Oil: Driving the engine of modernization
Part 5 in the seven-part series "An Arabian Adventure"
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by Linda Pappas Funsch
Special to The Frederick News-Post
For millennia, treasures hidden deep beneath the Arabian sands went undiscovered. The epic tales of the hardships endured and perseverance exhibited by the early petroleum pioneers are legendary.
In 1938, commercially significant quantities of oil were discovered under the Dammam #7 well and "the rest," as the saying goes, "… is history."
Following this discovery, the Arabian American Oil Company, later Saudi ARAMCO, was charged with overseeing the exploration and production of this precious resource. In the process, a community evolved in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia unlike any other in the Middle East. In this remote outpost, Saudis and expatriates alike came to enjoy a lifestyle strikingly similar to that which is enjoyed in many suburbs of the American Southwest.
As a swing producer, Saudi ARAMCO remains the world’s preeminent -- and its most dependable -- oil supplier, maintaining excess production in times of increased demand. To a large extent, this giant corporation has been the driving force behind innovation and modernization in the Kingdom.
While introducing cutting edge technology in the production of petroleum, from exploration to delivery, ARAMCO has forged a link between Saudi Arabia and the United States unlike any other over the course of more than seven decades.
This bond transcends business; it has an enduring cultural dimension as well.
Oil, and the wealth that has followed in its wake, has revolutionized Saudi culture and society. King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran is a perfect example. Founded in 1963, this highly competitive, internationally recognized institution trains Saudis in the fields of science, technology, and management.
Sophisticated in every way familiar to the West, the building central to campus life is the architecturally modern university mosque.
One heartwarming example of the benefits of sudden wealth enjoyed by the citizens of the Kingdom is the Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Humanitarian City. Founded as a philanthropic foundation by the Crown Prince, this state-of-the-art, and paperless, facility, situated on the outskirts of Riyadh, offers comprehensive medical rehabilitation to patients from countries throughout the Middle East.
Part 6 of this series: Creation of a modern state: the Kingdom today
Copyright ©2006 by Linda Pappas Funsch |
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