Chevron's history in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia began in the early 1930s, when Standard Oil of California—later Chevron—began exploring in its Eastern Province. In 1936, The Texas Co.—later Texaco—joined as a partner in the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC), which in 1944 became the Arabian American Oil Company, or Aramco.
In 1938, CASOC made Saudi Arabia's first commercial oil discovery at Dammam Dome No. 7. Before it was 50 days old, the well had produced 100,000 barrels. Continued exploration in the kingdom led to the discovery of 52 oil fields, including Ghawar in 1948, still the world's largest oil field with an estimated 66 billion barrels of reserves.
Additional partners joined Aramco in 1948. In 1973, Aramco started selling ownership to the government of Saudi Arabia. By 1989, the process of transferring ownership of Aramco to the Saudi government was complete, marking the beginning of Saudi Aramco.
Texaco, which merged with Chevron in 2001, began operating in the onshore Partitioned Zone (PZ) when it acquired Getty Oil Co. in 1984. Getty had begun operating in 1949 under a concession agreement with the kingdom. In late 2004, total production reached 3 billion barrels.
In 2000, Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LLC and its affiliates (CPChem) and private Saudi investors opened Saudi Chevron Phillips Co. The venture's petrochemical plant in Al Jubail is the kingdom's first privately financed basic petrochemical enterprise. A second company, Jubail Chevron Phillips, formed in 2003, operates another petrochemical facility adjacent to and integrated with the first plant.
In 2005, the Chevron AlBakri Lubricants Company, a joint venture headquartered in Jeddah, was established.
Health, Environment and Safety
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu honored our joint venture CPChem with the 2008 First Place Award for Environmental Performance. This was the second consecutive year that CPChem's 50 percent-owned Al Jubail facilities received this award.
Chevron is committed to improving the lives of all its employees and enriching their communities. For example, the company's hospital and field clinic for PZ operations recorded nearly 20,000 visits by employees, their families and other community members in 2010.
Creating a safe work environment in the PZ is a top priority. At the end of 2010, employees of Chevron's subsidiary in the PZ at Mina Saud and Wafra had logged more than 14.6 million work-hours—more than 10 years—without a lost-time incident.
Economy
Texaco was the first major oil company to enter a downstream relationship with the kingdom, and today Chevron continues to be an important purchaser of Saudi crude. Chevron has an agreement to operate the kingdom's 50 percent interest in the hydrocarbon resources of the onshore area of the PZ. Chevron pays a royalty and other taxes on that production.
Chevron is implementing balanced job competency and organizational development strategies with the objective of placing the right Saudis in the right jobs at the right time.
The company provides resources and education, training and development opportunities for national employees at all levels. Some 85 percent of the 824 PZ employees are Saudi nationals, and many hold jobs at the highest levels of management.
Cutting-edge applications of the industry's latest processes flow easily across Chevron's worldwide operations, linking, for example, national employees in the PZ with specialists in Houston.
Employee development programs focus on improving job performance and leadership skills. In 2010, employees averaged 102 hours—more than two workweeks—of formal training. Advanced workshops, rotational assignments, mentoring and feedback sessions further contribute to developing future leaders.
Technology Transfer
Chevron continues to provide technology and technical services to Saudi Aramco through a technical-services agreement. Through the agreement, Chevron lends to and exchanges with Saudi Aramco technical and professional employees, arranges training in the United States for Saudi Aramco employees, and regularly participates in technical exchange meetings.
Updated: March 2011
Cautionary Statement