaziz, may we please have the honor of being “Friends and colleagues, thank you for joining us today photographed with you?” here in Dhahran and in nearly a dozen other locations Soon afterward, King Abdullah and his guests watched throughout the Kingdom to celebrate 75 years of ‘Energy a series of international folklore performances. Children for generations,’” Jum‘ah said. “This is an important mileperformed dances from “The Phantom of the Opera,” along stone in the history of Saudi Aramco, but I hope it will also with a Latino segment and a khaliji (Gulf) dance. The perserve as a point of reference and of remembrance throughformances concluded with the ardah, a traditional sword out your career with the company. dance performed by Saudi Aramco employees and expats “Yesterday, we had the honor of welcoming to Saudi — and the King happily joined in. Aramco the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah ibn ‘Abd al-’Aziz Al Sa‘ud, and his guests from the ‘An unforgettable event’ other Gulf Cooperation Council countries. With his presence ydia Fitzmorris, speaking on behalf of employees and and by following in his father’s footsteps, the King provided families, addressed the King in Arabic, saying, “Your us with a tangible link to the earliest days of the enterprise. visit makes the celebration of the 75th Anniversary

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‘Abd Allah H. Al-Turayqi and Hafiz Wahbah are the first Saudis to be elected to Aramco’s Board of Directors.

1959 (MAY 20):

Aramco’s first shipment of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the equivalent of 75 million cubic feet of gas, is loaded onto a specially designed tanker at Ras Tanura.

1961 (DECEMBER):

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A two-berth Sea Island loading terminal, built for the largest tankers afloat, begins operations off Ras Tanura.

1966:

1968: Shaybah field is discovered in the northeastern Rub’ al-Khali.

1968: Aramco becomes the first operating company in history to produce more than one billion barrels of oil in less than a year.

Like his father before him, King Abdullah met with a crosssection of the people of Saudi Aramco, and in so doing he underscored their importance both to our company and to our nation. We appreciate the King joining us to celebrate our 75th Anniversary, as well as his heartfelt words of congratulations during yesterday’s grand event. But we also value the wise leadership he provides Saudi Aramco, and the enormous trust and confidence which he has vested in us.” Jum‘ah continued, “I want to take just a moment to thank all of the individuals and organizations which were involved in the preparation and execution of yesterday’s events and today’s employee celebration — including the members of our local communities and their children. I know how many long hours and late evenings went into these celebrations, and each of you should be proud of the results and of your individual contributions to the success of these landmark events.”

because of the enormous significance our company and its activities have in so many different spheres,” he added. “For example, think about what we as an organization mean to the global economy, and to the many countries and communities which that economy encompasses. Quite simply, we provide the world with a reliable supply of vital energy, and the name ‘Saudi Aramco’ is an assurance that petroleum can and will be delivered where and when it is needed. No other firm can provide that level of comfort and commitment, ladies and gentlemen. “… But there is something intangible which goes to the heart of Saudi Aramco’s significance to the Kingdom. Ladies and gentlemen, our company and its accomplishments are a source of tremendous pride for our society, and a shining example of what can be accomplished through hard work, sustained effort, and the pursuit of excellence. The nation is proud of our position as an industry Why we celebrate pacesetter, a technologically sophise talked about the essenticated enterprise, and a world-class tial meaning of the 75th company. But even more importantAnniversary, notwithly, Saudis take pride in the fact that standing the original concession it is their sons and daughters who signing. “We’re not here today to have made Saudi Aramco the leader President and CEO Abdallah S. Jum‘ah speaks at a 75th Anniversary employee celebration celebrate those signatures or comit is today, and who continue to in Dhahran. memorate the concession agreeprovide a reliable supply of energy ment,” Jum‘ah said. “Instead, we to the Kingdom and to the world.” gather to honor the achievements which that agreement The company has a bright future, Jum‘ah told employees. ushered in. Today, we mark the extraordinary growth and “When I look out at this crowd, when I think of our colleagues looking on from elsewhere in the Kingdom, and development of Aramco, and reflect on the remarkable remember the many thousands of other individuals who degree to which Saudi Aramco has helped the Kingdom work hard every day to help us achieve our objectives and realize the bold vision of King Abdulaziz for this nation fulfill our obligations, I am struck by one thought: Saudi and its people. Aramco has a magnificent past, but its best days and great“… So our 75th anniversary is an occasion to honor our est achievements still lie ahead.” ■ predecessors and their success, to celebrate the accomplishments made in our own time, and to renew our commitment to delivering even greater prosperity in the future.” Ahmad Dialdin, Sara Al-Bassam and Rick Snedeker contributed “And yet I think this milestone means a great deal more, to this article.

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1971: Saudi Arabia is recognized by the international petroleum press as the leading oil-exporting nation in the world.

1973 (FEBRUARY 21):

The Saudi Government acquires a 25-percent interest in Aramco’s concession rights and production facilities.

1975: The Master Gas System project, one of history’s largest industrial engineering and construction projects, is launched. It will cost billions of dollars and harness about 4.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day for local industries.

Aramco becomes the first company to produce more than 3 billion barrels of crude oil in a single calendar year. Production averages about 8.3 million barrels per day.

1976:

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Main photo: King Abdullah and other invited guests, sitting in the tent at right, enjoyed a variety of 75th Anniversary children’s performances at an outdoor stage in Dhahran.

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Achievements of Our Fathers

Son of Aramco pioneer lauds enduring Saudi-American ties

Tim Barger, son of Aramco pioneer and former president and CEO Thomas C. Barger, presented the speech below at a special dinner held May 21 at Al-Ghawar Hall in Dhahran in honor of children and descendants of children who in 1947 met with Saudi Arabia’s unifying King, Abdulaziz Al-Saud. President and CEO Abdallah S. Jum‘ah also spoke at the event, which was attended by other members of corporate and executive management.

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oday we celebrate Saudi Aramco’s 75th anniversary. It is a remarkable achievement and a success beyond the wildest dreams of the king and the men who set it in motion. It is well worth celebrating, but it is also good to remember that there was nothing easy about building this company. Starting from scratch in 1934 — less than a year after the oil concession agreement was signed — geologists Burt Miller and Krug Henry pitched a few tents in the shadow of Jabal Dhahran, and laid the foundations for this great company. The oil didn’t flow right away. It took four more difficult years to drill the first producing well — at a depth never seen before in the Middle East. This discovery was immediately followed by the demands of a year-long scramble to build a terminal at Ras Tanura and a 40 mile-long pipeline to Dhahran. At Ras Tanura, on May 1st, 1939, His Royal Highness King Abdulaziz The historic concession agreement. turned the valve to load the first tanker with Saudi crude — the Kingdom was now an oil exporting country. Photographs from that day reveal a great man smiling, the look of a king who, with deserved satisfaction, knows that he has provided his people with a lasting legacy. Just 13 weeks later, this legacy was endangered. The well at Dammam Number 12 burst into flames — tragically killing five oil men — four Saudis and one American. This

1977 (NOVEMBER): The Berri Gas Plant is the first plant completed in the Master Gas System. It is commissioned by King Khalid ibn Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

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1979: Aramco becomes the world’s largest producer of natural-gas liquids.

raging inferno threatened the entire field, and the nearest professional firefighters were four weeks away. So the oil men decided to control this disaster themselves. They reversed the oil pipeline to Al-Khobar and pumped seawater from the coast to quench the fire. Imagine that it is July in Dhahran, 120 degrees in the shade, and you are spraying saltwater on an uncontrollable blaze — for hours in the open sun. Occasionally the wind shifts and the unbearable heat drives you back from the flaring gas of the broken wellhead. No one had to fight the fire — it was all volunteer, and what do we see in the pictures from that day? An American and a Saudi at the head of the fire hose. They fight side by side against a common enemy, without the slightest bit of protective clothing — maybe the American soaked his felt hat and the Saudi dipped his ghutra in water before they charged back into the roaring heat. Their pride as oil men demands that they tame the fire — and failure would extinguish their livelihood and threaten their families. After 10 days of working around the clock, the flames went silent. Three months later, Germany invaded Poland, and world war reduced Aramco to a skeleton crew of about 100 Americans and 1,600 Saudis. Throughout the conflict, despite shortages of food, materials, equipment and manpower, these men maintained a modest, but steady, flow of up to 15,000 barrels a day to the refinery in Bahrain, and the Allied war effort. At the end of the war, the major refinery at Ras Tanura was built and, finally in 1946, 13 years after the concession was signed, Saudi Arabia had its first full year of commercial production. The Kingdom shipped 60 million barrels of oil that year. Today Saudi Aramco produces that much in a week.

The Saudi Government becomes sole owner of Aramco by acquiring the remaining 40-percent interest in Aramco’s concession rights and production facilities.

1980:

1983: King Fahd ibn Abdulaziz Al-Saud visits Aramco to commemorate the company’s 50th anniversary and inaugurates the Exploration and Petroleum Engineering Center building (EXPEC).

At left, a young Tim Barger, standing, sister Mary and friend David Synder check out a rock in the desert near Dhahran. Below, Tim (back left) and friends explore old Qatif in 1965.

In January of the following year, His Highness came to the Eastern Province, and, despite his many official duties, he took the time to greet the children and wives of the Americans who had devoted their careers to Aramco. He couldn’t thank all of these men personally, but there is an old saying that, “If you respect a man, honor his family,” and 61 years ago, King Abdul Aziz did exactly that. I was a very small child at the time, but my sister Annie was six years old, and she was thrilled to meet the king. She also met Prince Faisal that day, and she is very proud of that photograph. She is in her best outfit with a small blue hat as the prince holds her arm. When the king greeted the children and mothers of Aramco — he made each one of them feel like the most important person in the world. He could never really have known how much his recognition meant to every American he met that day. Nor could he have known how many American employees would spend their entire working lives in Dhahran or Abqaiq, Ras Tanura or Udhailiyah. He could not have known that so many of the children he greeted that day would grow up in Arabia. That so many Americans would know his country as our home. It was the King’s kind regards and the hospitality of the Saudi people that welcomed us to this land, and, like any Saudi, we cherish it. Millions of stars in the night sky above the desert — like jewels in the still blackness, the shimmering turquoise hues of the Gulf. Who among us hasn’t experienced

Aramco’s shipping subsidiary, Vela International, begins operations with four supertankers.

1984:

1987: The East-West Crude Oil Pipeline expansion is completed.

a shamaal at night — the dust suspended in the air, waiting to blow wildly the next day, or perhaps the fresh smell of a recently passed winter rain. Because we come from different cultures, we do have differences, but, like friends, we focus on what we have in common, and the similarities are so much larger than our differences. I am just one of the many Americans who have lived in your country for years. There are more than a thousand Americans working for Saudi Aramco right now, and there are tens of thousands who have worked for the company over the past 75 years. There are many thousands of us who were born and raised in the Eastern Province. We are not Saudi-Americans nor are we American-Saudis, maybe we are Saudi AramconAmericans. Regardless of the name, thank all of you Saudi-Arabians, for your friendship and for generously accepting us within your society, for teaching us about another way of life, for sharing with us the beauty of your country — but most especially, thank you, and your parents, for respecting the achievements of our fathers. They did their very best to help make Saudi Aramco the success that it is today, and we are very proud of them and their contribution — as we are of this great company. On behalf of these Americans — past and present — I’d like to say, “Nashkurkam jazeleen.” (Thank all of you very much.) ■ About Tim Barger: Tim Barger was born and raised in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. As an adult he worked three years at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh and started and managed a Saudi electronics company in Jeddah for three years until 1980. In 2000, his company — Selwa Press — published “Out in the Blue: Letters from Arabia 1937–1940,” which became an immediate best seller in the Kingdom. He has published several other books about Saudi Arabia and the region including “The Unfurling,” by Saudi poet Nimah Nawwab, and most recently Wallace Stegner’s “Discovery!” In the fall, Selwa Press will release “Arabian Knight: Colonel Bill Eddy USMC and the Rise of American Power in the Middle East,” by the noted author Thomas Lippman.

