Alaela Issue 07

The Magazine
for Retired Aramcons
ISSUE 07
FALL/WINTER 2013/2014
Theart of
sustainable desert
gardening.
Viewing your yard as a
canvas.
SAVING OUR REEFS
How can we conserve the
incredible reefs along the
Arabian Gulf.
a butterfly summer
to remember
An insight into the beautiful &
sometimes rare butterflies you will
find around Sussex & Hampshire.
The kings man 3
Mel Trotter's story charting
the course of Ibn Saud and
the discovery of oil in the
Kingdom concludes.
Inthisissue:
"A Satisfied
man is an asset
for aramco"
The special events that helped to lay
foundations for the vibrant Aramco
communities we see today

Cover photo
A Satisfied Man is an Asset to Aramco
Alaela (Family) is produced for annuitants, families and
friends of Saudi Aramco and Aramco Overseas Company
(AOC), as well as its associated companies by AOC B.V.
Managing Director Nabil Aldabal
Head of Public Relations Fahad Toryf
Editors Muazzin Mehrban and Chili Li
Design Dhub.com
Contributors Martin Wingrove, Muazzin Mehrban, Heather
Bence, Scott Baldauf, Todd William, Colin Knight, Mel Trotter,
Arvid Koris, Alison Hooker, Philip Embleton, Vicci Turner
For those who prefer a digital format, Alaela can be read
online at our corporate website: www.aramcooverseas.com.
Meanwhile, your comments and suggestions are welcome,
which should be sent to alaela@aramco.com
Address correspondence to:
The Editor, Alaela
Aramco Overseas Company UK Ltd.
10 Portman Square
London W1H 6AZ
NB: Fall/Winter 2013-2014
ISSN 2044-4982ISSN 2044-4982
2

Intro | Message from the MD
Dear Expats,
A warm welcome as we enter 2014.
Against the backdrop of challenging economic conditions in Europe, AOC has
continued to grow and change. 2013 was a year of sharp contrasts for the world
economy and our company, as AOC worked under considerable pressure and
delivered results.
Although it has been a year of change, we have also continued our commitment
to supporting our parent company, Saudi Aramco, through continuous innovation
and development of new partnerships, technologies and applications.
In our busy year of growth and change, particular highlights have included several
partnerships and collaborations with leading names in energy, the successful
completion of a number of consulting projects, and bringing Saudi Aramco’s major
projects in the Kingdom to life.
A number of office launches, including the Research Centres in Aberdeen and
Paris, have been a part of our continuous development, and we look forward to
potentially introducing some very exciting new technologies and innovations at
the beginning of 2014.
Our new London office was opened in the presence of H.E. Ali Al-Naimi, Minister
of Petroleum & Mineral Resources for Saudi Arabia and HRH Prince Mohammed
bin Nawaf Al-Saud the Saudi Ambassador to the UK, as well as our global CEO Mr
Khalid Al-Falih.
All three had encouraging words to say about the footprint that affiliates like
ourselves are creating for the Kingdom’s overseas ambitions.
Indeed, the keyword, while sharing my thoughts with you today, has been
ambition.
At AOC, we don’t just want to fulfil the ambitions of Saudi Aramco, which of
course we will strive to do, we also want to fulfil the ambitions of our staff and
ensure that the company and its people grow simultaneously.
For 2014, please accept my warmest greetings of health and prosperity to
you and your families and a happy New Year to you all..
Nabil Aldabal
Managing Director, AOC
Message
from the MD
3

21
Contents
2. Message from the MD
Nabil Aldabal
4. Company News
Global names launch pioneering initiative
7. Company News
Aramco launches further research centres at
opening of AOC UK’s new home
9. Retirees on Reunions
Our latest reunion in The Netherlands.
11. A Butterfly Summer to Remember
Butterflies require favourable weather to breed
and their numbers fluctuate, according to
weather conditions
15. Dr. Geraint Whyn Hughes
Micropaleontologist | Stratigrapher
Saudi Aramco (1991-2013)
17. A Satisfied Man is an Asset to Aramco
Jim Bennett who first used the phrase publicly
in 1945, during a motivational address to Aramco
Employee’s Association (AEA) members
21. The King’s Man - The final curtain
After his death, Ibn Saud still orchestrated the
conclusion of his relationship with Harry Philby
25. Saving our Reefs
The Arabian Gulf is one of the most productive
marine ecosystems in the world, and its rich coral
reefs have always provided a diverse habitat for
local marine life to thrive
29. A Visit to the Subcontinent
We would meet relatives and visit the family
mango orchard in Kithore Meerut, I began the
arduous process of applying for visas to visit India
33. The Art of Desert Gardening
While some may view their yard as a source of
endless labor, others perceive it as a canvas
35. Running Ambitions
The inauguration ceremony of the first government
school to be built by the company
37. In Memoriam
Allan Fox & Jenny Layard
Intro
Features
17
25
11
Contents
4

SATORP boosts economy
with Jubail shipment
Words Adil Al-Sadiq Photos Musleh Khathami
First shipment of fuel oil production launched.
With SATORP’s president and CEO Fawwaz Nawwab looking on, the
Saudi Aramco TOTAL Refining and Petrochemicals Company (SATORP),
a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and France’s TOTAL, launched
the first shipment of its fuel oil production from King Fahd Industrial Port
(KFIP). Saudi Aramco lifted this fuel volume, while TOTAL will lift a
volume of diesel soon.
With SATORP’s president and CEO Fawwaz Nawwab looking on, the
Saudi Aramco TOTAL Refining and Petrochemicals Company (SATORP),
a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and France’s TOTAL, launched
the first shipment of its fuel oil production from King Fahd Industrial Port
(KFIP). Saudi Aramco lifted this fuel volume, while TOTAL will lift a
volume of diesel soon.
Work is underway to commission the various units of SATORP’s 400,000
barrels per day (bpd) refinery complex in accordance with pre-established
commissioning plans. Two crude units with their accompanying
processing facilities have already started producing naphtha, diesel
and fuel oil, and more refined products will be produced as more of the
refinery’s units come onstream.
In January 2009, Saudi Aramco and TOTAL began executing a contract
to build and operate a world-scale conversion refinery with a capacity of
400,000 bpd of Arabian Heavy crude oil in the Jubail-II Industrial City.
This had been preceded in 2008 by the establishment of SATORP, with
Saudi Aramco owning 62.5 percent and TOTAL 37.5 percent. Both Saudi
Aramco and TOTAL will market the joint venture’s products.
1,200 Jobs and More
The first shipment to leave SATORP marks a significant milestone for the
refinery project as it heads toward full start-up by the end of 2013.
SATORP’s chairman, Saudi Aramco’s vice president for Engineering
Services, Samir Al-Tubayyeb, expressed his delight at the first shipment
from the SATORP refinery, which will play a major role in supporting the
Kingdom’s economy through production of refined petroleum products
and petrochemicals. Asked about SATORP’s added value, Al-Tubayyeb
said, “This joint venture between Saudi Aramco and TOTAL will generate
added value to the local economy through creating jobs and providing
local contractors with opportunities for further downstream investments.
The refinery is expected to create 1,200 direct jobs in the Kingdom, with
each of them entailing five indirect employment opportunities.
“SATORP will be a leader in the Middle East and Asia in the area of
refining and petrochemicals, taking care of and paying attention to the
local environment in the process of managing its operations,” he added.
Intro | Company News
5

