The Saudi Aramco Page And The North Dakota Connection -- May 3, 2019

Saudi oil: mentioned in passing the other day without a link, we now have a link -- top oil buyers (Asia, China) want more Saudi crude oil -- Bloomberg.

Cocktail party trivia: quick! Name the North Dakota geologist who went on to become the CEO of Saudi Aramco back in the day. The amazing things that I find out from my readers. Clues (and spoiler alert, answer):

• born in Minneapolis, MN, 1909 (about the time my grandfather emigrated from Norway)
• grew up in Linton, ND
• graduated from UND
• degree in mining and metallurgy, 1931
• accepted a job as a surveyor in Saudi Arabia for Standard Oil; interviewed with the company's chief geologist, 1937
• three years, explored potential oil sites in Saudi Arabia
• Ghawar field discovered by: this gentleman from ND; Ernie Berg; Max Steineke, along with Bedouin trackers
• 32-year career with Aramco
• fluent in Arabic; key "element" in the company's relationship with the Saudi government
• 1961: appointed Saudi Aramco's CEO
• 1969: retired
• 1986: age 77; died, San Diego
• Answer: Thomas Barger

But there's more: quick! name the North Dakota farmboy who grew up in Regent, North Dakota, and went on to become CEO of Saudi Aramco back in the day. Clues (and spoiler alert, answer):

• he wrote a book, available on Amazon, c. 2014
• the title of the book: The Caravan Goes On
• spend three decades in Saudi Arabia: 1947 - 1978
• tenure coincided with the Arab-Israeli war; the dramatic oil price increases of the 1970s, the Arab oil embargo and the OPEC hostage incident of 1975
• joined Aramco in 1947;
• hired out of college from the University of Washington where Aramco was hiring for Arabia 
• degree in Mechanical Engineering, 1947
• recipient of the University of Washington's Diamond Awards of the Deans Awards, 2016
• for answer, see video below

Frank Jungers