1991: Saudi Aramco combats the largest oil spill on record — estimated at 2 to 4 million barrels — dumped into the Arabian Gulf during the Gulf War. A record 1.2 million barrels of oil is recovered, keeping government and company waterfront facilities operating and free from damage.

1995: Saudi Aramco president and CEO Ali I. Al-Naimi is named Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. He succeeds Hisham M. Nazer as chairman of Saudi Aramco’s Board of Directors. Abdallah S. Jum‘ah becomes president and CEO of Saudi Aramco.

Summer 2008 13

King exuded warmth in ’47 visit to Aramco Excerpted from Aramco’s employee newspaper, the Sun & Flare, Jan. 26, 1947:

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housands awaited the arrival of His Majesty King Abdulaziz ibn Saud at the Dhahran Airport on the morning of January 21. Unlike the weather the day before, the morning of January 25th gave promise of remaining a lovely day and grand it was for the regal occasion that took place. All of the American Ladies and American children were on hand to be received by His Majesty and His Royal Party. As prearranged they awaited His Majesty’s arrival and were well repaid for their efforts. Starting at 10 o’clock in the morning slightly less than 200 Ladies and about half as many children assembled on the Dhahran Tennis Court had the distinctive honor of being presented to His Majesty and the Royal Party by Mr. J. MacPherson and Mr. T. V. Stapleton, and meeting the American Minister and Diplomatic Party. His Majesty radiated much enthusiasm especially for the little children; those in arms, in particular, of which he is deeply fond, arrested his attention. It was a great day for the Ladies and the Children, but from one keen observer it was also a pleasure for His Majesty, because at no other

1995: The Shaybah Field Development program begins deep in the Rub’ al-Khali (Empty Quarter) desert.

14 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

Above, at a 75th Anniversary event, a photo of Saudi Arabia’s first king, Abdulaziz, is superimposed over a picture of the tiny Dhahran oil camp in its early days. At left, children (now adults) who met with King Abdulaziz in his 1947 visit to Dhahran walk past a photo of that historic event in 2008.

Reception had he shown such deep concern and interest. For the occasion the ladies were all very smartly dressed in the distinctive styles of their own choosing, each wearing a hat. When His Majesty had finally met all those present, punch and cookies were served to the gathering; it was during this time that the youngsters congregated around the dais and were awed by His Majesty’s presence. It was an occasion that will long remain with the minds of those impressionable youngsters present for this momentous occasion. For the Ladies they too will long remember His Majesty’s gracious courtesy in extending to them the honorable pleasure of meeting them. ■

King Abdullah ibn Abdalaziz Al-Saud, then Crown Prince, inaugurates the Shaybah field in the Rub’ al-Khali, one of the largest projects of its kind in the world. He also inaugurates the Dhahran-Riyadh-Qasim multi-product pipeline and the Ras Tanura upgrade project.

1999:

2001: Hawiyah Gas Plant, capable of processing up to 1.6 billion standard cubic feet per day of non-associated gas, comes on stream.

2003: Haradh Gas Plant is completed more than two months ahead of schedule.

Saudi monarchs personally presided over Aramco’s success

Six Kings

Throughout its 75-year history, Saudi Aramco has relied upon the judicious guidance of the rulers of Saudi Arabia. In turn, the Kings have placed their trust in Saudi Aramco to derive maximum benefit from the country’s rich natural resources for the prosperity and development of Saudi Arabia and its people. All six Kings of Saudi Arabia have shown their support, in part, by visiting Company operations and by meeting the employees who have contributed so much to the well-being of the people of Saudi Arabia — and to the well-being of people around the globe. The Kings also, when they were Crown Princes, visited the Eastern Province, where most oil facilities and Saudi Aramco’s headquarters community of Dhahran are located. Below is a summary of royal oversight of Aramco’s success and of visit by Kings and Crown Princes to the province and company facilities over the years. King Abdulaziz Al-Saud (Reigned 1932–1953) he story of Saudi Aramco begins with the vision of King Abdulaziz, who, aware of oil discoveries elsewhere in the region, sought the expertise of an international oil company to explore his young Kingdom for the natural resources that would allow him to guide its successful development. On May 29, 1933, after months of negotiations, the King’s minister of finance signed the Concession Agreement with Standard Oil of California, an act that would eventually transform Saudi Arabia and the global petroleum industry. King Abdulaziz first visited Aramco facilities in April and May 1939, when he turned a ceremonial valve, sending the first Saudi oil exports to the tanker D.G. Scofield, waiting offshore in the Arabian Gulf east of Ras Tanura. The King paid his last visit to Aramco in January 1947, when, among other activities, he personally received several hundred American employees, their wives and children. In 1952, the year before the death of King Abdulaziz, in a move symbolic of the growing importance of Saudi Arabia to the world’s oil business, Company headquarters was moved from New York City to Dhahran.

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2004: HRH Crown Prince Abdullah ibn Abdulaziz Al-Saud inaugurates the 800,000-bpd Qatif-Abu Sa’fah Producing Plant mega-project.

2004: Memorandum of understanding signed with Japan’s Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. to conduct a joint feasibility study of an integrated refining and petrochemical complex at Rabigh on the Red Sea coast.

King Sa‘ud (Reigned 1953–1964) s Crown Prince, King Sa‘ud visited Company operations in December of 1937 and again in 1950, visiting a trade school where he witnessed young Saudis learning the skills needed for the petroleum trade — an early example of the transformation taking place in Saudi society, as the sons of pearl fishermen, merchants, farmers and Bedouin began to climb the ladder that would take them to the top of Aramco within two generations. In February 1953, King Sa‘ud, then Crown Prince sealed an agreement with Aramco whereby the Company would build and pay the expenses of 10 public schools in the Eastern Province — the beginning of the Aramco-Built Government Schools Program. The program was championed by a young Prince Fahd, then Education Minister. Ultimately, 139 boys and girls schools were built under the program, and Saudi Aramco maintains the schools in top shape to this day. In the last few years of King Sa‘ud’s reign, two significant milestones in the history of the petroleum industry were reached, one on the global stage and one at home. In 1960, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was formed. Three years later, King Sa‘ud issued a Royal Decree creating the College of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran (now King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals).

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2004: Saudi Aramco, through Aramco Overseas Co., signs an agreement with China’s Fujian Petrochemical Co. Ltd., and ExxonMobil China Petroleum and Petrochemical Co. Ltd. to jointly fund design for a major refinery expansion and chemical complex at the existing refinery in Fujian Province.

2005: Agreements signed for development of the Khursaniyah Oil and Gas Program and the Hawiyah Natural Gas Liquids Recovery Program.

Summer 2008 15

King Faisal (Reigned 1964–1975) he nine years of King Faisal’s rule were marked by big changes in the world, the region, the country and the Company. Both Saudi Arabia and Aramco emerged stronger from these trying times. In 1965, King Faisal inaugurated the College of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran. Aramco has been committed to the school’s success since its inception. In 1969, the first Saudi employees of Aramco enrolled in the college. The following year, Aramco contributed millions of dollars to the school’s expansion program, and in 1971 the university issued its first degrees. During King Faisal’s reign, the program to build and maintain schools for the daughters of Saudi employees became reality, with the first two schools, in al-Khobar and Rahimah, turned over to the Government in September 1964. Aramco also agreed to support the recruitment and training of female teachers. During King Faisal’s reign, Aramco discovered Berri field (1974); Zuluf (1965); Marjan, Karan and Jana (1967); and Shaybah (1968). Under King Faisal, the Saudi Government began negotiations that resulted, in 1973, in the acquisition of a 25-percent participation interest in Aramco. The next year, participation increased to 60 percent. These were the first steps to complete ownership of the Company, which came in 1980. One of the cornerstones of the Kingdom’s Second Five-Year Plan in 1975, one of King Faisal’s last official achievements, called for Aramco to design, build and operate the Master Gas System (MGS) to provide fuel for a national network of diversified industries. The MGS, a legacy of both King Faisal and Aramco, remains the backbone of Saudi industrial development.

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King Khalid (Reigned 1975–1982) he time of King Khalid saw tremendous economic and industrial growth in the Kingdom, driven in large part by the expansion of Aramco’s oil and, increasingly, natural gas production capacity.

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2005: Khurais Field Development program and Shaybah Field Expansion program are launched.

2006: Saudi Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical break ground on Petro Rabigh, an integrated refining/ petrochemical project.

16 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

King Khalid and Aramco together embarked on a capital program in the mid- to late 1970s that was unprecedented in industrial history — an initiative unmatched until the current capital program that was launched in 2005. In 1977, Aramco had three of the world’s largest projects under way at the same time: the Zuluf GOSP-2, the Qurayyah Seawater Treatment Plant and the MGS. In November 1977, King Khalid commissioned the Berri Gas Plant, the first plant completed in the MGS. The next year, a major component of the MGS was completed when Aramco built an NGL pipeline across the country from Shedgum to Yanbu‘. As part of the overall MGS, two vast industrial cities were constructed at Jubail on the Gulf and at Yanbu‘ on the Red Sea. The latter, which included several major Aramco facilities, was formally dedicated in 1979. Acting upon King Khalid’s Royal Decree creating the Saudi Consolidated Electrical Company, or SCECO, in August 1976, Aramco worked out a plan to unify 26 local power companies with its own power plants, thus creating a unified electrical grid in the Eastern Province. At the end of the decade, in 1980, King Khalid oversaw the Government’s acquisition of the remaining interest in Aramco, setting the stage for the Company to become a fully Saudi-owned and managed enterprise. King Fahd (Reigned 1982–2005) he long and fruitful reign of King Fahd included both boom times and lean times for Aramco, which weathered its gravest challenge and emerged as the world’s leading petroleum enterprise, a position it retains to this day. Early in his rule, King Fahd oversaw the appointment in November 1983 of Ali I. Al-Naimi as the first Saudi president of Aramco, effective January 1984. King Fahd visited Dhahran on the occasion of the Company’s 50th anniversary, in May 1983, and inaugurated the Exploration and Petroleum Engineering Center, or EXPEC, a facility that allowed Aramco to perform many of the geoscience and petroleum engineering tasks previously performed by outside companies. The following year saw the creation of the Company’s international shipping subsidiary, Vela International Marine

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2006: Haradh III increment is completed, yielding 300,000 bpd of oil.

Accords are signed for export refineries in Jubail (with Total) and in Yanbu’ (with ConocoPhillips). 2006:

The Manifa Field Development program is launched.