A Valued Partnership
SATORP president and CEO Fawwaz Nawwab said SATORP is one of
the strategic projects for Saudi Aramco and TOTAL because it will help
meet rising demand in the region, fulfilling obligations to the local and
global economy.
“The location of the refinery,” Nawwab said, “offers competitive
advantages — proximity to an Arabian Heavy crude supply, strong
infrastructure such as water and electricity networks, access to KFIP
and a central position between main markets. Marketers will distribute
SATORP products to local and international markets depending on the
demand. The return from SATORP on the local economy will not be
limited to meeting increasing demand, but also creating jobs for Saudis
directly and indirectly, and making products that may result in spurring
new industries in the future.”
Jubail-II’s First Investor
Muhammad Abdulfattah Al-Hammad, the project’s executive director
who has worked in project management for Saudi Aramco for 30 years,
noted that the project has faced challenges.
“The first challenge was that the project was a joint venture, not a Saudi
Aramco wholly owned project,” said Al-Hammad. “All decisions and
plans have to be jointly made, at all levels. In spite of the fact that this
was a challenge, it also gave us power; two partners each bringing in
expertise and knowledge accumulated over decades.
“When I worked on Saudi Aramco’s projects, the committee in charge of
the project and I used to make and implement decisions in conjunction
with the Facilities Planning Department,” added Al-Hammad. “Here,
things are different. This was the first challenge. The second challenge
was to build this project outside the boundaries of Saudi Aramco’s
locations. We built all our previous projects in our concession areas,
but here the matter is different. The land on which the project was
built belongs to the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu’ (RCJY).
Here, we had to deal with third parties — electricity supplied by Saudi
Consolidated Electricity Company, water by Marafiq, and licenses and
work permits all come from RCJY. However, everything went as planned,
we learned a lot from the lessons and accumulated added knowledge in
this area.”
Al-Hammad noted other challenges. “Imagine 12 pipelines that need to
be laid from the SATORP refining complex to KFIP, a distance of several
kilometers. The pipelines must cross Jubail-I Industrial City. Add to this
the conveyor belt, similar to the one used for luggage at airports, which
will be used to transport coke from the plant to KFIP. This is the first
time we have produced this type of coal. The pipelines will cross the
properties of industrial neighbors and highways, and we had to obtain
daily work permits from RCJY and Highway Security to do the work.
Everybody cooperated, and nobody failed us in any respect.”
SATORP is an integrated refinery that will refine numerous substances.
The coke it produces is important in Asia, where a significant portion of
the energy consumed comes from coal.
2
6

Sophisticated Refinery
George Moreno, SATORP’s vice president for manufacturing, confirmed
that the SATORP refinery will be one of the world’s largest and most
sophisticated, refining Arabian Heavy crude and converting it into
products meeting the strictest specifications to fulfill growing demand
for environment-friendly fuels. The refinery, he added, is a full conversion
refinery, which will produce large volumes of diesel, jet fuel, paraxylene,
benzene and propylene. With such magnitude and sophistication,
the refinery will undoubtedly be one of the wonders of the oil and
petrochemicals industry.
Despite the complexity of the project, environmental protection was a
priority.
“SATORP does not only take into consideration all matters related to
health, safety, environment and security,” Moreno said, “rather, care and
consideration for the environment and quality form a basic component of
the management’s job. In other words,
SATORP is committed, in all its operations and business, to maintain
the health, safety and security of all its and its contractors’ employees,
visitors and neighbors including those in the adjacent industrial facilities
or residential neighborhoods. In doing so, SATORP guarantees that its
employees work in a safe environment and perform their jobs to the
highest levels of quality. We achieve all this through implementation
of best practices and technologies, taking into consideration the
preservation of the natural environment in which we all live and work.”
Two Refineries in One
“The project is now in the final phases after completing the training
and purchasing the spare parts required for all the refinery’s units,”
noted Manager of the Operation Department at SATORP, Ahmad Al-
Ghannam. “With regard to utilities, the refinery is actually two refineries
in one. For example, when the need arises to carry out a comprehensive
turnaround, the refinery will not have to be wholly shut down, as it is
possible to shut down half of the refinery in order to avoid adverse effects
on the Kingdom’s local markets and the companies performing the local
maintenance jobs in the Kingdom, who would otherwise not be able to
provide the necessary equipment to carry out the required tasks within
the time frame we set for them. For this reason, we thought right from
the beginning that the refinery cannot be wholly shut down for regular
inspection and testing.”
The final days before completion are creating excitement among one
SATORP team. “Since we are now in the final phases of the project,
everybody, from Projects to Operation, Inspection, Maintenance,
Engineering and Control Engineering, works as if we were in a beehive.”
Years of Lessons and Experience
As Al-Ghannam sat in his new office overlooking the refinery, he
reflected on how his experience at Saudi Aramco helped him tackle
challenges for SATORP.
“All the lessons I have learned at Saudi Aramco were present in my
mind every day while I performed my work here,” Al-Ghannam said,
“especially those lessons where there is some resemblance between here
and there. I have one division head from Saudi Aramco. Each of us has 25
years of Saudi Aramco experience. When we accumulate our experience,
it means we employ in this project 50 years of experience gained at Saudi
Aramco. This applies to all the areas of work in this project, particularly
project management. All the standards, specifications and quality
measures we employed were originally Saudi Aramco’s standards,
specifications and quality measures. To be realistic, I must say that
80 percent of them came from Saudi Aramco and 20 percent from
TOTAL. They have their experience in refining, and we have ours in the
construction of mega-projects. In this way, we complete each other.”
And together they are about to complete another milestone in Saudi
Aramco’s list of world-class mega-projects.
Facts & Figures
45,000: Employees were busy at peak times carrying out the tasks in the
project.
147,000: Tons of pipes are at SATORP.
80,000: Tons of steel were used for construction of the infrastructure.
4,500: Pieces of equipment, apparatuses and tools.
1 million: Kilometers of electrical cables are part of the SATORP complex.
1 million: Kilometers of high-precision machinery cables.
200: Buses are used to convey employees and workers to and from the
location.
350: Employees currently in Project Management will have worked on
the SATORP project.
Other interesting facts
• Most of the equipment for the project came from Dammam.
• The heavy and huge equipment came from Japan.
• Some of the refinery columns came from Korea.
Previous page:
Khalid A. Al-Falih, president and CEO of Saudi
Aramco, is joined by Christophe de Margerie,
CEO of TOTAL (far left),Abdulrahman F. Al-
Wuhaib, senior vice president of Downstream
for Saudi Aramco (far right), and others while
touring the SATORP refinery in Jubail in April.
Opposite page:
The SATORP mega-project required 80,000
tons of steel during the construction phase.
7

This year Saudi Aramco, through affiliate Aramco
Overseas Company (AOC), opened another three offices,
one of them being the new home of AOC UK in Central
London. Aramco has furthered its R&D strength in
Europe by opening the two satellite offices in Paris
(France) and Aberdeen (UK). These add to the facility
operating out of Delft (The Netherlands), which was
opened in 2012 and featured in the last edition of ‘Alaela’.
Here is a breakdown of the office launches in 2013…
Aramco launches
further research
centres at opening
of AOC UK’s new home
AOC facilitates SaudiAramco’s R&D push in Europe
8

