Memory Lane: Echoes of Aramco's past continue to reverberate

A rising epidemic, an early milestone in Aramco's Home Ownership Program, the arrival of office buildings after a long sea voyage, a great year in safety, and a major upgrade in computers mark this week's walk down Memory Lane.

Jan. 17, 1951

It has probably come to your attention that there is an epidemic of influenza of major proportions going on in the British Isles. There have been a large number of cases and a considerable number of deaths.

Influenza is a highly contagious disease that is easily spread from person to person and from community to community. For this reason, all Aramco personnel are urged to avoid visiting the British Isles en route to or from the United States until their epidemic has subsided.

If it is absolutely necessary for you to visit countries where the disease is epidemic, be certain that you visit the Clinic well in advance of your departure for such medical advice as may assist you in avoiding the disease.

Jan. 18, 1961

Jiluwi ibn Hamdan al-Shammari, owner of the 2,800th house acquired by a Saudi Arab employee under Aramco's Home Ownership Program, moved into his home in Rahimah on Jan. 7.

Al-Shammari's house was built by 'Abd Allah Shuwai'ir, a contractor who has built many Home Ownership houses under a single-payment plan. The purchasing employee makes the one complete payment and moves immediately into his new home.

Under his present program, 'Abd Allah Suwai'ir has sold three houses, and he has five more houses under construction. These houses are built according to a standard design called the "Al-Hasa Home" The layout provides a maximum of usable space.

Jan. 16, 1976

A two-month-long sea voyage has ended with the arrival at Dammam Port of two large barges carrying 307 building modules, which will eventually make up office complexes for Aramco.

Under tow of a huge ocean-going tug, the barges ended a two-month, approximately 16,000-mile journey across the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf that began at Long Beach, California, on Oct. 22.

Jan. 15, 1986

Aramco employees have earned an appreciative pat on the back for their ongoing improvement in living and working safely, according to Younis A. Slail, manager of Loss Prevention.

The safety record for the year shows a positive trend for Aramco, surpassing in some categories that of the U.S. petroleum industry and other Middle East companies, as well as previous Aramco records.

Ras Tanura Refinery broke all records in regard to Industrial Disabling Injuries per 200,000 Man-Hours Worked with 9,849,629 such man-hours between September 1983 and October 1985.

Jan. 24, 2001

Working aggressively over the five-day 'Id al-Fitr, EXPEC Computer Center (ECC) teams installed new, state-of-the-art hardware and software that doubled the ECC's already massive supercomputing capacity to support expanded exploration and field development activities at Aramco.

The project, carried out to enable the company to meet projected growth in oil and natural gas demand, and to optimize field development, involved new IBM computers in two separate upgrades — one for seismic processing, and one for reservoir simulation.