2006:

Limited. By 1995, a program to build 15 advanced supertankers was completed. Today, Vela is recognized as one of the premier tanker fleets in the world, transporting millions of barrels of crude oil and petroleum products safely around the globe. During a December 1986 visit by King Fahd, the University of Petroleum and Minerals was renamed King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, or KFUPM. The following year, the new Aramco Exhibit opened to the public, and through the years, it has hosted thousands of school children who learn about the petroleum industry and the legacy of Muslim science. The final act in the transformation of Aramco took place on November 8, 1988, when King Fahd issued a Royal Decree that established the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, or Saudi Aramco. Al-Naimi became CEO at this time. Seven years later, in 1995, Abdallah S. Jum‘ah was named president and CEO and Al-Naimi was appointed Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, positions they retain today. In July 1993, King Fahd issued a Royal Decree merging all of the Kingdom’s oil refineries, product distribution facilities and interests in three joint-venture refineries into Saudi Aramco. This act transformed Saudi Aramco into the world’s third largest refiner. King Abdullah (Reigned 2005–Present) s Crown Prince and then as King, Abdullah guided Saudi Aramco into a higher profile in the global petroleum industry, expanding the Company’s international ventures and extending the Company’s reach into downstream activities, including petrochemicals and associated industries. Under his leadership, Saudi Aramco forged in-Kingdom joint ventures in natural gas, embarked on the largest capital program in its history and took the lead on the creation of a world-class graduate research university — King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, or KAUST. In a stunning display of technology and human ingenuity, Saudi Aramco brought the 500,000-barrel-per-day Shaybah project on-line, and in April 1999, Crown Prince

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Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical Co. agree to conduct a feasibility study for the construction, ownership and operation of a world-scale chemicals and plastics production complex, known as the Ras Tanura Integrated Project.

2007 (MAY 16):

2007 (OCTOBER 21):

A ground-breaking ceremony is held for the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) at Thawul Village.

Abdullah inaugurated the facility, as well as the DhahranRiyadh-Qasim multi-product pipeline and the Ras Tanura upgrade project. Additional oil production capacity was added with the completion of the 800,000 bpd Qatif-Abu Sa‘fah project, inaugurated by Crown Prince Abdullah in December 2004. The following year, the Saudi Government and Saudi Aramco unveiled the most ambitious capital project in the Company’s history: a slate of crude oil production expansion projects that, by 2009, will raise the Kingdom’s maximum sustained output of crude oil by 2 million bpd to about 12 million bpd — an increase roughly equal to the output of some leading oil-exporting nations. With domestic demand for natural gas increasing, Saudi Aramco placed greater emphasis on finding and producing non-associated gas. One of the first tangible results of this strategy was the Hawiyah Gas Plant, inaugurated by Crown Prince Abdullah in October 2002. This was soon followed by the Haradh Gas Plant, inaugurated by the Crown Prince in January 2004. In March 2006, ground was broken on a joint venture with Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. of Japan, to build an integrated refining and petrochemical complex in Rabigh, further diversifying Aramco’s industrial portfolio. The following year, Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical Co. agreed to conduct a feasibility study for a world-scale chemicals and plastics production complex integrated with the Ras Tanura Refinery. In 2004, a Company subsidiary acquired a strategic shareholding in Showa Shell in Japan, and in 2007, agreements were signed with Sinopec, the Fujian provincial government and ExxonMobil for first fully integrated Sino-foreign projects that involve refining, petrochemicals and marketing of fuels and chemicals. Saudi Aramco has thrived under the guidance of the six rulers of Saudi Arabia, responding to their calls for the comprehensive development of Saudi Arabia and its people to the utmost of their potential. The dividends paid by the Company’s current investments in capital projects and in human capital, as directed by King Abdullah, will be felt for generations to come, at home and around the world. ■

Construction begins on Shaybah Central Processing Facilities’ gas-oil separation plant No. 4 (GOSP-4), in the Rub’ al-Khali. When completed, the plant will add 250,000 bpd of Arab Extra Light crude oil to the field’s current output of 500,000 bpd.

2007:

2008: Saudi Aramco celebrates its 75th Anniversary.

Summer 2008 17

Memories of Arabia King Abdulaziz’s 1947 visit to Dhahran: David Eric Lunde: The King was seated on the platform, and his soldiers and bodyguards all had rifles and pistols and daggers and swords and bandoliers of ammunition, and were very fierce looking. At the King’s left was a small table with a bowl of Fig Newton cookies, which he seemed to greatly enjoy. … He would shake hands with the older children and pat others on the head. I thought he was quite scary, being a big man with a beard and a drooping eyelid, but I thought that anyone who liked Fig Newtons as much as I did must be a good guy. His hand seemed huge when I shook it, and it was callused and hard, but he spoke very gently and smiled, and I really liked him. King Abdullah’s visit to Dhahran in 2008: Margaret Ann Fitch: (awaiting the King’s arrival) It almost seems like a fairy tale, like I’m in a dream. Annie Barger Hebert: I want to say to the King, “This has been my home for 37 years. I married here and had four kids here.” Claudia Jean Dixon: (The King’s handshake) was warm, soft, comforting and very nice. He has such a great smile. Recollections of life in Aramco past: Myles D. Jones: We lived at the (Ras Tanura) Terminal from 1946 through 1949. Our school in Ras Tanura was a walled off section of the Men’s Mess Hall. Our enrollment, I would think, was around 20.”

18 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

Above, an Aramco mother and her daughters meet King Abdulaziz Al Saud in 1947 in Dhahran. At left, Alice Fullmer Jandt points out a picture of herself as an 11-year old during King Abdulaziz’s 1947 visit in the 1994 issue of Aramco’s Al-Ayaam Al-Jamilah magazine for retirees.

Patricia Hills Finlayson: I got to interview Crown Prince Sa‘ud for the school newspaper (she was 11 or 12 years old, in eighth grade). I did it with Farida Sowayegh, whose father was an interpreter to Ibn Saud. It wasn’t a profound interview, but it took place outside Hamilton House. Farida and I were representatives of the school and got to ask him such intelligent

questions such as “What is your favorite drink?” which was orange juice, I recall. Jacqueline Larsen-Voskamp: I took a course to learn Arabic. They were offering 50 dollars to anybody, and we were, like, “Fifty dollars!” (twin sister Joyceline interjected: “We couldn’t sign up fast enough!”) I remember the phrase ‘al-mitraqa that al-sayara, which means “the hammer is under the car.” I never used it, but I never forgot it. Robert Rodstrom: When I saw the pool at the new women’s gym, I remembered, almost like yesterday, playing in it. Judith Bauer: (The bowling alley) boys used to set pins (manually) and then jump out of the way of the balls. Now, it’s all automatic. L. Miles Snyder: We had to buy clothes in two-year increments (because repatriation leave was every two years), and shoes, too. (Steve Furman added that parents would get clothes for their kids a couple of sizes too big so that they could grow into them.) The most striking memories of my days in Saudi Arabia were of the trips I was privileged to take with the Bedouin in the desert. I was deeply impressed at their gracious hospitality, rugged way of life and extraordinary tracking skills. On hunting trips in the midst of a barren plain, we Americans would ask a Bedu guide to mark a northsouth line in the sand. He would think for a moment then gravely draw the line. Then we would place a metal compass on his

line — and find it to be perfectly true. At night in the desert, the intense brightness of the star-lit sky was overwhelming. I shall never forget it. Mary Pat Lass: I lived at 1435 King’s Road. My grandmother Gaga was the only grandmother to come over. She built this vegetable garden, and the Bedouins would come to her with a sore or cut and she would get my Dad´s white socks to bandage them. One Christmas morning there was a knock at the back door, and here were some Bedouins with an entire truckload of camel and donkey dung for her garden! Isn’t that a touching

Mary Pat Lass and sister Margaret Ann Fitch collect seashells at their childhood beach in Ras Tanura, above, while Caryll Goodale and husband Doug, left, enjoy the breeze at RT’s white-sand beach. Lass and Fitch’s grandmother Gaga was the first grandmother to live in RT. Above-left, right to left, Steve Furman, L. Miles Snyder, Jane Eleanor Furman and Sharon Virginia Snyder pose together on King’s Road before meeting King Abdullah on May 20. Furman and Snyder lived in Dhahran during World War II.

Summer 2008 19

Jan Lunde Osborne: One of my fondest memories was having a Bedouin friend when I was 4, 5 and 6 years old in Abqaiq. There were no fences around the town at that time, and he used to camp close to our house. I would go visit him and sit by the campfire. He always brought me an animal — a hedgehog, a dhub (lizard), and a falcon, which dad would not let me keep. When I was in Dhahran and about 13, I had a horse at the hobby farm and once rode out and met some Bedouins, who served me tea and danced. Dottie Mayfeild: As kids, one of our games at the beach was to play dodge ball with jelly fish. From top: Students leave Dhahran School in the 1950s. Aramco Cub Scouts learn desert lore from a bedouin in 1949. Aramco Girl Scouts and a young Cub Scout enjoy the beach at Ras Tanura in 1949.

story? That was the best gift they could give her! Jan Lunde Osborne: I lived in what’s now the Heritage Gallery (in Dhahran). They’ve replastered over the outside so it’s hard to recognize. Marcy (Jan’s sister) was born in the clinic, which later became the Women’s Exchange Center. Cynthia Hills Anders: Fond memories? Swimming in the (Arabian) Gulf at Half Moon Bay in warm water after dark, trailing a stream of phosphorescence. I also remember flares lighting up the distance at night and the most stars I have ever seen.

20 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

David Engen: (Found the tree that his father had planted in Ras Tanura decades ago. “We have a family photo with this tree,” said Engen. “That’s really incredible that it’s still here.” Mariana Fentress Guion Mabry: I remember running up and down the fantastic dunes just off the beach at Half Moon Bay; of choosing the best donkey at the 4th of July races and winning 100 riyals in the donkey race (and barely holding on to reach the finish line). Claudia Jean Dixon: I remember my last evening in Saudi Arabia, sitting on a sand dune beside the (Arabian) Gulf, watching an incredible moon rise over the water. I thought at the time that I would probably never have another chance to be in this place I loved. I entertain my granddaughters with

tales of sand storms, and a spectacular solar eclipse that coincided with the arrival of a swarm of locusts. They are enchanted. David Eric Lunde: The experience of growing up in Saudi Arabia profoundly affected my outlook on the world. I was so young at the time I went there, that I have almost no memories of living in the U.S. beforehand. Saudi Arabia was home to me, and America (Amereeka) was a foreign country that we visited now and then. James Tracy: I feel that I was fortunate to have been a part of living history. From the time I first arrived at the age of 3 until I left upon retirement (from Aramco) at age 60, I was witness to, and part of, a tremendous transformation of a land and of a people. Margaret Ann Fitch: (married to Dennis Erwin) I’m surprised how excited the Saudis are that we’re here. We were excited to come here; it’s surprising that it goes the same way for the opposite side. It’s a mutual love society. David Engen: Dhahran had an indoor theatre at this time (late 1940s) but Ras Tanura was blessed with an outdoor theater. At night, the winters were cold, and since movies could not be shown until dark, people carried blankets with them. A few years later a brand new theater and recreation center were built including a new bowling alley, library and restaurant. I supposed the fact that we had a wonderful beach made Ras Tanura special for most of us.

From top: Two Aramco wives shop in Al-Khobar, near the company’s Dhahran community, in 1954. Abqaiq Cardinal runner Clem Marino is safe as bad throw pulls Dhahran Pirate’s Dave Snyder off the bag, in 1958 Little League action. Two Aramcons ride their horses at the company’s equestrian Hobby Farm in the 1950s.

Joyceline Haug Kriesmer: It was real pioneering days. It truly was. We didn’t realize it, though. We all just did the same thing. We would get fresh produce only every three months; food was precious. Cooking was a very, very big element of life in early days. Caryll Hayden Goodale: (After visiting Ras Tanura beach) The water was warm and the sand was soft. It was just like I remember it. It was like going home again. It’s a really neat, satisfying feeling to go home. I’m delighted to come back; never thought I would get a chance to. ■ Interviews by Sara Al-Bassam.