AOC UK, London
The affiliate’s UK headquarters,
now located in the prestigious
Portman Square, was opened
by HRH Prince Mohammed bin
Nawaf Al-Saud, KSA Ambassador
to the UK and H.E. Ali Al-Naimi,
Minister of Petroleum & Mineral
Resources. They came on the
invitation of President and CEO,
Mr. Khalid Al-Falih, who was also
in attendance.
The location itself is extremely
fit for purpose as it is close to
industry partners, well served
by transport links, and remains
in the heart of London, a major
geopolitical focus for the energy
industry.
AOC UK’s operations at the office
focus on expatriate recruitment,
public relations and professional
development. The latter
department supports the 400
Aramco-sponsored students, who
are based at universities across
Europe (mainly in the UK).
AOC UK also share its building
with another Aramco affiliate,
Saudi Petroleum Overseas Ltd
(SPOL), which acts as the link
between the parent company and
its customers in Europe, Africa
and South America, through
marketing services, market
analysis and new business
development.
ARAMCO FUEL
RESEARCH Centre, Paris
Opened by Khalid Al-Falih in
March, the office sits on the
campus of the renowned energy
institute, Institut français du
pétrole (IFP) Energies nouvelles
(IFPEN), which specializes in
fuel and engine innovation. This
collaborative effort is part of a
longstanding relationship between
the two organizations, which
will result in fuel formulations
and methodologies being jointly
developed and demonstrated on
real vehicles.
The partnership will enable
Aramco to capitalize on IFPEN’s
world-class facilities, experienced
scientists, established ecosystem,
industrial links to various
European automakers and
reputation as a true innovator.
This, in turn, will accelerate the
innovation of various fuel/engine
technologies that are being
pursued as part of the company’s
greater focus on downstream.
ABERDEEN
TECHNOLOGY OFFICE,
Aberdeen
Situated near the North Sea, the
facility benefits from being close to
one of Europe’s biggest oil and gas
hubs. The office, opened last April,
will focus on upstream issues that
are related to both production and
drilling, adding to similar centres
already established in North
America.
The office serves as a technology
hub that brings together
academia, companies and
research organizations with
the technical solutions needed
by Saudi Aramco’s drilling and
production operations. It also
enables the company’s venture
capital arm, Saudi Aramco Energy
Ventures (SAEV), to accelerate the
development of new technologies
and ultimately contribute to in-
Kingdom economic development.
Main image:
The Saudi delegation are welcomed to AOC
UK’s new office.
From left to right:
London office.
Paris inauguration lunch.
Aberdeen opening ceremony.
9

RE TIREES ON
RE TIREES ON
“It’s lovely to see everyone again
as we had very good working
relationships…bowling teams,
skiing together and playing tennis
together every week.”
“Meeting with ex-colleagues. Fond
memories…”
“The comradery of the past.”
“…the old friends.”
“To meet the old folks and to feel our
work participation is still appreciated.”
“To see, talk and eat with former
colleagues.”
“The good old horses together again.”
WHAT HAVE YOU
LIKED ABOUT THE
AOC REUNIONS YOU
HAVE ATTENDED?
(Anonymous quotes)
RESULTS FROM
RETIREE SURVEY 2013
INTERESTING
STATISTICS
• 70% of AOC retirees in The
Netherlands have attended 3
or more AOC reunions since
they retired from AOC.
• 93% of AOC retirees in The
Netherlands say they are likely
to recommend the next AOC
reunion to another AOC retiree.
• 88% of AOC retirees in the
Netherlands agree on the
Spring months of March,April
and May as the best time of
year for AOC reunions.
Feature Story: Retirees on Reunions
“It’s nice to meet all the old colleagues from 20 or 30 years ago.”
Frans Paalvast
“I grew up with AOC since my father worked at Aramco
from 1952 to 1986, so it was part of my education! I’ll
always remember AOC with great joy and pleasure.”
Hilco Bloemheuvel
10

N REUNIONSN REUNIONS
“To see the old colleagues and to
talk with them. I also like to hear
how Aramco is doing so appreciate
the information that was presented.”
“Renewing and
maintaining contact
with former colleagues.”
“Meeting the known AOC crew.”
“It is great to catch up with old
colleagues and friends and learn
how AOC is doing.”
“Meeting with former colleagues
and present management, and
meeting with colleagues actually
still working at AOC.”
“To meet and speak with the old
colleagues. Old memories…”
“I like the atmosphere with my old
colleagues still alive. I was quite
young when it all stopped back in
1986, but enjoyed working with
AOC and remember many of the old
colleagues. I also liked the food and
ambiance of those days. Even the
inspiring speech of the Managing
Director!”
“Meeting with ex-colleagues. Fond
memories…”
“Meeting with former colleagues and
catching up again.”
“Meeting old friends and talking
about the good times.”
“Just to see old colleagues;
everything is so relaxed!”
Feature Story: Retirees on Reunions
“I left Holland in 1979 and I had worked in Saudi Arabia for Aramco in 1973,
so that was really ‘wow’, a really exciting experience as a 21-year old going
out to a completely different environment. Then I worked in Paris for a while
and met my Dutch husband, came to Holland and applied to AOC and it just
was wonderful to walk through that door at Laan van Meerdervoort and feel
really back in the fold with Aramco and AOC.”
Anne Andriessen
“It’s been too long! Sometimes it’s like a dream – was I in
Saudi? Yes, I was in Saudi! So when I see the AOC staff
and management I feel like I’m living it again.”
Adrianus Verhoeven
11

Butterflies require favourable weather to breed and their numbers fluctuate,
according to weather conditions. The past two years have been unkind to
some species in Britain, especially the long wet summer of 2012. This year’s
cold spring held back many flowering plants by three to four weeks, and
the butterflies and moths that depend on them for larval food and nectar
did not appear on schedule. Fortunately, the weather changed in May and
we experienced a summer to remember. Plants and butterflies stayed three
to four weeks behind schedule for the next few months, but the number of
butterflies seen was most impressive.
Every year, Butterfly Conservation organises a Big Butterfly Count and this
year’s results were amazing, with 830,000 butterflies counted by over 44,000
participants nationwide. In the South we did our bit to promote the launch
of the count by hosting a competition. On July 19th, teams from Sussex (The
Wood Whites) and Hampshire (The Glanville Fritillaries) ventured into each
other’s territory to count as many butterfly species as we could, between
9am and 5pm. The team leaders were wildlife broadcasters Nick Baker and
Matthew Oates. A BBC crew accompanied each team and the results were
announced live on BBC South from Bosham Harbour, following the national
news the same evening. The day was great fun for everyone and each team
related its adventures at the end of the day over traditional refreshments.
We had no idea who had won until the BBC presenter Alexis Green, who
had accompanied the Glanvilles, declared Wood Whites to be the winners.
The Glanville Fritillaries counted 28 species, the same as the Wood Whites,
but we spotted more eggs, larvae and pupae. A video of the day has been
published at: http://bit.ly/14wdiYd
My butterfly year started on April 24th with a Red Admiral and a Comma
that was in aerial combat with two Peacocks at Pagham Harbour. On May
7th, I counted seven more species at Mill Hill: Green Hairstreak, Grizzled
Skipper, Dingy Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Orange-tip and
Speckled Wood. A week later the endangered Pearl-bordered Fritillary
emerged at a local site and continued to show in excellent numbers for the
next month. Unfortunately its cousin, the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary,
which is on the critical list, had a very bad year at our East Sussex reserve
and we fear for its future there. On May 9th, I recorded a Small White,
followed in mid-May 1st by Small Heaths, which have continued to
flourish through to September. May 17th gave me my first sighting of the
endangered Duke of Burgundy at Heyshott Escarpment, one of our
managed reserves. By now the butterfly emergence was in full flow and on
May 22nd I found a Small Blue at Kithurst Meadow, followed by an Adonis
Blue and a Green-veined White at Mill Hill the following day. Common
Blues and a Holly Blue appeared at Arundel Wildlife and Wetland Trust.
A Butterfly
Summer to
Remember
Words Colin Knight
Feature Story: A Butterfly Summer to Remember
12

