How did Saudi Arabia start to produce oil?

Oil exploitation refers to the industry of digging and extracting oil in places where oil is stored. This process requires a lot of mechanical such as forged steel valves and brass fitting to complete, and Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil mining country.

Gift from Allah

In 1932, after Aziz took control of the entire Arabian Peninsula, he declared the founding of the country as king. He named the country Saudi Arabia with his family name.

In the second year of the founding of the Saudi Arabia, the oil company in California and his team met with the king and made a request for cooperation in the exploitation of oil in Saudi Arabia.

In 1930, Fred Davis, a geologist at California Oil Company, discovered oil on Bahrain. Hence, California Oil Company promised that as long as the Saudi Arabia agreed to their exploration, the King of Saudi Arabia would immediately get 35,000 pounds. What is more, after each 18 months, the king would also receive 20,000 pounds. If oil can be found, Saudi Arabia can also obtain the share of oil sales.

This contract changed the fate of Saudi Arabia and it also changed the economic landscape worldwide. At the time of the Great Depression, on the front page of the New York Times, it reported: "If oil is discovered, I believe it will bring changes to the entire Arab region and transform the desert into an industrialized country.”.

On May 1, 1939, California Oil Company decided to locate the headquarters in the project in the small city of Dharam. King Aziz and members of the royal family came to celebrate its location, and the king personally twisted the switch of the oil pipeline, which marks the beginning of oil industry in Saudi Arabia and also marks the beginning of influence of Saudi Arabia  on the world in a special way.

After the Second World War, the reconstruction and economic revival of Western European countries had great demand for oil and the US company decided to introduce other oil companies from New Jersey and New York as shareholders of the project company to obtain more funds to restart and develop the oil in Saudi Arabia. The four companies renamed the original company as Arabian and American Petroleum, or "Aramco" for short.

The Way of Balance

As early as World War II, the American Minister sent people to perform a top-secret mission, which was aimed to investigate the oil worldwide. The final investigation report reads: "Saudi Arabia ’s oil will become an important part of national security in the future."

The real purpose of the King, Sulaiman, and the Saudi family is to introduce American capital and technology. After the royal family has money, it will take possession of the oil production. Sulaiman created various troubles for the Bechtel and then forced it to withdraw from Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government took the opportunity to buy its equipment and then leased it to local companies and so on. The royal family applied this strategy to the Aramco. They planned for half a century and after many generations of kings, they finally succeeded.

In modern times, the exploitation of the oil have stepped into the high-technical period, the automatic operations of stainless steel valve, stainless steel pipe fitting and so on have greatly help the oil industry all over the world.