Summer 2008 21

King Abdullah and other dignitaries, sitting at left in main photo, applaud the recitation of a young Saudi boy in traditional attire at the 75th Anniversary celebrations in Dhahran. Top photos, from left: Aramco “Brat” Steve Furman receives a gift from the company. A Saudi Aramco Schools student band prepares to perform at the May 20 celebration. A father enjoys an employee celebration with his children. Aramco twins from 1947 and today.

22 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

Summer 2008 23

DHAHRAN,

Saudi Arabia — How times have changed. Until the early 1970s, a reservoir was considered “depleted” after only 30 to 35 percent of its oil had been extracted, at which point it was abandoned or slated for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). Today, the situation is radically different, with up to 70 percent of the oil originally in place being recovered. Recent advances in technology, along with changing global economic circumstances over the last 30 years, have com-

are estimated at about 260 billion barrels of oil, assuming conventional recovery methods. Using EOR technologies, the possible reserves would be even higher. Saudi Arabia is blessed with some of the world’s largest oil reserves and fourth-largest gas reserves. Hundreds and thousands of feet below the Kingdom’s desert sands lie vast reservoirs, natural geological formations containing a heterogeneous mixture of oil, gas, and water. The challenge for Saudi Aramco is twofold — first, to detect the pockets within the rock structure where the treasure lies, and second, to find the most cost-effective ways to extract as much of it as possible. Thanks to sustained and comprehensive reservoir management practices backed up by innovative technology, the company’s unrelenting push for improved reservoir performance is paying off, thus helping to ensure that supplies keep up with demand. These efforts go hand in hand with an active and ambitious exploration program.

RAISING bined to make it economically attractive to extract a far greater percentage of oil from each reservoir. The reasons are not hard to understand. During the life of any oil field, there is always a point at which the cost of producing the next barrel of oil exceeds the price the market

RESERVOIRS LIKE A GOOD PARENT, SAUDI ARAMCO DEVELOPS ITS CHILDREN TO IMPROVE WITH AGE is willing to pay. Market prices were low in the early days because it was cheaper to find and develop a new oil field than to fully exploit an existing field. Prudent economics then dictated that production be halted and wells abandoned relatively early in their productive lives, even though two-thirds of their oil reserves were still left in the ground. This situation began to change about 35 years ago when the United States, which had historically been among the most prolific oil producers in the world over the previous 50 years, saw its proven reserves start to decline for the first time because new discoveries failed to keep pace with ever-increasing domestic demand. At that point, the major oil companies embraced enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques and resumed production from formerly shut-in wells. Today, an estimated 80 percent of current additions to world oil reserves come from better management of existing oil reservoirs. Currently, Saudi Aramco is leading the oil industry with the highest production capacity and by adopting advanced drilling technology and Best-In-Class production practices. Current Saudi Arabian reserves

WRITTEN BY DELSHAD KUMANA

The responsibility for appraising, developing, and managing Saudi Aramco’s hydrocarbon reservoirs rests with the Southern and Northern Areas Reservoir Management Departments (SRMD & NRMD). “The main objectives of the reservoir management process at Saudi Aramco are to meet commitments, improve hydrocarbon recovery, increase upstream efficiency and control costs,” says Waleed A. Mulhim, manager of SRMD. “We need to understand that reservoirs are like children — they need to be taken care of, and this is what we try to do.” The analogy is apt, considering the amount of nurturing and attention that goes into the management of a reservoir throughout its life cycle. Just as parents keep a watchful eye on a child, experts evaluate and monitor progress at every stage of a hydrocarbon reservoir’s development using the company’s reservoir management standards as their guide. Reservoir Management has long-term goals and objectives in the form of reservoir management strategies and field development plans. Working in unison, reservoir management Opposite top: A graphical representation of a hydrocarbon reservoir. Opposite bottom: Complex horizontal wells, similar to the root of a tree, aim to reach every possible underground oil pocket.

Summer 2008 25

EXPEC ARC Technologies of the Future

BIONIC WELLS OF THE FUTURE Bionic wells of the future will be planted rather than drilled! Here, the “roots” (lateral branches) of a well will automatically seek out new oil and gas zones, in much the same way that the roots of a tree will grow towards water. Once the vertical segment of the well is drilled (the well is planted), the well is left to its own means. It extends a smart lateral to an oil-bearing zone that has not been drained, then cuts off that lateral once the zone waters out, and extends another lateral to a different zone — and so on.

Seismic field work (at right), wireline logs, well testing and production data provide essential descriptive information about a reservoir. Far right: Offshore reservoirs pose special challenges.

strategies and their associated field development plans provide a road map for managing the reservoir from discovery until “depletion.” Development plans include details of where and when to drill wells, the expected production rates, and the anticipated reservoir pressures. In layman’s terms, the reservoir can be likened to a milkshake, with the wells serving as the straws through which the contents are sucked up. Once an “asset” or potential reservoir has been identified, a team of experts, including geoscientists, lab scientists, information technology specialists and engineers, chalk out future plans and strategies. “Improving reservoir performance is one of our top priorities,” says Mulhim. “We have taken every opportunity to adopt new technologies in drilling and completing our oil and gas wells

and injection data all provide descriptive information about a reservoir. A pro-active data acquisition program, including surface supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)

SAUDI ARAMCO’S COMPREHENSIVE, INTEGRATED RESERVOIR MANAGEMENT ENSURES RESPONSIBLE STEWARDSHIP. to add more potential.” SRMD’s & NRMD’s all-out efforts appear to have paid off in a number of ways. “Technology and its wise application are pushing back the boundaries of oil recovery,” Mulhim points out. “Where once recovery of 35 percent of the oil volume originally in place was considered acceptable, Saudi Aramco has already significantly surpassed this old standard and is aiming even higher. Improved recovery comes from improved understanding both at the macroscopic field level and the microscopic pore level. The company is aggressively pursuing research and development objectives which include description, mapping and recovery behavior at the pore level. These objectives are being accomplished through integration of laboratory investigations and analysis of field observations. They include advanced seismic, drilling, production and formation evaluation technologies, versatile and controllable completions, and proactive surveillance.” Reservoir surveillance is pivotal in gauging and continuously adjusting the reservoir management process. A reservoir’s behavior varies throughout its productive life. Seismic records, wire-line logs, well testing, and production

systems and sub-surface smart sensors at the reservoir face, serve as the eyes and ears of the reservoir management team to monitor reservoir behavior. In Saudi Aramco, the implementation of this advanced technology in all fields has been mandated by management and is part of the company’s “I-Field” — intelligent field —initiative. The reservoir management process in an I-Field environment rapidly transforms reservoir data into integrated geological and reservoir simulation models to evaluate field performance, to predict productive capacity, and to determine actions to improve field performance and hydrocarbon recovery. In addition, Saudi Aramco has emerged as the world leader in utilizing Maximum Reservoir Contact (MRC) wells, real-time geo-steering, and I-Field data gathering and control in all its current developments. An MRC well has a combined horizontal reach of over five kilometers in the reservoir. Such long exposure between the wellbore and the reservoir significantly reduces drawdown pressure and improves inflow performance of the well. This in turn helps drain the reservoir, with the help of gravity segregation, by coaxing the reservoir rocks to produce five-fold or more than would have been the case (cont. on page 32)

Summer 2008 27

SHAYBAH Horizontal Gas Injector Well

28 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

Future advances in drilling technology, along with intelligent completion practices, will be a major driver in maximizing ultimate recovery from underground reservoirs.

Summer 2008 29

AS WITH ALL

specialized industries, the oil business has developed its own jargon to describe various processes and equipment. Here is a partial glossary of common oil industry terminology related to reservoirs and production:

LEARNING RESERVOIR SPEAK

Opposite: A 3-D reservoir graphic, top; and a drilling rig at Shaybah, below. Wells are drilled by multidisciplinary teams in a collaborative environment, top. Above, a well is represented within a reservoir.

• I-Field — stands for “intelligent field,” in which wells are equipped with sensors and/or controls that can transmit crucial data pertaining to flow rate, pressure and temperature in real time to a control center for prudent field management. • MRC — is an acronym for Maximum Reservoir Contact. A well is referred to as an MRC only if the aggregate sub-surface contact with a reservoir is five kilometers or more via a single or multi-branched configuration. Increasing the contact of a well with the reservoir reduces the risk of premature water production, improves the well’s hydrocarbon flow rate and extends its life. • Geo-steering — refers to real-time interaction between drilling rigs and the control center (Saudi Aramco’s Geo-Steering Center) to properly place wells with respect to oil and rock quality. In this process, live drilling data and down-hole parameters are sent from rigs to the control center via satellite, allowing engineers and geo-scientists to monitor and analyze drilling activities in real time from their desktops and to make decisions regarding drilling operations. • Smart wells — are wells equipped with sub-surface valves that can be controlled from the surface. This enables control of the rate of each branch/segment, in the case of multi-segmented/branched wells, to optimize a well’s performance. • Smart completions — “Completion” is the term for the process in which the well is enabled to produce oil or gas, and in smart completions remote-controlled subsurface equipment is utilized to control production. • Hydraulic fracturing — refers to the process of creating fractures in the reservoir rock to enhance reservoir porosity and well productivity by pumping fluids through the well bore at high pressure. • Mscfd — stands for thousand standard cubic feet per day of natural-gas volume • MMscfd — stands for million standard cubic feet per day of natural-gas volume • Bscfd — stands for billion standard cubic feet per day of gas volume • EOR — stands for enhanced oil recovery

Summer 2008 31

with conventional vertical wells. Drilling of MRC wells is accomplished through “realtime geo-steering,” which is a process in which geological and reservoir data is transmitted from the drill bit to the surface to ensure that the well is being drilled in the optimum section of the reservoir. Saudi Aramco has created a specialized Geo-Steering Center, where real-time data from deep underground is transmitted from fields across the country, both onshore and offshore, to professionals in Dhahran who man the center around the clock, analyze this data, and are in a position to almost instantly communicate with their drilling partners in the field on midcourse corrections or other operational decisions. For the past seven years, the company has provided all necessary resources to the Ghawar Integrated Appraisal and New Technologies (GIANT) team. This multidisciplinary team, representing all Exploration and Producing departments, has been tasked with monitoring and measuring, defining and understanding, and predicting and improving recovery in the “supergiant” Ghawar field, the largest in the world.

(cont. from page 27)

IN HARADH (the southern section of Ghawar Field), Saudi Aramco raised production in three increments start-

with an improved understanding of the fluid flow mechanisms in the reservoir is the key to success.” It is worth noting that Haradh-III was brought in ahead of schedule by MRC wells, with only one-fifth the number of conventional vertical wells otherwise required, producing the same amount of oil and resulting in significant savings in drilling and flowline costs. Reservoir Management successes in Haradh were built on experience gained and lessons learned in some of the company’s recent projects, such as the Shaybah and Qatif increments. “In fact,” Mulhim points out, “we have had similar success in the Non-Associated Gas (NAG) development program as well.” The company brought online NAG capacity of 1.6 billion standard cubic feet per day (scfd) in 2001 to supply to the Hawiyah Gas Plant and another 1.6 billion scfd of capacity in 2003 to supply the Haradh Gas Plant. In addition, two new gas-increment projects are currently under way to support the Kingdom’s continuing rapid increase in domestic gas demand for power plants, industrial fuel and petrochemical feedstock. The first of these increments will send an additional 800 million scfd to the Hawiyah Gas Plant and the second will supply 1.5 billion scfd from the newly discovered Karan Khuff offshore field to the Khursaniyah Gas Plant.

