This Day in History
This Day in History (1972): Field Welding
A new pipeline is well underway that will connect Abqaiq to Ras Tanura.
From the May 10, 1972, edition of Sun and Flare
Construction of the new QRT-8 and QA-6 lines, Aramco’s second 40”/42” pipeline, has been underway since March. The total pipeline consists of two onshore sections, approximately 94 kilometers in length, and a Tarut Bay crossing 4 kilometers long. A welding crew at work on a section of the QRT-8 is pictured above.
Tamimi and Fouad are contractors for the onshore portion, and Arabian Petroleum Marine is undertaking the Tarut Bay crossing. An automatic welding process will be used on the QA-6 portion of the line, where 6 miles of circumferential welding is required to complete over 3,000 field welds.
When completed before year-end, the pipeline will have the capability of delivering over 600,000 barrels of oil daily from Abqaiq to Ras Tanura. Responsibility for construction is assigned to Aramco’s Construction Department. Noel C. King, Jr., and Heath Bradshaw are the construction engineers.
Also on this day
2022 — Queen Elizabeth II misses the State Opening of Parliament for the first time in 59 years
2013 — One World Trade Center becomes the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere
1997 — The 7.3 moment magnitude scale Qayen earthquake strikes Iran's Khorasan Province killing 1,567 people
1994 — Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president
1969 — In the Vietnam War, The Battle of Dong Ap Bia begins with an assault on Hill 937. It will ultimately become known as Hamburger Hill
1963 — Decca Records sign The Rolling Stones on advice of Beatle George Harrison
1962 — Marvel Comics publishes the first issue of The Incredible Hulk
1941 — World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland to try to negotiate a peace deal between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany
1940 — Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain. On the same day, Germany invades France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg
1908 — Mother's Day is observed for the first time in the United States, in Grafton, West Virginia
1857 — In India, the first war of Independence begins. Sepoys mutiny against their commanding officers at Meerut
28BC — A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China