Feature Story: A Butterfly Summer to Remember
Chalkhill Blue
13

On June 8th, I ran a Butterfly Conservation stand at the
Adur World Oceans Day Festival at Shoreham. Many
families attended the exhibition and we were pleased
with the enthusiasm shown by the children. Interest in
the nature exhibits showed the importance that people
place on conservation and the problems that our
planet’s ecosystems are facing from climate change
and other issues.
I spotted a Brown Argus and a beautiful female
Common Blue at Arundel WWT on June 11th. A
week later I headed to Steadham Common, where
Silver-studded Blues had emerged. This heathland
specialist is always eagerly anticipated due to its
pretty patterning and the beautiful managed heath
it inhabits. On June 27th, I was delighted to see a
Clouded Yellow land in front of me at Mill Hill. This
immigrant from across the channel appears every year
in low numbers and in the past I have traveled across
the county to find one seen a day or two before. 2013
has been a rare bumper year for this beautiful butterfly.
Its bright yellowy-orange colour makes it an interesting
and easy sighting as it roams the meadows and
paths. I visited Bernwood Meadows near Oxford the
following day where the rare Black Hairstreak had
been photographed the day before. The weather was
damp and drizzly, but after several hours of searching
I finally saw two specimens in aerial combat, as the
wind swept them out of sight. My viewing lasted two
seconds!
I found a Large Skipper and Meadow Browns
at Southwater Woods on July 1st, followed a few
days later by Marbled Whites at Mill Hill. July 6th
brought Silver-washed Fritillaries and a Ringlet
at Southwater, and two days later I crossed the border
into Hampshire and added White-letter Hairstreaks
and White Admirals to my tally. I photographed a
favourite butterfly on July 10th, the Purple Emperor
at Chiddingfold Forest. This large and majestic
creature inhabits the woodland canopy, but ventures to
the forest floor to take up salts. When the light shines
on its wings at a certain angle, an amazing purple
sheen results. I experienced a magic moment when a
Purple Emperor circled me a few times so closely that
I could hear its wings flapping. It then landed on my
sleeve and investigated my skin with its proboscis.
July 12th brought the first Gatekeepers and
Chalkhill Blue of the season at Southwater. I spotted
a Grayling during the Big Butterfly Race a week
later. July 22nd brought a rare white valesina form of
the female Silver-washed Fritillary, which was laying
eggs on the trunks of oak trees. I spotted a Dark
Green Fritillary at Mill Hill on July 25th and a week
later saw Silver-spotted Skippers and a Wall at
Chantry Hill. July 28 gave me a Small Copper at
Arundel WWT. The first two weeks of August saw me
chasing Clouded Yellows at Kithurst Meadow, where
Featured Stories: A butterfly summer to remember
Green Hairstreak
Silver-washed Fritillaries
Red Admiral
Peacock
14

I took in-flight photos of the males and females. Like
Small Heaths, this butterfly rarely opens its wings
while resting, so the only way to capture an image
of the upper wings is to photograph it in flight. A
rare white helice form of the female appeared at the
meadow on August 8th, and a visit to Hayling Island
on August 19th produced a Painted Lady. The
Brown Hairstreak season commenced two days later
at Steyning. Butterfly enthusiasts travel from all over
the South to visit this site, in the hope of spotting one
of these beautifully marked and elusive butterflies. It
has appeared in lower numbers than usual this year,
perhaps due to last year’s wet summer when the eggs
should have been laid in sunny conditions.
During early August, favourable southerly winds
brought an influx of many butterflies and moths from
the continent. Among them were exceptional numbers
of Clouded Yellows, Large and Small Whites, Painted
Ladies, Silver Y moths, plus some very rare migrants.
One of these was the European Swallowtail, one
of which landed at Windover Hill in East Sussex. Wet
weather kept it in the same place for two days and I was
fortunate to find it on August 24th and, although its tails
had been damaged, it was still a delightful sight.
Another rare immigrant photographed in Sussex was a
Geranium Bronze. However, the one that generated
the most excitement was the Long-tailed Blue. This
small blue butterfly is a rare visitor to these shores,
although it has wide mainland European distribution,
especially around the Mediterranean, and is found
throughout the world. Specimens were reported
from Hampshire, Sussex and Kent during early
August, some of which were observed laying eggs on
Everlasting Pea, a favourite foodplant. Migrants tend
to follow a swift lifecycle if weather conditions are
suitable. In mid-September adults started emerging at
several southern sites. A few of us have been privileged
to see this British-born generation. I made my third
trip to a Newhaven site on 20th September. By 1pm I
had searched all the places where I expected to find it
and walked back along the path to the car park. I was
still searching the grass beside the path for any blue
butterfly when I spotted one roosting in the grass. I
looked closer to confirm it was the expected Common
Blue. Suddenly, the pattern and distinctive tails gave
me an unforgettable feeling of elation; I was looking at
a pristine, newly emerged female Long-tailed Blue. My
next thought was to capture an image before it flew off.
I then took the best photos I could with grass stems
obscuring my view. I decided to part the grass to get
a better shot. This was too much for her and she rose
up and went with the wind across the adjacent pool.
My day and butterfly year was complete, it doesn’t
get better than this! My adventures can be viewed on
www.seapic.com.
Featured Stories: A butterfly summer to remember
Orange
European Swallowtail
15

1991
Wyn Hughes joined Saudi
Aramco and the Red
Sea exploration drilling
program.
Establishing a robust stratigraphic
framework for the Red Sea & Gulf
of Aden using biozonation and
correlation of well and outcrop
data, Wyn is widely considered the
authority on Red Sea stratigraphy,
and has trained ten Saudi
young professionals as wellsite
micropaleontologists, to support
drilling operations.
1994
Micropaleontology and
biofacies in the mid
Cretaceous - Application
of Bio and Sequence
Stratigraphy to the
Shuáiba Formation.
The Aptian Shu’aiba Formation
is a major oil reservoir in Oman,
Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.
Using ninety-three exploration
and delineation wells, Wyn
and colleagues established the
biostratigraphy and sequence
stratigraphy of the Shu’aiba
Formation in the Shaybah Field.
This was the basis for the initial
reservoir model used for the
development of this super giant oil
field in the remote Empty Quarter
of Saudi Arabia.
1995
Microbiofacies in the
Jurassic and earliest
Cretaceous – Application
of microbiofacies mapping
in the Hadriya, Hanifa,
Arab, Manifa, Retawi and
other key oil reservoirs.
Wyn’s work, initially on the Hanifa
basin, was subsequently verified
by seismic interpretation and is the
basis of modern exploration play
fairway mapping. This approach
has extended to the mapping of
biofacies throughout the Jurassic
and Cretaceous succession, above
and below the Hanifa.
Saudi Life: Dr. Geraint Wyn Hughes
16

1998
Exploration Training
School/UPDC – Mesozoic/
Carbonate Field trip.
Wyn led his first trip
to Mesozoic- Paleozoic
carbonate outcrops west
of Riyadh in 1998.
This quickly became an integral
component of the Exploration
Training School, and is now
part of the extensive Upstream
Professional Development Centre
curriculum. Since the late 1990’s
many hundreds of Saudi Aramco
young professionals and students
from the CPC have benefited from
Wyn’s wisdom in the field.
2003
KFUPM Adjunct Professor.
In 2000 Wyn commenced
teaching Undergraduates
on an honorary basis at
King Fahad University of
Petroleum and Minerals.
In 2003 he began teaching
Masters students and was made
Adjunct Professor the same year.
In 2010 Wyn became teacher and
advisor in the Earth Sciences PhD
program.
2008
Biosteering horizontal
wells for enhanced gas
production in the Khuff C
reservoir.
Wyn pioneered, tested and
perfected the technique of using
micro-biocomponents in thin
sections prepared at rigsite, to
guide drilling in narrow bore
wells. He then initiated a training
program in which 23 Saudi young
professionals have been equipped
to do the job, and have collectively
biosteered 56 wells and over 165
laterals, providing significantly
increased gas flow in most cases.
Dr. Geraint
Wyn Hughes
Micropaleontologist | Stratigrapher
Saudi Aramco (1991-2013)
Saudi Life: Dr. Geraint Wyn Hughes
17