IMPLEMENTATION OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND NEW IDEAS HAVE SPAWNED SUCCESS. ing in 1996. The first phase involved vertical wells; the second phase, starting in 2003, involved horizontal wells; and the third, starting in 2006, involved MRC wells, “smart” completions, and instrumentation. The advance of technology yielded a five-fold increase in well rates between the first and third increments. “The success of the company’s operation in the Haradh field is proof that these high-tech investments have paid off,” Mulhim says. “The development of Haradh Increment-III represents a major shift in paradigm in terms of employing state-of-the-art technologies. The efficient integration of these technologies from the very start of production along Seismic, geological and simulation models, like this one at left, are critical in the development and management of the reservoirs.

32 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

The development and deployment of new technologies and completion techniques in the NAG Program have increased efficiency and reduced the unit development cost of the company’s gas wells. Saudi Aramco has also become an industry leader in several different types of hydraulic fracturing techniques, which has doubled production potential from existing vertical wells. Complex horizontal drilling technologies were also employed in E&P’s gas-development operations, which have increased well productivity due to improved reservoir contact.

ALSO WORTH NOTING is Saudi Aramco’s continued success in lowering the water content in the oil-water emulsion that is pumped out of a well. Water is invariably present along with oil in a typical reservoir. As the oil layer is preferentially pumped out in the early stages of the well’s life, it leaves a void that has to be replaced by injected water to maintain flow pressure. This “water displacement” technique is standard industry practice and is sometimes referred to as secondary recovery. A consequence of this strategy is that over time increasing amounts of water are “produced” along with the oil, and the higher “water cut” results in

higher costs for separating the water from the oil, In an I-Field environment, treating it and re-injecting it into the reservoir. wells equipped “For the past eight years, Saudi Aramco with sensors will transmit has been able to arrest the increase in water pressure, cut through a multi-pronged approach that temperature includes adopting the use of horizontal drilling, and flow data to control sidetracking of high water cut wells , and by rooms and applying smart technologies which act as downI-Field centers. hole regulators on water ingress,” says Mulhim. “These extremely successful results would not have been achieved without Saudi Aramco’s willingness to apply

SAUDI ARAMCO’S WORLD-CLASS ACCOMPLISHMENTS SET THE STANDARD FOR THE INDUSTRY. ABQAIQ ARAB-D RESERVOIR is an excellent example innovative technologies and new ideas.” Saudi Aramco environment of learning and adopting leverages experiences gained from one development into the next, always with an eye on emerging technology and what it could do to reduce development costs, maintain longer plateaus, monitor and improve recoveries and reduce operating costs. “We apply a comprehensive and integrated approach to reservoir management in the development of our giant fields, which ensures responsible stewardship of our resources,” Mulhim adds. So what lies ahead for Reservoir Management’s? “First and foremost, there is no shortage of natural resources in the foreseeable future,” Mulhim says. “However, in order to meet the rising global demand for oil and the domestic demand for gas, more fields will have to be brought onstream more rapidly than ever before. More wells will be drilled and re-completed. Our operations will continue to get larger and more sophisticated. Our transformation to the I-Field paradigm will definitely enable us to meet this challenge. Additionally, we strongly believe that we will increase the amount of economically recoverable oil from each of our reservoirs.”

of why Saudi Aramco believes higher recovery rates can be expected in the future, and will probably become a textbook case of the benefits of prudent reservoir management. The Abqaiq field was discovered in 1940. It was the first giant field developed in the kingdom, with production beginning in 1946. As of 2007, after 61 years of continuous production, and having produced over 11 billion barrels of oil or about 56 percent of its oil initially in place, our average production rate from this field is still 375,000 barrels per day with a maximum water cut of only 35 percent. “The two principal factors contributing to this outstanding performance are our innovative personnel, and the application of fit-for-purpose technologies. Abqaiq field is not unique among Saudi Aramco fields. Rather it is at the vanguard of the majority of Saudi Aramco’s major fields, which are following the same profile.” World-class accomplishments such as these not only set the standard for all Saudi Aramco fields, but continue to raise the bar for the rest of the industry as well. ■

Summer 2008 33

ADVANCING RESEARCH E X P E C A R C I N T E R N AT I O N A L A D V I S O R S L A U D A R A M C O D E T E R M I N AT I O N Wr i t t e n b y S t e p h e n L . B r u n d a g e

DHAHRAN —

You don’t create a world-class research facility… For EXPEC’s Advanced Research Center (ARC), some of that help comes from EXPEC ARC’s International Advisory Council (IAC), composed of several leaders in the global scientific community. The council’s five members come from different scientific disciplines from leading universities and research organizations. The IAC meets every six months to look at the challenges EXPEC ARC and the company face, and to offer suggestions that lead to new approaches and solutions. Members also meet with company management and employees. Council members were interviewed about their thoughts on EXPEC ARC, and they said they are impressed with the progress they’ve seen at the research center — particularly with Saudi Aramco’s employee development process. “(Fellow council member) Dr. Farouk El-Baz has said how much pride he takes that at least one company in the Arab world would develop such capabilities that are comparable with the best that exist anywhere and that surpass many others,” said IAC member M. Nafi Toksöz, director of MIT’s Wallace Geophysical Observatory. “There

are many aspects of this — an immediate effect on science technology and a better utilization of the resources, but there is also a psychological uplift that this organization can do it and doesn’t have to rely on any others. The challenges are great, but Saudi Aramco is doing it primarily with in-house resources and bringing in lots of young, capable people and motivating them. I think this is one of the best things that could happen to this organization.” “I’ve been impressed with the EXPEC managers looking for better ways to run the Advanced Research Center so they can get better results,” said Stephen A. Holditch, head of the petroleum engineering faculty at Texas A&M University. “They’re looking at personnel issues and project management and leveraging new technologies that other people are developing to determine how they can get more oil out of reservoirs for Saudi Aramco. They’re very focused, and they’re looking at all aspects of the organization trying to improve. We’ve seen several presentations today about areas that they have implemented changes successfully that we had discussed in prior meetings. We come over here and give

International Advisory Council members meet in Dhahran with Khalid A. Al-Falih, Saudi Aramco’s executive vice president of Operations. Left to right: Suresh Rao of the Strategic Technology Analysis Division, EXPEC ARC; Sidqi Abu-Khamsin; Stephen Holditch; Al-Falih; Luciano Maiani; M. Nafi Toksöz; and Amin H. Nasser, senior vice president of Exploration and Production.

…without help and guidance. advice and then leave, but they’re making progress.” “I’ve always been impressed by Saudi Aramco’s openness when it comes to research, and you can see there’s a keen interest in advancing petroleum science,” said IAC member Dr. Sidqi Ahmad Abu-Khamsin, chairman of the Petroleum Engineering Department at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Dhahran. “They invite outsiders to investigate their problems and collaborate on solutions. The company has been very generous to universities inside and outside the Kingdom — especially at KFUPM, where we always try to support the company in general, and there is a very strong spirit now of collaboration with EXPEC ARC.” “From what I’ve seen, I can say that these people are working at the state-of-the-art M. Nafi Toksöz at the first IAC meeting at Saudi Aramco headquarters in Dhahran.

Summer 2008 35

level. I am very pleased to see the amount of attention this organization pays to the young people,” said Dr. Luciano Maiani, president of Italy’s Consiglio Nazionale delle Recherché. “It’s very rewarding to see the efforts being made to spot good talent and then to drive them through the value stages of education until they become independent researchers, technicians or engineers.” Holditch noted the changes between petroleum engineering today and 20 years ago are largely computer driven. “What we used to have to make assumptions about and figure out with slide rules has been replaced with actual field data, which is leading to a better understanding that would have been unimaginable a few years ago.” New approaches also are paying off for EXPEC ARC. “Geophysics today, especially geoseismic, plays an important role in the discovery of new fields. No one will spot a well in a new field without having all the geoseismic information available,” Toksoz said. “The evolution of geophysics and working with petroleum engineers and others has come in such a way that initial discovery and reservoir development as well as monitoring are taking place with teams of people. I think that’s where the eventual gains will be made in both exploration and production. It used to be that geophysics was a silo — geologists looked at an area; geophysicists would get their data, then drillers came in and engineers took over and started production. These were so interdependent, and now all of these things are moving together with very good results. EXPEC ARC has all of these things in house, so it is no longer separated. I think it will pay off well.” “The biggest advancements in petroleum

engineering are in imaging. One is geoseismic imaging,” Holditch said. “We can go into the research laboratory and recover oil from a core. You can take a core that has oil in it and use various chemicals and processes, and in the laboratory you can get virtually all the oil out of that core. The problem in real life is that reservoirs are very complicated. They have a lot of layers, and in carbonates in particular they are very heterogeneous so it’s very difficult to replicate real life in the laboratory, especially when the wells are so far apart. By using seismic imaging to place the horizontal well bores and sometimes the multilateral well bores and control where the fluids are injected and where the fluids are produced, you can improve recovery by improving the sweep efficiency. That’s large-scale imaging. We also have tools that we run inside the bore holes to image the rock near the bore holes and that helps petroleum engineers decide how to complete the wells and how to stimulate the wells. I think the whole field of imaging has really improved application of petroleum engineering concepts in oil and gas recovery. I think Saudi Aramco fully understands that and has processes in place to improve that technology.” Saudi Aramco Executive Board member James Kinnear once observed that the transformation of Saudi Aramco from a foreign-run company to a Saudi-run company may be the greatest transfer of technology in the history of mankind. Committee members agreed. “I think it’s quite amazing what has been done here in the last 20–30 years,” Holditch said. “This was all an expat run organization more or less, and now that’s totally changed where it’s all run by Saudi nationals.”

Farouk El-Baz before the first IAC meeting in Dhahran.

36 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

Above left: Khalid Ruwaili, a Professional Development Program candidate presents at the third IAC meeting, in Dhahran. Above center: EXPEC ARC manager Mohammad Saggaf, standing, talks at a presentation to IAC members and Saudi Aramco advisors at the second IAC meeting, in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Above right: M. Nafi Toksöz, Khalid Al-Falih and Stephen Holditch talk before the awards ceremony during the third IAC meeting, in Dhahran.

They also said the company’s — and the Kingdom’s — future is linked to the success of the younger generation. “Those of us at the universities do research and educate some of the world’s best graduate students in our fields, and we all have students from Saudi Arabia,” Maiani said. “Given that these young Saudi students get into some of the best universities and compete with the best in the world underscores the capabilities of these young people. We wouldn’t accept them if they weren’t among the best.” “We’ve had a lot of Saudi students at Texas A&M get master’s degrees and Ph.Ds, and they’ve all done well and competed well,” Holditch said. “Virtually all of them are back here working for Saudi Aramco now. That’s one of the big differences — the loyalty that the Saudi students have. They’ll go away for a degree, and then they’ll come back here and work. For many other nations, students studying overseas don’t return, and then that talent is lost. Saudi Arabia has done a good job of getting that talent to come back home and pitch in to help the Kingdom.” “I think about 60 percent of the management of the Petroleum and Engineering business line of Saudi Aramco are petroleum engineering graduates of KFUPM,” said

Nabeel I. Afaleg, chief technologist, Strategic Technology Analysis Division, EXPEC ARC, presents the the third IAC meeting, held in Dhahran.

