Memory Lane
Memory Lane: Looking back at bicycle races, Boy Scout Camporees, and gas finds of the past
Twenty years ago, a major discovery of gas reserves in the Mazaliq-Ghazal area effectively doubled the amount of nonassociated gas estimates in the fields.
Here are some memorable headlines looking back over the past 70 years.
YOUTH RECREATION GROUP HOLDS BICYCLE RACES
Sponsors of the Youth Recreation Program put on a highly successful bicycle race last Thursday afternoon in Dhahran. Over 40 boys and girls geared for the grind.
The smaller fry, 10 and 11 burned up Kings Road from the Stag Hall to the Administration Building. The gangling ones 12 to 15 held the pace on Sixth Street, up M Street, down to Kings Road, to the Administration Building.
The winners were Randy Jones, Marilyn Najar, Bruce Landis, Marilyn Ensinger, who each earned $10. Other winners included Lloyd Hardy, who was awarded the price of a war bond, as was Bruce Boston, who was recognized as the youngest entrant. Also winning were Marilyn Ensinger, Mike Furman, and Sharon McMullen, who won watches; David Biggins, who won a bicycle; and Laura Oster, who won a radio.
SKYLINE ADDITION
The Construction Division changed the Abqaiq skyline recently with two separate hoisting operations. With the aid of two Manitowoc cranes Column 11, which is 110 feet high, 12 feet 6 inches in diameter and weighing 73 tons, was raised on BI-1168 to increase stabilizer capacity. In another operation de-ethanizer Column C-501, 98 feet high, 12 feet 7 inches in diameter, and 165 tons in weight, was added to BI-1452 to step up LPG production.
BOYS SCOUT CAMPOREE
Eight scout troops bivouacked on Qurayyah beach and competed in nine events designed to test the 115 boys and 29 adult leaders on scouting skills at the recent Boy Scouts Camporee.
Competitions in knot-tying, signaling, map reading, compass use, physical fitness, rope lashing, first aid, observation, and fire building took place on Thursday, followed by an evening campfire when awards were given to the winning patrols.
The Turtle Patrol Troop 464 captured first place, with the Bader and Owl Patrols (both of Troop 253) won second and third place awards, respectively.
GAS FIND LINKS LARGE FIELDS
HE Ali I. Al-Naimi, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, announced Dec. 5 that Aramco had major discovery of additional gas reserves in the Mazalij-Ghazal area.
The new well, Ghazal 4, on Dec. 1 produced unassociated gas at a rate of 21.9 million cubic feet per day and 3,470 barrels of condensate per day at a depth of 13, 758 feet.
Al-Naimi said the discovery at least doubles the estimated nonassociated gas reserves in the two linked fields. That gas will contribute to the feedstock required for the Haradh Gas Plant, under construction and to be completed in December 2003.
SHAYBAH WILDLIFE SANCTUARY INAUGURATED
In the sand dunes of Shaybah, deep in the Rub' al-Khali, Aramco's Board of Directors last week inaugurated a facility of an altogether different kind.
The 637 square kilometer Shaybah Wildlife Sanctuary is the result of a joint effort between Shaybah Producing Department and the Environmental Production Department.
The fenced sanctuary protects dozens of native plant and animal species. Further, Aramco has retinroduced three species that historically have inhabited areas around Shaybah: Arabian oryx, Arabian sand gazelles, and ostriches.
The last wild ostrich in Arabia was killed in 1930. The numbers of Arabian sand gazelle plummeted. Similarly, by 1970, the Arabian oryx was almost extinct.
Now the deserts around Shaybah once again serve as their home.