It’s still a popular idiom within the
Saudi Aramco communities today
but few people know that it was Jim
Bennett who first used the phrase
publicly in 1945, during a motivational
address to Aramco Employee’s
Association (AEA) members. Believing
that a man with a fulfilling social
and community life would be a more
productive employee, Aramco had
specifically commissioned Mr. Bennett
“to make you an asset” by discovering
the range of each employees’ particular
recreational interests, in order to
provide a program which would make
better use of their leisure time in the
Eastern Province. The recognition of a
need for organised recreational pursuits
came in response to the growing issue
of how to keep some order and balance
in the after work hours of a rapidly
increasing number of male employees
finding themselves a long way from
home. And, as the post-war population
of families living within the Aramco
communities also grew, an even
greater need was created for a range
of activities that would appeal to their
interests too.
The first Recreational Supervisor was appointed
by Aramco in 1945, prompting an exhortation from
the Editor of the Arabian Sun that “It is up to every
person here to get as much enjoyment as he possibly
can”. The AEA was also tasked with motivating the
workforce to get involved and support the move to
make things happen in a more community-oriented
way. Although the AEA. had been formed in the early
Field Days for the purpose of running a canteen, its
main purpose evolved to become the promotion and
sponsorship of recreational and social events that
would contribute towards creating community life
in Dhahran, Ras Tanura and (eventually) the other
communities. The aim was to afford social and
economic lives for its members, as comparable as
possible to those they had left at home.
“A satisfied man is
an asset to Aramco.”
Words Alison Hooker
The need for a change in emphasis to more organised
recreation is well illustrated by a report in the Arabian
Sun, regarding an AEA Formal Dance in October
1945. Following complaints that bachelors might be
excluded due to their over-exuberant behaviors at
previous events, this was the response:
“To make a dance a nice affair it would be impossible
to tolerate a lot of boisterous loud activity, saturated
with tag and robber dances, so … this dance will be a
program affair, and those admitted will be attired in a
white shirt and white pants (pardon, trousers)... act like
a gentleman and you’re in. If that policy is carried out,
I’m sure everyone will have a good time…”
The AEA experienced an uncertain start to
its new task, with officers apparently ill-fitted
for their positions or too busy with work, and a
major constitutional challenge regarding whether
dependent wives should be allowed to become full
members of the AEA (subsequent lively discussions
between AEA officers and the ladies of the
community resulted instead in the establishment
of the Dhahran Women’s Club, which went on
to become the Dhahran Women’s Group). By the
beginning of 1946, however, the AEA was a more
focused group and developments began to gain
pace. The Clubhouse was soon showing strain from
numbers using it for Bingo and Bridge, Cribbage
and Pool tournaments; clubs included Baseball and
Softball, Chess, Billiards, Volleyball, Swimming,
Fishing and the Theater Group, and discussions were
in play regarding horse riding and the ownership and
improvement of the golf course.
By 1952, the joint efforts of the Recreation Division,
AEA and the increasing numbers of Self-Directed
Groups promoting specific interests and activities,
meant that 75% of daily community recreational
activities in the residential camps were being
conducted by volunteer personnel and self-directed
groups. The fabric of community life began to be
enhanced by an ever-evolving Annual Calendar of
public events, festivals and SDG Shows, tournaments
and celebrations, which in turn contributed to a
strengthened sense of community identity and
Looking Back: ‘A Satisfied Man is an Asset to Aramco’
18

belonging. These are practices that continue to enrich
the lives of Aramcons today.
Like any healthily growing community, from the
early years Aramco developed its own unique
events and activities that marked the changing
seasons and reflected the cultural demographic
of the communities. Many of these events were
sponsored by the AEA (later the SAEA), but there
were also significant annual occasions staged by the
self-directed groups, but open to non-members to
attend. Some of these still continue today, such as
the Art Show, Quilt Show, Soap Box Derby, and the
Sailing Regattas, as well as events conceived in more
recent years, like ‘Crikite’, ‘Buccaneer Beach Day’,
‘Rosie’s Run’ and the ‘Biker’s Rally’, which all now
hold regular slots in the annual Aramco community
diaries. Some events have evolved from being the
domain of self-directed groups into something much
grander, such as the Dhahran Flower Show. This
was for many years organised by the DWG, then
the Garden Group, and in recent times has become
a spectacularly colorful day out staged by Saudi
Aramco’s Gardening Division.
Some of the most unique early Aramco events and
traditions were associated with holiday occasions
such as July 4th, reflecting the intrinsic need of
the (then) dominantly North American expatriate
communities to celebrate the festivals of their home
culture. This was at a time when the long journey
required for home leave might only be undertaken
once every two years. With so many expatriate
children arriving in the communities, parents,
too, were eager for opportunities to keep alive the
traditions of home.
Two notable early Aramco annual traditions were the
New Year Waajid Bowl football game, and the July 4th
celebrations that were held throughout the residential
communities.
During the 1950s, many celebrated the New Year
with attendance at the Waajid Bowl, an American
Football game modeled on the annual Pasadena Rose
Bowl (‘Waajid’ was Arabic slang for ’plenty’). Three
touch football teams were formed in 1949 to compete
in a local league – the Dhahran Bears, populated by
Aramco employees; the Tigers, who were Officers
of the US Air Force, Dhahran; and the Eagles, who
were US Air Force NCOs. It is interesting to note that
the average age of the Dhahran teams was 34, as
opposed to 24 for the Forces teams, and yet the Bears
dominated the league over the years. As facilities
available for the game were different in size to those
in the USA, a volunteer Executive committee drew up
rules for the Dhahran situation, and an Association
was formed to supply officials and make decisions in
case of protests.
These special events helped to lay foundations for
the vibrant community life experienced in today’s
thriving and successful Aramco communities.
4th of July party - the donkey races stirred plenty of enthusiasm and
something less than Eddie Arcaro saddle manship. Dhahran, July 3, 1955
19

The inaugural Waajid Bowl, held on January 1st 1950
at 2.15pm in the King’s Road Stadium, was won by the
Bears, who trumped the Tigers by 20-12. The Sun and
Flare of January 5th, 1950, recorded that “Assembled
in the grandstands were many notables from all
Districts here to witness for the first time a touch of
stateside play with all the fan-fare… It was a swell
game!” This “fan-fare” included the presiding over of
the Bowl game by a queen and her court, elected by
community vote at the AEA New Year’s Eve function
the night before the event. The first Queen was Miss
Maxine McPhail of the Medical Department and the
other six entrants all became her entourage. They
lead the procession into the stadium, providing added
glamour to the occasion.
During 1950, two more teams were included in the
league – the Abqaiq Giants and the Ras Tanura
Blue Devils, and in the 1951 Waajid Bowl, the Bears
beat the Giants by 25 – 6 before a crowd of more
than 1200 spectators. A delightful story in the Sun
and Flare of January 3rd describes how “the three
Waajid Bowl queens were late in arriving but at
last fire Chief Barney Robertson’s car drove up with
sirens screaming. Close behind Barney’s car was
Bud Stewart, affable chairman of the Queen contest.
Bud announced that the judges had been unable to
select a single Queen and judiciously elected all three
participants. The trio of queens was Gen Stelter,
Marsha Naylor and Dolores Cooney. Bud explained he
had been delayed because he lost one of the Queens
en route,the first time he had ever thrown away one of
three of a kind. The two queens were seated in their
place of honor and the game was ready to begin.”
The Queens of the Waajid Bowl continued to be
crowned at the AEA New Year’s Party throughout
the 1950s, with often over one thousand votes being
cast and counted. Most years the Derby was decided
between the Dhahran Bears and the USAF Tigers,
with the Bears having the most success. The last
Bowl event appears to have been that held in 1958.
July 4th was another important anniversary
celebrated in grand style through to the late 1970s,
with activities organised and co-ordinated by the
AEA and reflecting the dominance of the American
expatriate culture. In 1945, we have a record of a
fairly modestly planned celebration at the Dhahran
swimming pool area, reflecting the heat of the season,
followed by a water volleyball game, swimming races,
a steak barbecue, a diving exhibition and dancing.
The program of the next year reflected the significant
influx of families into the Dhahran community: a
formal dance was held on the evening of July 3rd, and
activities of the 4th included an extensive Children’s
Water Carnival, a swimming carnival, a Barbecue,
Beauty Contest and a Comic Costume Softball game.
In subsequent years, all sorts of races involving
Aramco football games always drew a large crowd
Employees and families at Ras Tanura
Community Barbecue 1950s
20