Abu-Khamsin. “I think that says it very clearly.” For the members of EXPEC ARC, it’s a chance for muchneeded feedback. “It gives me a feel of how we’re seen within the industry,” said Jim J. Funk, a Saudi Aramco petroleum engineering consultant. “We face the same problems other people working in the industry are facing. Some of these areas are very specialized. Some of the committee members have intimate knowledge about these areas while others have a broader sense of direction. All of that is helpful. I worked for Texaco for 21 years before coming to Aramco. With all of the international companies you get opportunities to partner, and that give and take can be very helpful. We don’t get as much of that with a national oil company, so it’s nice to bring it in from other places.” ■

EXPEC ARC ANSWERING THE UPSTREAM CHALLENGE

DHAHRAN — The

Exploration and Petroleum Engineering Center’s Advanced Research Center (EXPEC ARC) is Saudi Aramco’s world-class research and development center focused on upstream challenges. The Center’s mission is to create and adapt innovative, high-impact subsurface technologies to increase and improve hydrocarbon exploration, development and production. EXPEC ARC focuses on developing unique technologies and field testing them in the largest, most productive oil and gas fields in the world — those in Saudi Arabia. For many, the most exciting aspect of working at EXPEC ARC is the opportunity to put their far-reaching research, theories and developments into practice in these renowned hydrocarbon fields. EXPEC ARC’s researchers comprise a diverse group of professionals, from many different nationalities and with a range of complementary skills. While most researchers are from North America and Saudi Arabia, a total of 19 different countries

are represented in the facility. Most researchers have advanced degrees from a broad spectrum of disciplines, including petroleum engineering, geoscience, mathematics and computer science. More than 54 percent of those working for EXPEC ARC have master’s degrees or doctorates. The Center is an integrated organization, where researchers, technologists and strategists work individually within their separate units and together as teams developing inventive and original solutions. Pioneering ideas and research are also generated through collaboration with premier universities and researchers from around the world. EXPEC ARC is comprised of six dedicated Technology Teams, and the Strategic Technology Analysis and Operations Services divisions. Technology teams are: Geology, Geophysics, Computational Modeling, Drilling, Reservoir Engineering and Production. Leading innovative technologies include: Bionic Wells, Extreme Reservoir Contact Wells, Gigacell Simulation (GigaPOWERS), Intelligent Fields, Passive Seismic and Reservoir Robots (RESBOTS). Since its inception, EXPEC ARC has developed groundbreaking services and products that are second to none in the industry, especially in the areas of land seismic, simulation, and visualization. Regardless of the specialty, ideas are freely transferred through mutual consultation and open discussion in an environment in which “pushing the technology envelope” is expected. The scientists and researchers at EXPEC ARC have been granted numerous patents and consistently have additional applications under review. Their work has been recognized, published and used as a foundation

Abdulaziz Al-Kaabi, chief technologist of the Reservoir Engineering Technology Team at EXPEC ARC, gives a presentation at the third IAC meeting in Dhahran.

38 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

Above left: Msalli Al-Otaibi of EXPEC ARC’s Operations Services Division; Khalid Al-Arfaj, general supervisor, Operations Services; and board members Luciano Maiani, Stephen Holditch and M. Nafi Toksöz discuss a technical question at the R&DC lab. Above center: Dana Husseini of the Strategic Technology Analysis Division presents at the third IAC meeting. Above right: Bandar Ghassal, standing, and Khalid Al-Malki of EXPEC ARC’s Operations Services Division confer at the Research and Development Center.

for further development by innovators, universities and research institutions throughout the world. In addition, EXPEC ARC partners with technology providers, service companies, and independent researchers and developers. EXPEC ARC provides the cradle for unique technologies designed to meet the challenges of today’s and tomorrow’s world energy demands. The challenges are great, which makes each achievement and development that much more relevant and exciting for scientists at EXPEC ARC. Within the next 20 years, its teams will have created, modified, tested and expanded the technologies for Saudi Aramco to achieve its upstream objectives:

• To

increase discovered oil resources, adding approximately 200 billion barrels to reach 900 billion barrels of reserves and beyond.

• To

increase recovery in major producing fields to 70 percent through improved conventional and enhanced oil recovery methods. ■ Shivaji Dasgupta, senior geophysical consultant on the Geophysics Technology Team at EXPEC ARC, presents at the first IAC meeting.

EXPEC ARC HONORS SIX FOR EXCELLENCE In early 2008, EXPEC ARC presented six awards, which were established to represent essential components that the organization and its members need to succeed and fulfill their mission. EXPEC ARC manager Muhammad M. Al-Saggaf, joined by Khalid A. Al-Falih, Saudi Aramco’s executive vice president of Operations, and Amin H. Al-Nasser, head of the Exploration and Producing business line, presented awards to EXPEC ARC members who had advanced the work of the center and the achievements of the group as a whole. The inaugural winners of the awards are: geophysicists Michael A. Jervis and Michael K. Broadhead for their microseismicity monitoring project — and for completing it nearly two months ahead of schedule. Dr. Sunil L. Kokal won for effective publications. Kokal was the author of three articles in refereed publications, as well as being the author or co-author of seven conference publications throughout the world. “Hanging Out with Australia’s Low-Life” seemed an unlikely way to win an award, but Dr. Ian M. Billing’s presentation on ancient life forms in Australia was an informative presentation that earned him an award. Other award winners from EXPEC ARC included: Dr. Hazim H. Abass for his supportive work as a mentor for several scientists, Abdulla Al-Qahtani for his significant and creative contributions to many focus areas, Ali A. Zahrani and Saleh H. Saleh.

DHAHRAN —

The awards were developed with advice from the international group of eminent scientists and professors who form the EXPEC ARC’s International Advisory Council. Al-Falih said he was pleased to have the support of the International Advisory Council in helping EXPEC ARC design programs for the future and to help establish the awards, “Those working at EXPEC ARC reflect the future growth and direction for research within Saudi Aramco as we work to increase oil production for the future,” he said. Commenting on the first full year of operation for EXPEC ARC, Al-Nasser noted that it was a year of significant achievements. “2007 had achievements ranging from technical, such as the microseismic monitoring, to those involving our people, such as our first intake of CDNPNEs (a collegelevel student development program); all of these are impressive accomplishments,” he said. “I look forward to the future successes of this group.” Perhaps Al-Saggaf summed it up best when he said “We look back on the year with the fondest of memories. It was a year in which EXPEC ARC moved from one success to another success, from one achievement to the next achievement. And in that respect, it was a most exciting and enjoyable year, indeed.” Before the awards ceremony, geologist Stephen G. Franks was asked to share some of his recollections about 2007 and the beginnings of EXPEC ARC. “It was the year when we all became part of something special that has just begun.” ■

Khalid Al-Falih presents an award for excellence to Hazim Abass, an EXPEC ARC petroleum engineer consultant, third from left. Others pictured, from left, are Abdulla Naim, vice president of Petroleum Engineering and Development; Amin Nasser, senior VP, Exploration and Production; and Mohammad Al-Saggaf, manager, EXPEC ARC.

40 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

MEMBERS OF THE I N T E R N AT I O N A L A D V I S O RY C O U N C I L M. NAFI TOKSÖZ

LUCIANO MAIANI

Toksöz, professor of Geophysics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, is founder of MIT’s Earth Resources Lab, director of the George R. Wallace Geophysical Observatory, a member of the NASA Apollo Lunar Program, author of more than 200 papers and numerous books, and a world-renowned authority in seismology.

Maiani, President of the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Rome, Italy, was formerly a professor of theoretical physics at the University of Rome, Italy, and president and director general of CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research), the world’s largest particle physics laboratory and birthplace of the World Wide Web. He is a world-renowned authority in theoretical physics.

FAROUK EL-BAZ

El-Baz is director of the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, a member of the NASA Apollo Lunar Program, a member of the United States National Committee for Geological Sciences and board member of numerous other societies, author of 12 books, and a world-renowned authority in geology.

STEPHEN HOLDITCH

Holditch, head of the Petroleum Engineering Department at Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States, has broad industry experience (worked at industry leaders Shell and Schlumberger, then founded his own company, before moving to academia) and is a worldrenowned authority in petroleum engineering. SIDQI ABU-KHAMSIN

Abu-Khamsin, chairman of the Petroleum Engineering Department at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, and a board member of KFUPM’s center of excellence for petroleum engineering, is also a member of the Kingdom’s national team for strategic planning of advanced technologies in petroleum engineering. ■

Top row, left to right: Ali Dogru, chief technologist, Computational Modeling Team, EXPEC ARC; Muhammad Al-Saggaf, director, EXPEC ARC; M. Nafi Toksöz; Sidqi Abu-Khamsin; and Khalid Al-Arfaj, general supervisor, Operations Services Division, EXPEC ARC. Front row, left to right: Mohammad Al-Hattab, chief technologist, Drilling Technology Team, EXPEC ARC; Nabeel I. Afaleg, chief technologist, Strategic Technology Analysis Division, EXPEC ARC; Ibrahim A. Ghamdi, chief technologist, Geology Technology Team, EXPEC ARC; Stephen Holditch; Luciano Maiani; Abdulaziz Al-Kaabi, chief technologist, Reservoir Engineering Technology, EXPEC ARC; Panayotis Kelamis, chief technologist, Geophysics Technology Team, EXPEC ARC; and Nabeel Habib, chief technologist, Production Technology Team, EXPEC ARC.

Global organization gives Saudi Aramco employees tools for success

D

HAHRAN, Saudi Arabia — Have you ever been to a meeting that didn’t actually achieve anything? You know, the kind where a couple of windbags dominate the whole discussion, droning on and on while everyone else nods off. Another speaker’s point may seem to wander aimlessly, leaving the audience wondering exactly what the point is. Of course you’ve been to one of these pointless gatherings; we all have. Indeed this scenario is a global phenomenon to which no culture or corporation is immune, Saudi Aramco included. However, there is a group of people from across this company who are working fervently to change the way they and their colleagues communicate, and they are using Toastmasters International (TMI) to do it. “This is a big company filled with very smart people, young and old, from all sorts of backgrounds. They have important

Written by Margot Rawlings

Toastm ideas, and, because of culture and personality they can’t always get those ideas across,” says Abdullah A. Harthi, senior supervisor for area maintenance for Saudi Aramco’s Yanbu’ Crude Terminal Maintenance Section and TMI Division F governor, “It’s partly their own fault, because they can’t put their arguments across well. But it is also the environment, where the most senior person in the room is most likely to get the lion’s share of the speaking time. If that senior person is not in an inclusive mood or is not the type who encourages others to speak their mind, then that person dominates everyone’s time and ideas.” Faisal S. Zahran of the Public Relations Department, who is immediate past TMI Division F Governor, jokes that as a young boy he wasn’t allowed to speak at home, as a young husband he wasn’t allowed to speak at home and as a young professional he wasn’t encouraged to speak at work. So he never learned to communicate. All jokes aside, he believes this is generally the case for many people, resulting in a great lost opportunity for both society and business. Harthi and Al-Zahrani, along with their Toastmasters colleagues, see TMI as part of a personal and corporate effort toward continuous

42 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

improvement. They believe that if more people shared their ideas and those ideas were debated in an open and constructive manner, the company would benefit. TMI also fosters other skills, such as time management, critical evaluation and leadership — and company management is beginning to see the benefits for Saudi Aramco. There are now five corporate-sponsored TMI clubs. Employees who join TMI are helped with time and costs. There are four clubs in Ras Tanura alone; and three of those are corporate clubs. “It is a challenge to keep a corporate club alive; no one wants to evaluate their boss. But we work hard to create an environment that encourages them to come, and when that barrier is broken we have changed the corporate culture and the company benefits,” explains Husam M. Dashash, an Engineering & Project Management Department engineer who is now assigned to a company project in Seoul, Korea. In Toastmasters clubs, members help each other conquer their fears and improve their communication skills in a friendly, interactive and supportive environment.

masters These communication warriors are also taking their message into the community. To spread the word, they are introducing the Toastmasters program into schools. Al-Zahrani has even spoken to an auditorium of young women, through closedcircuit television, at one of the state-run girls’ schools. “Initially those in charge were insisting that the closed-circuit television camera only focused on my hands. But I argued that communicacommunica tion is 80 percent body language and facial expression, and the rest is what I would say. So if those young women couldn’t At left, Nazeer Gazaq speaks at an Al-Jabal Toastmaster Club meeting in Dhahran. Gazaq is the most advanced Toastmaster in Saudi Arabia, having achieved the Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) title by completing the full Toastmasters program. Fifteen Saudi Aramcorelated Toastmasters clubs have been formed, totalling 452 members, and members believe Toastmasters skills contribute greatly to personal and professional success.

