Abdulaziz I. Mugaiteeb helps arrange transfer of surveying tools toward Archive efforts

Just as the company’s history continues to grow and change over the coming years, the Aramco Archive & Records Center will grow and change with it. In that sense, the current Memorabilia Campaign is just the beginning of a process of creating and capturing the living memory of what is certainly one of the most important companies of our times. 

Abdulaziz I. Mugaiteeb, manager of Geomatics Services, is helping to arrange the transfer of land surveying tools that date back to the earliest days of the company. The crown jewel of this collection are the Brunton compass and the theodolite used by Aramco’s best-known geological team, Max Steineke and Khamis bin Rimthan.

“We believe these instruments were vital in shaping Aramco,” said Mugaiteeb. “I know that these tools were used by Khamis bin Rimthan and Max Steineke to locate wells in Al Ghawar and to locate all legacy plants in Abqaiq.” 

Major advances in technology have rendered these old tools obsolete, said Mugaiteeb. Using theodolites and compasses, surveyors of land and offshore sites would take weeks to locate target sites. But now, with global positioning technology, modern-day surveyors can complete the job in minutes.

Showing off sepia-colored records of wellsite reports from the 1940s, measured to the second decimal point, Mugaiteeb said: “This is the culture of precision that we inherited and I feel very proud. With these records and tools, you see how much value we are contributing to this company’s prosperity.”

(Editor’s Note: Aramco LIFE will feature various donations during the length of the campaign.)