all the family became the norm, including cracker
races, turtle races, donkey races, egg throwing,
kite-flying and pie-eating contests, three-legged and
sack races. Other activities included comic diving,
camel rides, tug-o-war, patriotic singing, costume
shows, decorated bicycles and best jeep contests.
The barbecue was always a highlight and a popular
party food was watermelons. Originally donated from
the King’s gardens, they featured in many eating
contests.
Mildred Webster’s diary describes the lively
celebrations of 1954 thus: “The Aramco Employees
Association planned a gala day on our Thursday
afternoon off and were joined by Little League
Baseball boys group, Hobby Farm, Women’s Group,
Scouts, Golf Club, Youth Recreation, three airlines,
and others.
The Midway had many booths including: Voice
Recording, Turtle Races, Camel Rides and photos,
Horse Races (Shipboard Type), Cotton Candy, Spill
the Bottles, Fortune Teller, Pea Booth, Penny Pitch,
Pleasure Time Miniature Railways, Photo Shop, Ice
Cream Booth, Coney Island Hot Dogs, Pop Corn,
Hamburgers, Dart Throw, Nail Driving, Ladies’ Bingo,
Safety and Fire Prevention, three airline booths,
Fish Pond, Donkey Rides, Golf Pitch, Cake Sale, Pie
Eating Contest, Cracker Eating Contest, Rolling
Pin Throwing, Egg Throwing, Baby Show, Free
Watermelon, Monte Carlo, Dancing and a Chorale
Singing period.
The Midway was opened at 1 p.m. and the main start
was a parade of fire trucks, Air Force crash trucks,
Girl Scout Float, and 45 horses from the Hobby Farm
with riders as Indians, Cowboys and girls, etc. “
Over the course of the 1970s, ‘July 4’ was dropped in
Dhahran in favor of just ‘patio picnic’, and the picnics
then evolved into events, such as Concerts on the
Patio, with larger patriotic activities moving to the US
Consulate premises. Abqaiq continued to host large
community July 4th celebrations well into the late
1970s.
The Ras Tanura July 4th celebrations in 1946
included an activity that fast became an Aramco
favorite – donkey racing! First held in January 1946
in RT, this novel sport went on to generate much
interest from all the communities.“The thud and
pounding of hoofs as the animals leave the barrier,
the sudden hush as they make the far turn, then the
build-up as the donkeys jockey for position in the
back stretch, and “here they come” as they enter
the home stretch….an uncanny quietness, then the
yells, a flash of colour, and a winner is declared.
Tickets thrown forcibly to the ground, the radio
blaring the winner, excitement for the one’s around
the cashier’s window….stillness, and we start all
over again.” Arabian Sun & Flare Dec 30, 1946
Reflecting local color, the races were named to
exercise the imagination of the race-goers, and
were branded such as the Commissary Handicap,
the Al Khobar Sprint, the Ras Tanura Derby and the
Manama ½ mile, with the donkeys sporting names
such as ‘Synthetic Gas’, ‘Refinery’, ’Black Gold’,
‘Barge Boss’, ‘Crude’, ’Long Shot Chance’, ‘Derrick’
and ‘the Flare’. Everyone in the community had the
opportunity to participate in the men’s, women’s and
children’s races, and they certainly became a local
tradition, featuring in most of the big community
festivals for many years.
Mildred Webster described the races enthusiastically
in her diary of 1946: “In the afternoon they had the
Turf Club Donkey Races! It was a scream! Little Arab
donkeys. They had the betting booth, the judges’
stand and rack and umbrellas all over the bleachers
where we sat. It was on the baseball diamond and
awfully cute. There are two women’s races and
several men’s – a fat man’s race, etc. One man was
disqualified for having a bottle of Tabasco under his
saddle.”
With true Aramco ingenuity, donkeys also featured as
mounts in crowd-pleasing games of Donkey Polo and
Donkey Softball, some of which were even played in
costume on the Sandy Meadows beside the sea in Ras
Tanura or on a site near the Greenhouse at the end of
16th Street in Dhahran. Spawning teams with names
including the ‘Sufferin’ Serfs’, ‘Feeny Terrors’ and
‘Snappy Dragons’, this popular form of entertainment
continued until the end of the 1960s, sometimes
pitting teams of vacationing students against adults
or one company department against another.
These special events helped to lay foundations for
the vibrant community life experienced in today’s
thriving and successful Aramco communities. Events
and festivals continue to evolve creatively in response
to changing recreational interests and employee
demographics, but the basic fabric of community
life remains firmly rooted in the principles of
volunteerism, sharing of time, talents and resources,
and the motivation to get as much enjoyment as
possible from the whole experience of living and
working in Saudi Arabia.
Community life features in the new Permanent exhibit
at the Community Heritage Gallery in Dhahran, where
Alison Hooker currently works as a Writer/Researcher.
Excerpts from The Webster Diaries are used with
permission from their grandson, Ken Slavin.
21

Arabian Knights
Looking Back: The King’s Man
22

With The King’s good offices, Harry
had prospered in his business
ventures and was proprietor of The
Ford Motor Company franchise
in Jeddah. He owned a house
in Riyadh, given to him by Ibn
Saud and a beautiful Saudi wife
named Rozy. The early part of this
marriage was touched by sadness
when two sons, Fahad and Sultan,
both tragically died during infancy.
Apart from this heartbreak, Harry
had everything he wanted, except
the exchange of ideas he’d so
delighted in with Ibn Saud. Now,
with idle time on his hands, he
set about undoing his material
good fortune with the same
quick-tempered vim he’d applied
to undoing the political ambitions
of his British masters. Harry
dismantled the Saudi royal family’s
affection and turned it to cynicism
and jealousy. His critical nature and
inability to keep his tongue were to
prove his undoing at court, where
the royals who succeeded Ibn
Saud were not as forgiving of his
personality as their father.
The King’s Man 3
The Final Curtain
Words Mel Trotter
After his death, Ibn Saud still orchestrated the conclusion
of his relationship with Harry Philby.
About this time, his English son
Kim appeared over the horizon. As
a Russian spy, Kim was to become
even more famous than his father,
and displayed many of the traits
inherited from Harry, but with much
more self-discipline. Kim knew how
to keep sensitive information close
to his chest and was in the picture
because he knew the secret that
Harry kept from everyone in his
English family – Kim alone knew
about his Saudi wife, Rozy. In the
long-term, this confidence in his
English son proved a blessing for
Harry’s Saudi family. During the
years immediately after World War
2, while Harry remained in Saudi
Arabia, Kim flourished as a secret
intelligence agent. Unlike his father
who was entranced by the stark
beauty of the Arabian Peninsula,
Kim wrote that he found the land
alien, bleak and unbeautiful (My
Silent War). However, this didn’t
affect his gallant behaviour towards
his two Saudi half-brothers after
Harry’s death.
By 1953, Harry’s days at court
were numbered and in April
1955 he was exiled to Lebanon.
In Beirut, he met up with Kim
and the two lived together for a
time. Kim was now employed as
an informer by the British Secret
Service and posed as a journalist,
with the assignment to spy on
his father and the Americans; he
was also a Soviet double agent.
Unwittingly, Harry Philby helped
his son by introducing him to an
extensive network of contacts in
the Middle East. While Kim spied,
Harry continued his writing but
increasingly exaggerated his own
grand self-image. In his book,
Forty Years in the Wilderness, he
says, “I have lived in a setting
which until quite recently was the
very stage on which the greats of
the past, like Abraham and Moses,
played their part, as I have played
mine.” And without doubt Harry
was treated as a celebrity by the
elite members of Beirut society; a
city used by every major power as
a sounding board for the nuances
23

