PAY DIRT: Crude gushes from Damman No.7, the first of
the Saudi wells to produce oil
March 3, 1938
Finding the King's Fortune
By Adam Zagorin
The king of
Saudi Arabia, Abd-al-Aziz ibn Saud, had authorized a team of American
engineers to explore the trackless desert bordering the Persian Gulf, an
arid landscape marked only by the occasional palm-fringed oasis. He
hoped they would find water. A tribal leader with precarious finances,
Ibn Saud believed the Americans might discover places where he could
refresh his warriors' horses and camels. But the team, from Standard Oil
of California, had something else on its mind.
Oil had been
discovered in other countries in the region, and the engineers thought
they would find more in Saudi Arabia. Over several years, they drilled
more than half a dozen holes without result. In desperation, they
decided to dig deeper at well No. 7. They plumbed to a depth of 4,727
ft. and finally hit what would turn out to be the largest supply of
crude oil in the world.
The King did not appear to appreciate the
news fully at first. It was an entire year after the discovery when he
and his retinue arrived in a caravan of 400 automobiles at the pumping
station of Ras Tanura to witness the first tanker hauling away its cargo
of Saudi crude. Henceforth the King would no longer rely for income on
the pilgrims arriving in Mecca, Islam's holiest city. And his kingdom's
petroleum wealth would emerge as a crucial factor in Middle East
politics and the bargaining over global energy supplies.
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