Summer 2008 43

see my face, they wouldn’t be getting the full message. They eventually showed my whole face. I couldn’t see them, of course, but I was able to answer questions.” Currently, Toastmasters club meetings are conducted in English in Saudi Arabia, but Abdulazziz Dulaijan is on a mission to introduce the program across the Arabic-speaking community. “I want to have a rational, intelligent conversation with the policeman, the officer at the municipality building, and my son’s teacher. Toastmasters not only teaches speaking skills, but listening, and it encourages people to think. You have to have some kind of general knowledge to do the Table Topics, so you have to read widely and understand the world around you. Unfortunately, many people are very sheltered from the outside world, so it’s important for everyone to open their eyes and learn about the world around them.” Dulaijan is one of those people who were not encouraged to speak as a child, and he became frustrated that social gatherings did not provide him with inspired learning. It was

ARAMCo Toastmasters Clubs Kingdom’s First in english, Arabic

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HAHRAN, Saudi Arabia — The Okadh Toastmaster Club in Dhahran, made up of Saudi Aramco employees, is the first Arabic-language Toastmasters club in the Kingdom. The Kingdom’s first Toastmasters club, an English-speaking group, was founded in 1978 by Aramco employees. One of the Arabic club’s founding members, Husam Al-Dashash, said that the club joins Arabian Gulf region pioneer Kuwait, which now boast seven Arabic Toastmasters clubs. He said there are also new Arabic-language clubs in Gulf countries Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The Dhahran Okadh Club meets in the same location as the Englishlanguage Toastmasters group but on a different day. A professional translation company translated the entire Toastmasters program, which is in English, into Arabic, Al-Dashash said, and the Dhahran club uses that Arabic text. A committee has been formed with members from all Arabic-language Toastmasters clubs in the Gulf region to finalize translation requirements and send final text to Toastmasters International to add Arabic as one of the organization’s officially recognized languages. “The Okadh club is doing very well in helping Arabic-speaking employees to improve their communications skills in Arabic,” Al-Dashash said. “We have members attending our meetings not only from Dhahran but from Ras Tanura and Abqaiq as well.” He said the club recently held a meeting at the Chamber of Commerce

44 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

during a TMI conference in Kuwait that he heard of nine Arabic-speaking clubs in that country. The seed was sown. Dulaijan chartered the Okadh Toastmasters Club, Saudi Arabia’s first Arabic speaking club, in June 2007. “We called the club Okadh after the ancient souks between Makkah and Taif that hosted annual festivals for poets, speakers and traders. They gathered all tribes in the Arabian Peninsula to display their intellectual talents and trade their goods. Arab and Muslim history is rich with famous orators and public speakers who used their masterful speaking skills to inspire their audiences.” Dulaijan’s ambition is to launch 180 clubs in the next 12 months. “This will make a significant difference to this country. I want to make that happen.” People who belong to Toastmasters are passionate about the organization. Their personal lives have been profoundly influenced by TMI, and they firmly believe that what TMI teaches is of benefit to everyone personally, professionally and socially. ■

The entire Toastmasters program has been translated into Arabic and submitted to the international organization for approval.

in the Eastern Province, in Dammam, to promote the creation of Arabic Toastmasters clubs in other cities and towns in the area. Saudi Aramco employee Abdulaziz Al-Dulaijan started the Okadh Club by gathering experienced Arabic-speaking Toastmasters members in the company. Al-Dashash is bullish on Toastmasters, whatever the language and wherever he goes. He is currently assigned to an Aramco subsidiary office in Seoul, Korea, where he has joined the South River Toastmasters Club. When leaders of the Korean club talked about translating the Toastmasters manuals into Korean, Al-Dashash told them about the successful experience of the Okadh Club. ■ Saudi Aramco employees started the first Toastmasters club in Saudi Arabia, in 1978, with English as its official language, and the first Arabiclanguage Toastmasters club in the Kingdom.

Summer 2008 45

Toastmasters vision: To empower people to achieve their full potential and realize their dreams. Through Toastmaster programs, people can improve their communication and leadership skills, and find the courage to change for the better.

What is

toastmasters? A short history The mission of Toastmasters International (TMI) is to make effective oral communication a worldwide reality. The organization’s aim is to help men and women learn the art of speaking, as well as how to listen and think. Toastmasters International recognizes that these vital skills promote self-actualization, enhance leadership, foster human understanding and contribute to the betterment of humankind. The organization was born in 1924, deep in the basement of the YMCA in Santa Ana, California, in the United States. Ralph C. Smedley had been working as director of education at the facility and recognized the need for a program that could train its young members in the art of public speaking and meeting facilitation. In the 1920s, “Toastmaster” was the name given to a master of ceremonies. Smedley used the concept to design a supportive and social forum in which young men might practice public speaking. He named it the “Toastmasters Club,” and word quickly spread. Within 10 years, clubs had sprung up all over the U.S., and a federation was formed to help coordinate activities and provide a standard program. Toastmasters became “Toastmasters International” after a speaking club in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, expressed interest in joining the organization. Today there are 11,300 Toastmasters clubs and more than 220,000 members in 90 countries. How TMI works The key to the organization's success has been its continued re-creation of the environment Smedley created for the first club. All clubs embrace the sociable meeting format where members can learn-by-doing without the need for a formal instructor. Instead, each speech and meeting is critiqued by a member in a positive manner, focusing on what was done right, along with suggestions for improvement. Most TMI meetings involve approximately 20 people who meet weekly or bi-weekly for an hour or two. Members initially work through the Competent Communication manual, a series of 10 self-paced speaking assignments designed to instill a basic foundation in public speaking. Participants learn skills related to use of humor, gestures, eye contact, speech organization and overall delivery. The manual presents a 10-step program. Each step covers an aspect of proficient public speaking. The member prepares and delivers a speech covering the current and any preceding steps. Speaking assignments are varied, the first one designated as an “ice

46 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

Saudi Aramco affiliated Toastmasters clubs Name

Date of Chartering

Tanajib

February 2008

yes

26

weekly

OKADH

August 2007

none

35

bi-weekly

PR North Training

Saudi Aramco Sponsoring Org. (if any)

Current Number of Members

Frequency of Meetings

May 2007

Public Relations Department

24

bi-weekly

March 2007

Industrial Training Department

32

bi-weekly

Haradh

October 2006

Haradh Gas Plant

25

weekly

Sailors

June 2006

Marine Department

27

weekly

Ras Tanura Refinery

June 2006

Ras Tanura Refinery

25

weekly

Yanbu Refinery

June 2006

Yanbu Refinery

28

weekly

February 2005

none

13

bi-weekly

Al-Hasa Al Sharm

June 2004

none

38

weekly

Al-Jabal

March 2003

E&PM

42

bi-weekly

Jeddah

June 2003

Marine Department

22

weekly

September 2002

None

40

bi-weekly

Abqaiq

October 2001

none

23

weekly

Dhahran

April 1978

Exploration

52

weekly

Ras Tanura

TOTAL

452

breaker” — a description of yourself and your life that lasts between five and seven minutes. The next steps: • Organize your speech • Get to the point • How to say it

• Your body speaks • Vocal variety • Research your topic

• Get comfortable with visual aids • Persuade with power • Inspire your audience

A mentor is assigned to help novice members settle in and to support them through their first speaking roles. The self-paced program allows them to build confidence with each speaking assignment. As they grow in confidence, the assignments will grow with them. When finished with the Competent Communication manual, members can choose one of two tracks to further their education. One of those tracks focuses on communication, and the other on leadership skills. In fact, leadership is fostered throughout a member's career with TMI. Right from the start, everyone is assigned various meeting roles such as timer, evaluator or grammarian (the person who comments on and corrects incorrect language usage in speeches). Other members serve as officers at the club and district levels. Toastmasters in Saudi Arabia In 1978, the Dhahran Toastmasters Club was chartered as the first TMI club in the Kingdom. In fact, it was only the second club in the Middle East after Bahrain. Today, Saudi Arabia has 63 clubs, and that number is growing. Of those, nearly half are located in the Eastern Province, and 12 are Saudi Aramco corporate or community clubs. There is also one club associated with the company in More than 400 Saudi Aramco employees Yanbu‘ and one in Jeddah. More than 450 Saudi Aramco belong to Toastmasters clubs — and many employees and dependents currently belong to 15 companyhave achieved unexpected success applying Toastmasters-acquired skills. related Toastmasters Clubs across the Kingdom. ■ Summer 2008 47

A funny thing happened… Abdulla Abandi Leadership development specialist, Materials Supply Human Resources Department s a child, Abandi was the joke master for his friends and peers. They laughed at everything he said, whether he meant to be funny or not. As life became more serious and he began his career and family, he realized that speaking skills were not only a key to career advancement but, more importantly, the betterment of one’s life. Although Abandi was a competent writer and speaker of English, he felt challenged speaking to an audience. He had heard about TMI through friends in the community, and after suffering some rather unpleasant experiences presenting in college, he rather reluctantly pushed himself to attend a club night in September 1995. He liked what he saw and joined up. Three years after joining TMI, Abandi tried his first humorous speech. “It was a disaster,” he said. “I found out later that the only person who laughed that night was heavily sedated.” His immediate response was to find out where he had gone wrong. He began researching humor. Persistence paid off, and in 2001 Abandi won his first Gulf-level Toastmasters title. That win inspired his focus on humor. In 2003, he won first place in the humorous category at the Gulf District Toastmasters level. In the next five years, Abandi twice won first place and once second place

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in the humorous category at the Gulf District Toastmasters Annual Conference — an unprecedented record in district competition. Today, he is often referred to as the “Funniest Man in the Gulf.” The title doesn’t sit well with the man himself, but it has inspired him to share his skills with a wider audience by giving presentations on the use of humor in public speaking, at work and in leadership. Abandi believes humor is essential to break the barrier between the speaker and the audience. It also maintains the audience’s attention. “People like to be entertained when listening to a talk, especially a long one,” he said. “Humor is also used to make important points in a speech. People remember the humorous story and remember the point. So, it does help (listeners) retain the information the speaker shared with the audience.” Abandi no longer has any fear of speaking in public. “When I first went on stage in front of 300 people, it was a startling experience that made me feel ‘the sky is the limit,’ and I understood that there was nothing to fear but fear itself. And now, here I am a speaker who is sought after by many organizations to emcee their functions and speak to their people about growing their own speaking skills.” The key he says is research and practice. Both are elements well entrenched in the TMI philosophy. ■

‘People like to be entertained when listening to a talk, especially a long one. … People remember the humorous story and remember the point.’ 48 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