of international politics. He loved his iconic status and Kim gained
credibility with major political players through his father’s good offices.
Both played their part in Beirut’s never ending game of espionage. Then
in October 1956, out of the blue, King Saud called Harry back to Riyadh
to resume his place on the Privy Council. He took his Arab family with
him, leaving Kim behind in Beirut living in an apartment in the Muslim
quarter of the city, where he remained working as a double agent until
he defected to Moscow. The key players on the stage of international
politics changed dramatically after Harry’s return to Saudi Arabia.
Following the failed attempt by Britain, France and Israel to capture the
Suez Canal, the Baghdad pact to prevent the Russians from entering the
Middle East collapsed, much to Harry’s pleasure. In turn, the policies of
the USA changed to fill the power vacuum this left and battle it out with
the Soviet political machine. It accelerated the end of the British Empire
and Whitehall began to dismantle the apparatus of civil rule from its
imperialist past.
For Harry Philby, the blessing of change was short-lived, because now
he was faced with American power brokers who acted as advisors in
the Saudi court. His political life on the Privy Council was at an end and
he fell foul of King Saud again. Saud agreed Harry could keep his house
in Riyadh and come and go from the Kingdom as he wished, providing
he kept silent on politics. The Americans were now fashionable and the
British out of favour. Harry recognised his political life was finished and
the British Empire coming to an end.
On the spur-of-the-moment Harry decided he wanted to make peace
with his British wife, Dora, and set off to England in April 1957 to see her.
In a telegram to Dora sent from Damascus on the 27th of June 1957, he
wrote that he was well on his way home and travelled to Beirut the next
day to be met by his English son. There, in the Hotel Normandie, Kim
told him that Dora had died two days before. After years of neglecting
her, and raising a second Saudi family, Harry was not able to make his
farewells to the woman he married in India, a memsahib from the old
British Empire. Most of the letters from Dora to her husband vanished
when Harry took them with him to England to settle her meagre
possessions. But she wrote one last note to him before she died that
reflected the loneliness and despair from her marriage... “No mourning.
No garden of remembrance, no in memoriams.”
In the late 1950s the politics of the region were in flux once again
and Kim actively used the priceless contacts of his father in pursuit
of intelligence activities. While Harry shuttled to and from Jeddah,
Kim travelled extensively across the Middle East under his cover as a
journalist to gauge changes in power and report to his masters. Beirut
always served as their base for meeting but Kim was becoming more
and more nervous at the suspicions of his British intelligence controllers.
Harry’s death was not far away and Kim’s defection to Moscow would
follow within a few years.
The Final Curtain
Death came suddenly for Harry in September 1960, during a final visit
to Kim in Beirut. It was their last worldly meeting. Harry suffered two
heart attacks and with his son at his bedside, he reportedly exclaimed,
“God, I’m bored”, and died. He was buried by the sheikh of the Bashoura
mosque under his Muslim name, Haji Abdullah almost immediately
afterwards in the Muslim cemetery in the Basta quarter of Beirut. The
diary of John Slade-Baker who was present at the ceremony recorded
24

(September 30th, 1960) that: “The whole ceremony was simple and very
quick almost as though they were burying a peasant instead of one of the
leading Orientalists in the world.”
It was left to Kim to provide for his Saudi half-brothers and, in November
1960, he went to Riyadh to settle his father’s estate. Aramco’s Research
department had stored Harry’s valuable collection of papers at their
main base in Dhahran. Kim negotiated the sale of this library to Aramco
for the sum of $10,000 which he settled on his half-brothers Khalid
and Faris. This was an act of unselfish generosity by a dissolute man
who eventually became reviled as Britain’s most treacherous double
agent. Later, in 1972, Aramco exhibited great kindness by returning
the complete library to Great Britain at no cost. There are 89 boxes of
papers that can be found today at the Middle East Centre, St Antony’s
College, Oxford University. It is an indication of Harry Philby’s prodigious
linguistic skills that they are written in English, Latin, French, German,
Arabic, Persian and Urdu.
To the Saud dynasty Harry became a non-person and his Arab sons
abandoned his name in Saudi Arabia. Perhaps Khalid and Faris had
children of their own and the Philby family has multiplied. We don’t
know whether Harry’s intelligence, belligerence and curiosity have
been inherited, but we do know he was a pivotal figure in the shaping
of modern Saudi Arabia. We certainly know Harry was both enthralled
by, and faithful to, the charismatic King Ibn Saud. Kim had his father’s
headstone inscribed – “Greatest of all Arabian Explorers.” It might also
have read that in life and death, he was always, ”The King’s Man.”
Postscript
Anwar Lamel worked at The Hotel Normandie in Beirut and served Harry
Philby for many years, when he was a resident of the hotel. Over that
time as an admirer and confidant, he accumulated volumes of papers and
pictures from Harry (and some from Kim) which he kept in a scrapbook.
The author of The King’s Man spent countless sessions with Anwar,
discussing Harry St. John Bridger Philby and Kim, and pouring over this
correspondence. Today, the scrapbook, Hotel Normandie and Anwar are
long gone but his stories linger fresh in my mind. One striking memory is
that the admiration he accorded to Harry was exceeded only by the lack
of esteem he felt for Kim. When Anwar was asked to evaluate father and
son in greatness, he measured them as: “An Ocean to a Pond.”
Editor’s Note:
Mel Trotter lived in Dhahran in the ‘70’s and flew Royal, corporate, Tapline
and exploration work. He was a pilot in the Aviation Department – believed
to be the first English one with Aramco. A writer and executive coach, he
now lives in Cheshire. Mel’s latest novel ‘The Orphan Sniper’ is available in
paperback and Kindle at the Amazon store. He can be contacted
through his business website at www.humanriskfactors.com.
Power Shift. Lbn Saud and Roosevelt
The Americans were now
fashionable and the British
out of favour.
25

The Arabian Gulf is one of the most
productive marine ecosystems in the
world, and its rich coral reefs have
always provided a diverse habitat for
local marine life to thrive.
But this relationship is now in danger. Rising sea
surface water temperatures have killed many corals
throughout the region, seriously impacting reef
structure and reef biodiversity.
Saudi Aramco’s Environmental Protection
Department (EPD), through its sustaining research
program with The King Fahd University of Petroleum
and Minerals (KFUPM), has been monitoring the fate
of corals in the Gulf over many decades, and is rising
to the challenge of lost reef habitat. EPD is embarking
upon a major reef restoration program throughout the
north-western Arabian Gulf. With 60 sights already
identified, EPD is planning to submerge constructed
artificial reef habitats that are set to act as nursery
habitats for corals and reef-associated biodiversity.
“Over the last couple of decades there has been a lot
of impact on corals from natural events,” said Dr. Ron
Loughland from EPD.
“This has mostly been to do with sea surface
temperature rises. The Arabian Gulf corals were in
good shape up to about 1996, but then there were two
incidents that changed the game,” Loughland said.
He is referring to higher than average seasonal sea
surface temperature rises that have impacted on
many corals as deep as 12m.
In the Arabian Gulf, the summer surface water
temperature is usually higher than the subsurface water.
This is known as a thermocline, where there are distinct
water temperature changes with depth. Below the
warmer surface layer is where most of the corals grow.
A combination of extreme sea surface temperatures
and increased summer wind velocities resulted in a
disruption of the thermocline, with warmer surface
waters being mixed to greater depths where the corals
exist. This caused widespread bleaching, the death of
corals and the eventual collapse of many reef systems.
Feature Story: Saving our Reefs
Saving
Our
ReefsWords Jamsheed Din
26

