Pipeline – 83 Years Ago
September 23, 1933
Forming the Oil Giants of the Middle East
Pipeline – 83 Years Ago: A group of geologists from Standard Oil breakup successor Standard Oil of California, which later became Chevron, arrived in Saudi Arabia after receiving a concession from the Saudi government that allowed them to explore for oil. After many years of fruitless drilling and having to sell half the rights to Texaco, they eventually struck oil on March 3, 1938, at a site called Dammam No. 7. Of course, this discovery was just the beginning and led to one of the largest sources of crude oil in the world. In 1944, the Arabian American Oil Co., or Aramco, was formed, and eventually, Standard Oil of New Jersey, which became Exxon, and Socony Vacuum, which became Mobil, purchased large shares of the company. In 1980, the Saudi Arabian government took full control of Aramco.