‘Toastmasters changed my life’ Faisal S. Al-Zahrani Immediate Past Toastmasters Division F Governor first prizes and then captured the top l-Zahrani suffered all the terrifying trophy at the Gulf Annual Toastsymptoms of a first-time public masters Conference in Bahrain in speaker the day he was asked to 2000 in front of an audience of lead his high school class in an oral commore than 400. position assignment. “That was my birth,” Al-Zahrani Al-Zahrani was well-prepared for his claims. An engineer by profession, topic, but when he stood up and turned to Al-Zahrani suddenly found himself face his peers, he froze. The encouragement regularly invited to emcee events of his friends and the teacher pushed him and deliver after-dinner speeches. through the ordeal. However, he suffered It wasn’t long before he came to the a relapse later in a geography class, when attention of the company’s managehe had to excuse himself when asked to ment and was offered a position in read aloud from the textbook. the Public Relations Department. Al-Zahrani visited a psychiatrist and sent Al-Zahrani has been busy in the home with a box full of pills and a list of first 12 months of his new career. He relaxation exercises to complete. None of is using his experience to mentor less-experithis made a dent in the irrational terror enced speakers and speak about the benefits that re-emerged over the next few years of skills he has learned at every opportunity every time he stood to speak in front of a inside and outside the company. He pregroup. He struggled with speaking engagepared more than 130 speakers for the comments through college and later at work. pany’s 75th anniversary celebrations. After a In 1999, a friend told him about Toastcrash course in public speaking, anniversary masters. He attended a meeting and sat at participants were presented with standard the back, hoping that no one would ask master-of-ceremony notes and participated him to say anything. No such luck. As the in supervised rehearsal sessions to prepare meeting began to wind up, the club presithem for events that were scheduled to dent, Said Al-Hajri, called for newcomers take place at numerous sites designated for to introduce themselves. Al-Zahrani employee celebrations during the anniverexplained that he wanted to overcome sary year. Earlier this year, Al-Zahrani was his fear of public speaking, and Al Hajri’s elected as president of the International next words began a process that changed Public Relations Association’s Gulf Chapter. Al-Zahrani’s life forever, “Believe me, my “Public Relations is where I belong, and friend,” Al-Hajri said, “you are in the it all started with TMI,” Al-Zahrani said. right place.” “When I joined Toastmasters, public Within just six months of joining TMI, speaking was my biggest fear; today it’s Al-Zahrani won his first speech competimy greatest joy!” ■ tion, which encouraged him to enter more contests. Armed with continuously improving speaking skills, he won the — Club president Said Al-Hajri to Faisal Al-Zahrani, assuring him Area and Division

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‘Believe me, my friend, you are in the right place.’

Toastmasters would help him conquer his fear of public speaking. Summer 2008 49

speaking of fear For most people, public speaking is fraught with high anxiety

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HAHRAN, Saudi Arabia — Today’s first-time public speaker is easy to spot from across the room, fidgeting in his chair. He is the deathly pale one with hunted eyes. He is swinging from mentally re-living his past tortuous public speaking encounters, to forcing himself to concentrate on the terrifying speech he is about to deliver. Although every cell in his body is clenched in fight-or-flight mode, dreading what is to come, a more rational voice in his head is reminding him he is a well-prepared, smart, capable person, and that his friends around the room have assured him that the terror he feels is normal and can be conquered with practice. Then, his name is called. Despite every fiber of his being telling him to shrink back into his chair and disappear, a force of will propels him upward and onward to the podium. Once there, he clasps his hands to steady them and forces himself to look out over the crowd. Quickly, he averts his eyes to the floor and clears his throat. His hands and forehead are suddenly dripping with sweat. Oh, God, does anybody notice? The first word out of his mouth is little more than a croak. He clears his throat again, apologizes and restarts. Then suddenly his mind goes completely blank. The page of words that he has pored over for two weeks — and carefully imprinted in memory — is gone. But, as the panic rises, that tiny rational voice in his head kindly gives him a single word. Then more words emerge from that hidden dungeon in his mind and suddenly, miraculously, he knows what to say next. As he doggedly, painfully, strings words and sentences and paragraphs together to tell his story, he hears something he wholly does not expect: laughter. To his amazement, a joke works. He rides this warm adrenaline rush clear to the end of his speech, and then, as he looks out over the sea of once threatening faces, there are smiles — and clapping. He did not die, after all. But it’s not over yet. There is the evaluation to endure. The evaluator’s critique. When the evaluator stands and begins to speak, it is not with harsh judgment, but warmth and helpfulness. She eloquently empathizes with his plight, having been in the same disquieting spot herself just six months before. He finds this hard to believe, because she speaks with such confidence. She positively recollects high points in his speech (which have inexplicably vanished from his own memory), praising his achievement under duress. Of course, he has a lot of work to do to improve, she tells him gently, but he should feel proud and not lose the moment.

50 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

The first word out of his mouth is little more than a croak. … Then, suddenly, his mind goes completely blank.

He is overwhelmed by this, full of gratitude and relief. Deep inside, he knows that these words have changed him, perhaps for the rest of his life. He has, in no small measure, met fear and stared it down. Whatever lies ahead won’t be easy, he now knows, but, also, it won’t ever seem impossible either. Public speaking is fear No. 1 Some of us have overcome our fears but most have not. Numerous polls and studies have identified public speaking as people’s No. 1, all-time fear, ahead of snakes, spiders and death itself. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld once observed that at a funeral, most people would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy. Peter Block, a business consultant, suggests that there are four main fears associated with public speaking: 1) making a fool of yourself, 2) being ignored or rejected, 3) being criticized as inept or stupid, and 4) being exposed as a fake. ■

Why does any of this matter? Whether meeting someone one-on-one or presenting in front of a room full of people, what you say and the way you say it will be the deciding factor in whether your audience is influenced by you. You may be attempting to educate, inform, convince, apologize, sell or mediate, and clear, effective communication is the key to a successful outcome in all these situations. Despite popular opinion, good communicators and strong public speakers are not usually “born.” They usually develop over time after concerted effort, good tutorage and support. There are few skills that will contribute to a person’s success as much as being able to communicate well, and anyone can learn to improve those skills. Toastmasters provides a tried and tested Fear of public speaking is a universally method for improving communication skills. Along with public common terror. But, with support, knowledge and practice, it can be conquered speaking, the program spans all communication skills and in and mastered — and few skills in life the more advanced programs branches into programs that carry with them more advantages for directly enhance leadership abilities. ■ personal success. Summer 2008 51

Visual Dimensi ns

Photographed by Jose Deluna

Golden glory:

A mass of marigolds makes a dazzling display at the Dhahran Gardening Division’s Annual Spring Flower Festival. Gardening experts consider marigolds to be among the most versatile garden plants, in part because they are easy to grow.

52 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

Beautiful ladies: The funnel-shaped flowers of the amaryllis are in full bloom at the show. They are also known as belladonna (meaning “beautiful lady”) lilies.

Flower child:

>> A young visitor to the Spring Flower Festival appears fascinated by the beauty of the flowers and plants around her, and by the hordes of other children.

he Dhahran Gardening Division’s annual Spring Flower Festival proved a huge success with the younger generation, who not only enjoyed the entertainment and craft activities but also learned to appreciate plants and nature. The festival was March 13–14, 2008, aiming to educate employees and residents on the importance of plants in the environment and to promote interest in gardening, landscaping and horticulture. The participation of live Disney characters was an added attraction to stimulate interest among children. It is with great enthusiasm that company employee and avid photographer Jose de Luna photographed the event so community members and others who did not make it to the event would be able to see images of the lovely flowers and plants in prints and online media. ■

Summer 2008 53

Visual Dimensi ns

Blue lotus: Nelumbo nucifera, also known as blue lotus, Indian lotus, sacred lotus, bean of India and sacred water-lily, is an aquatic perennial. The ancient Egyptians venerated this lovely plant.

Popular appeal: Brightly colored petunias are a favorite with gardening enthusiasts. Available in a variety of sizes, they are considered among the best summer flowering plants for massed displays as well as for growing in pots or hanging baskets.

Still life: A variety of blooms in a range of colors make an eye-catching vertical display of a still-life vase with flowers at the flower show.

54 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

“Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning can give a sense of quiet in a crowded day—like writing a poem, or saying a prayer.” —Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Pottering about: A potter demonstrates his skill using a potter’s wheel and clay. There were a variety of pots and vases, in a range of shapes and sizes, for sale at the show.

Weaver:

A craftsman whittles a reed at the flower show to be used in making baskets and mats, both traditional crafts of the Arabian Gulf.

Summer 2008 55

Visual Dimensi ns

“Criticism comes easier than craftsmanship.” —Zeuxis , from Pliny the Elder, Natural History (~400 BC)

Flaming sword:

Bromeliad is a very popular urn plant, also known as flaming sword. These brightly colored foliage plants have central floral spikes that can grow up to 2-feet tall with spiny-edged leaves from 8–19 inches long that form a cup that can hold water. The more widely known pineapple is also a bromeliad.

56 Saudi Aramco Dimensions

Artisan’s corner: A craftsman demonstrates the traditional art of weaving mats and baskets using straw and other material. Weaving skills have been passed along through generations, and the craft is still being practiced today. In the past, baskets were used mainly for storage and transportation of goods. Today, they are mainly decorative.

The Way We Were

PHOTO: K.S. TWITCHELL COLLECTION

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Saudi man sits quietly surrounded by beautifully carved interior gypsum walls at the California Arabian Standard Oil Co. (Casoc) headquarters in Hofuf on Nov. 2, 1933. The building was constructed by the Al-Gosaibi Brothers establishment. The photograph was shot by Karl S. Twitchell, an American mining engineer who in a survey of the Kingdom’s natural resources he undertook for King Abdulaziz ibn Saud starting in 1931 became convinced that a wealth of oil, water and other resources lay untapped beneath the sands. His instincts proved spectacularly right. Twitchell’s assessment attracted serious interest from Standard Oil of California (Socal) in the United States, which signed an exploration and production concession agreement with Saudi Arabia in 1933. Casoc was created to manage the agreement, and the first commercially viable oil strike — at Well No. 7 on March 3, 1938 — ushered in a new global oil era, making the Kingdom the lynchpin of the world’s petroleum industry for the next 70 years. ■

Sanctuary

Saudi Aramco Dimensions Public Relations Department East Administration Building, Room 2210-B Dhahran 31311, Saudi Arabia

Saudi Aramco Scrapbook

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>> Submit photos for Saudi Aramco Scrapbook (on disk, as photo print or via e-mail) to Rick Snedeker, Saudi Aramco, East Administration Building, Room 2210-B, Dhahran 31311, Saudi Arabia. Glossy prints should be 8x10 inches if possible and digitals at least 300 dpi and 8x10 size. E-mail: richard.snedeker @ aramco.com

2008 marks the 75th anniversary of Saudi Aramco… providing energy to the world.

Catnap

audi Aramco employee Firas A. Abussaud was on his honeymoon in Venice in late July 2005 when, during an aimless afternoon stroll, he came across this very peaceful cat who had found the perfect place to curl up and snooze. “I really like cats,” said Firas, who also saw many other charming elements in the serene scene. The photograph melds varying values of light, color and texture to produce a warm, timeless tableau. The picture was shot about 3 p.m. with “my old Sony 717” digital camera, Firas said, “and I used Photoshop a little bit to increase the color levels slightly, and also to increase the sharpness because the camera was not that good.” He captured the image at ISO-100 using a 12 millimeter lens, an f-stop of 5 and a shutter speed of 125th of a second. Wanting sharper pictures with more vibrant colors in the future, Firas went out after his honeymoon and bought a high-end Canon 20D digital camera. A petroleum engineering systems analyst in the Exploration and Producing Business Line, Firas, 32, has worked for Saudi Aramco for more than six years.