Memory Lane
Memory Lane: Our first theater, new air terminal, a boost in Berri, and SAP comes online
In 2000, the SAP computer system came online across Aramco with its first task the creation of e8000 functionality.
It might seem things slow down in summer in the Kingdom, but not Aramco.
Here’s a long line of headlines about company activities during the hottest month of the year over the decades.
FORMAL OPENING OF THE NEW DHAHRAN THEATER
Dhahran’s new theater will have its formal opening Aug. 20, 1950. The company has provided two special pictures for this occasion: “Louisa” on Aug. 20 and 21, and “Winchester 73” on Aug. 22 and 23. These Universal productions were just released in New York City.
Aramco engineers are to be highly complimented on the signing and building of this theater, which provides the most modern and comfortable facilities. No longer will it be necessary for employees and their families to wait in line for available seats, because the new theater will provide 640 comfortable leather cushioned seats arranged in such a manner so that all movie fans will have a clear view of the screen.
DHAHRAN EMPLOYEES VISIT NEW AIRPORT
Last week, an Aramco group composed of Saudi college student employees, members of the Dhahran District Engineering Department staff, and three full-time Saudi employees on training assignments at universities in the U.S. toured the Dhahran Airfield terminal building now under construction.
The three Saudi employees, here for the summer, will return to the U.S. in the fall to continue their training programs. The Saudi college student group includes students from schools in the U.S. and the Middle East.
MAJOR CONSTRUCTION TO BOOST BERRI PRODUCING CAPACITY
Plants, pipelines, and other facilities are under construction in the offshore Berri Field near Jubail and at Ras Tanura to add 150,000 barrels daily of Berri oil producing capacity by Oct. 1, with another 150,000-barrel increment due on-stream April 1, 1971.
The Aramco Mobile Drilling Platform No. 2 is at work drilling production wells to provide the oil required for the project. These wells are located on multiple well platforms and have to be directionally drilled to the bottom at specific subsurface locations.
In the offshore field, nearly 77,000 feet of underwater pipelines have been installed, and hydrostatic testing has been completed. The total footage includes 75,000 feet of 36- and 20-inch-diameter trunk line and 1,600 feet of 8- and 20-inch lateral line.
EXPANSION OF CLINIC B SET FOR AUGUST COMPLETION
A major renovation and expansion scheme designed to upgrade Dhahran’s Clinic B facilities to the highest standard — as well as to expand it to three times its previous size — is now complete, with all physicians and staff expected to be moved to their permanent locations in the clinic by mid-August.
“As soon as the covered outdoor walkway is finished, we will open the new north entrance to the clinic,” said Adnan Juma’a, director of the Medical Operations Department. “Once these doors open, all Clinic B patients are requested to report to the central reception desk, where they will be directed to the appropriate medical area.”
In the redesigned clinic, general practitioners as well as screening and laboratory areas are located near the central reception desk, with the Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Clinic and the Eye Clinic situated just beyond the area. Internal Medicine, the Pediatric Clinic, and the Obstetrics/Gynecology Clinic remain in their previous locations. The Surgical Clinic remains in its location adjacent to the Emergency Room.
'SUN' STAFF BIDS FAREWELL TO PUBLICATION'S JOHN D'SOUZA
John D’Souza’s familiar face no longer greets visitors to the office of The Arabian Sun. He and his wife, Celine, departed al-Khobar last month to retire in Canada.
D’Souza joined the company in 1955. During his long career, he performed a variety of jobs for Public Affairs, serving most often as a proof-reader and editor for company publications.
The Arabian Sun has been the focus of his career. He shared the responsibility for laying out the paper each week and trekked to the press each Tuesday to see that the paper was printed and ready for its Wednesday distribution to the Aramco communities. D’Souza retired as a writer-editor.
D’Souza’s wife, Celine, who he married in 1959 in Bombay, India, worked for 11 years as a secretary for the company.
The D’Souza’s plan is to live in Toronto, Canada.
FIRST BIG SAP MODULE GOES 'LIVE'
With a few taps on the computer keys, Abdallah S. Jum’ah, president and CEO, Saturday launched the first stage in Saudi Aramco’s mega-sized software system, SAP R/3, by electronically promoting an engineer.
Jum’ah formally activated the SAP Human Resource (HR) Module by entering the information necessary to process the first electronic 8000 form in Saudi Aramco history. The 8000 forms contain basic information about employees.
The brief ceremony in Jum’ah’s office signaled the passage of all data from the 20-year-old Employee Information System into SAP. The SAP system received the records of some 122,000 past and present employees.
NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPOINTED
Saudi Aramco on Aug. 22 announced the appointment by Royal Oder of a new Board of Directors.
Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, HE Ali I. Al-Naimi, chairman; HE Ibrahim A. Al-Assaf, member; HE Mohammed I. Al-Suwaiyel, member; HE Abdul Rahman A. Al-Tuwairji, member; HE Khaled S. Al-Sultan; Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, member; Peter L. Woicke, member; David J. O’Reilly, member; president and CEO of Saudi Aramco, Khalid A. Al-Falih, member; Abdulaziz F. Al-Khayyal, member; Salim S. Al-Aydh, member; and Amin H. Nasser, member.
The two new directors are O’Reilly, former chairman and CEO of Chevron Corp., and Nasser, Saudi Aramco senior vice president for Exploration and Producing. Nasser, a graduate of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, was appointed senior vice president on May 1, 2008.