Oil was discovered in Bahrain in 1932. And Bahrain is just next to the eastern part of Saudi Arabia. Some experienced eyes of American geologists were gazing toward the Saudi coast. They were looking at the Dammam Dome. In that dome, there is the famous well No. 7. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has changed the name to the Prosperity Well.
The American company was about to give up but the chief geologists, Max Steinke, pushed the newly formed SOCAL to dig deeper. And in 1938, oil well No. 7 became the turning point in the Saudi- American ties. So, this is how the Saudi- American relations began. And the ties hit a new high when the American oil company’s executives on the other side of the globe about 8,000 miles away received a cable from their geologists in Dhahran that read: “Send the families, we are here to stay. We struck oil, lots of it.”
During the American old pioneers’ search for oil in the eastern part of the Kingdom camel caravans changed their roles from wandering from one place to another looking for greener areas in the desert to doing a more scientific job by helping the American geologists carry their supplies through the vast areas of the Arabian desert. Now, the Saudis became familiar with word like SOCAL and CASOC and later on with magical word ARAMCO. In other words, the Saudi- American relations did not start at political rallies. It simply started at the negotiating table to look for the black gold that changed the face of Saudi Arabia.
As time passed, King Abdul Aziz met US President Franklin Roosevelt in 1945 aboard the US Navy Ship, Quincy. That short meeting was another milestone in the Saudi-American relations. Strategic agreements between the two countries were signed and visits between the leaders of the two countries continued. And when they meet, the world takes notice and listens.
The role of the newly formed company (ARAMCO) in the Kingdom expanded from oil and energy industry to full relations with all strata of the Saudi society. The oil company had a hand in advancing health care, education, infrastructure development and building new cities from scratch. And it didn’t stop at that. Just few days ago many people in the area learned in detail the role of ARAMCO in forming the largest and the biggest producer of electricity in the world, Saudi Consolidated Electric Company (SCECO)
A short time ago, a book titled, The Caravan Goes On, written by one of ARAMCO’s former CEOs Frank Jungers described one of the most difficult times in the middle of 1970s electricity shortage and how ARAMCO was able to solve it by forming a company called SCECO. It was the most important inter-relation between the ARAMCO and the Saudi people. This is an example of the depth and uniqueness of the Saudi- American ties. This bond has survived many ups and downs.
During the past few months, we read and saw many reports about the Saudi- American relations and the aftermath of disagreements over some issues, but each country looks at its interests in a different way. But at the end of the day the relations between the two countries are still growing strong. Trade and investments between the two countries are on the rise. Tens of thousands of Americans are working in the Kingdom and tens of thousands of Saudis are attending top American schools. We saw and heard about many strategic and military agreements between the two countries. So, the relation between the two is what we call…business as usual.
Since the beginning of this so-called Arab Spring, disagreements over various between various friendly nations have been reported and Saudi Arabia and the United States are no exceptions. The instability extended as far as Ukraine. Saudi Arabia and the United States are major players in world issues, so, it is normal to have different views regarding the same issue. Syria is an example.
The visit of US President Barack Obama to the Kingdom this week is a sign of the strategic depth of the mutual ties.
Saudi-American relations, which started by a simple gesture of mutual understanding between two nations is considered to be one of the most important partnerships between any two countries. Both countries have worked together in solving many issues that made the world safer and more stable, economically and politically.