By drilling into the massive dead corals and looking
at the coral growth rings, researchers were able to
look back in time at the water temperatures and their
variation over the last few centuries in the Arabian
Gulf. Analysis of the coral growth rings indicated
that the summer and winter temperatures of the
water around the reefs, going back 380 years, had
not reached the temperatures observed from 1996
onwards. The data indicated that such high sea
surface temperatures hadn’t occurred around these
corals during this 400-year period.
“The reefs serve as a habitat for countless species –
when they collapse there is no longer any structure –
so it’s a big issue for marine biodiversity,” commented
Loughland.
“We can’t do much about the temperature rises
and occasional disruption of the thermocline,” he
observed. “But what we can do is put the structure
back – and that’s exactly what EPD are doing.”
The methodology is based on ecological principles.
Create the right environment and conditions, and
many of the organisms that thrived on the reefs will
return – that means constructing durable artificial
reef habitats to be lowered into the sea.
The scientific research and groundwork for the project
has been comprehensive and precise. Phase one of
the project saw EPD identifying areas in the Arabian
Gulf where corals could exist. This involved recording
temperature, sediment content, light infiltration,
proximity to other reefs and water quality criteria.
The results helped EPD to develop a map for
establishing suitable sites for artificial reef colonies.
Divers and marine ecologists were dispatched to
verify the suitability of the selected locations.
In all, 60 sites have been identified as being suitable,
and most are situated in the northern areas. With
the scientific groundwork now in place, phase two of
the project will kick-in, which involves designing the
reefs to attract fish and other reef species.
27

Getting the design right is the
make or break factor for the
program. “We came up with a
design that had independent
colonies so no one species of fish
can dominate. We want different
kinds of fish and reef organisms to
thrive,” said Loughland.
“Reefs are of different sizes and
designs, at Abu Ali Island the
design we have incorporates many
different reef modules and has
different complexities. It is going
to be the test site – and we will
monitor it for a year and see what
aspect of the reef modules works
best, we can then roll out a final
design across all the other sites.
“We don’t want to put all our eggs
in one basket which is why we are
taking a very methodical approach
and testing the design first,” added
Loughland. “We are planning for
these structures to be in place for
two to three hundred years, so it’s
important to get it right.”
Abu Ali Island is ideally located as
a test location. Positioned halfway
between the most northern and
southern sites, it will receive the
first largest and most complex
prototype reef. The remaining
sites will initially also go through
a test phase with a single reef
module being established to gauge
the sites’ long-term suitability.
All productive sites will then
receive larger and more complex
reef colonies, based on a design
derived from the Abu Ali Island
results.
Phase three of the project will
involve long-term monitoring
of the new reefs, with detailed
analysis and recording of coral
recolonization and associated
increases in biodiversity.
History of research
For more than 40 years, Saudi
Aramco has been involved in
marine research with the Research
Institute at KFUPM. Part of this
research has involved monitoring
coral reefs along the Kingdom’s
shores. Collaboration pays off.
With data on the Arabian Gulf’s
reefs going back to 1976, EPD was
able to track and spot the changes
and health decline in the coral
reefs. With its finger on the pulse,
it was able to spring into action.
“It’s like a doctor observing
a medical patient,” observed
Loughland. “If the patient is being
monitored and his health declines
then the doctors intervene – that’s
exactly what we’re doing.
“Others in the region don’t have
access to data that goes that far
back – the fact that we started our
research some time ago indicates
the company’s commitment and
the importance and real value of
research and data collection; this
is a great example.”
And for Loughland, the whole
project, like many others carried
out by EPD, is another example of
the company leading by example.
“This is all part of our desire to be
good stewards of the environment.
Our mangrove campaign focuses
on coastal restoration and this
project is geared towards marine
restoration. We’ll do whatever it
takes to protect and enhance the
productive marine environment of
the Gulf, as it is vital for the future
wealth and food security of the
Kingdom.”
Summary
The Arabian Gulf’s coral reefs are
in danger, due to rising sea surface
water temperatures. The results
for the local ecosystem could be
devastating.
Saudi Aramco’s Environmental
Protection Department is
embarking upon a major reef
restoration program across 60
already identified sites in the
north-western Arabian Gulf.
With initial research completed,
phase two of the project is set to
begin and involves designing the
reefs to attract fish and other reef
species.
28

Why are coral reefs so important?
These marine underwater structures are made of deposits
of calcium carbonate secreted over centuries from marine
animals. They are often called the “rainforests of the sea”
and are some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth.
They occupy less than 0.1% of the world’s ocean, about half
the area of France, yet they provide a home for 25% of the
planet’s marine species.
The coral reefs of the Arabian Gulf have some unique
features. Among them is the fact they are made up of coral
species that can withstand wide fluctuations in water
temperature (both cool winters and warm summers).
Despite their resilience, the Gulf reefs were impacted
severely during the extreme sea surface temperature
surges experienced from 1996 and 1998. For a while,
the skeletons of these corals remained in place, but
were increasingly covered with filamentous algae and
gradually collapsed and disintegrated. Coral reefs
are crucial for local fisheries, marine biodiversity and
shoreline protection. Their long-term survival is in
everyone’s interest.
29

With the onset of the summer vacation and the pressure put upon me by my grandkids to visit India, where we
would meet relatives and visit the family mango orchard in Kithore Meerut, I began the arduous process of applying
for visas to visit India. I applied for a total of eleven family members, including my wife Zohra Iqbal, daughters Dr.
Kiran A. Rehman and Erum Imran, their kids Habib Ur Rehman, Mariam A. Rehman and Zoya and Zara Imran, my
sister-in-law Mrs. Shabana A. Hameed, and her kids Umair A. Hameed and Yasir A. Hameed. As Pakistanis, our
requirements for getting visas to India are substantial and we would only be permitted to visit a few cities.
We chose Delhi and Meerut.
A Visit to theWords Iqbal Ahmed Khan
There are several ways to get to India from Pakistan. We could go by
train, bus, air or foot. As the kids had never flown on an airplane, I
decided they should have the exhilarating experience of traveling by air.
We flew by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) from Karachi to Delhi on
June 17, 2013, and stayed one week in Delhi, visiting many places. The
kids especially enjoyed the Delhi Zoo where we welcomed a nice shower
of rain.
Following our stay in Delhi, we went to Meerut, my birthplace and home
to my in-laws. We have many relatives in Meerut. There were family
functions hosted from one family house to the next. Each function was a
reunion, where all the kids were introduced to their relatives. It was very
enjoyable for everyone to meet and spend time together.
After a few days in Meerut, we arranged a trip to the family mango
orchard, which is situated about 25km outside of Meerut City in a town
called Kithore. Here another reunion of close relatives was hosted. There
had been an electrical power problem in Pakistan and we learned that
the same was true in India. However, we were fortunate that on this
day the power to the orchard was working, and we ran the electric tube
well that powered the water pool. The kids really had fun at the mango
orchard. We all enjoyed fresh, cold mangoes, followed by lunch, before
heading back to Meerut.
During my stay in Meerut, I had the pleasure of visiting several historical
national monuments. I am grateful to my Saudi Aramco ex-employee and
friend, Mr. Shahid Hussain, and my cousin, Engr. Reyaz Ahmed, who
devoted their time to transporting me around and sharing the history of
the city of Meerut.
Feature Story: A Visit to the Subcontinent
1
2
30

Subcontinent
The Historical City of Meerut
The town of Meerut has about five thousand years of
long ancient history, where Hindu religious wars were
fought. The town of Meerut is situated north of India,
about 72kms from New Delhi, the capital of India.
After the advent of Islam and the Muslim emperor’s rule of Turkey, Iran
and Afghanistan about a thousand years ago, the Muslim population
surged into India, as well as the town of Meerut. Now Meerut has a
population of over two million – 45% are Muslim and 55% Hindu, Sikh
and Christian.
In Meerut City there are several types of industries. The sports industry
has grown quickly in the last decade with sporting goods being
exported around the world.
In Meerut City there are two main Muslim monuments, which I will
describe.
Jama Masjid (Mosque)
The Jama Mosque of town Meerut was built by a Muslim
King of India, Sultan Nasir Uddin Mehmood, son of King
Altamash, in the year Hijri 647, corresponding to 1249
C.E.
Sultan Nasir Uddin Mehmood was a noble and pious Muslim King. He used
to earn his livelihood by sewing and knitting caps. He never took the money
for himself from the Royal coffers.
Jama Mosque is built on a tiny hillock, which is still the highest place in
Meerut. It has a huge courtyard and a big dome with two tall minarets. Jama
Mosque has the most unique Muslim architecture of anywhere in the world.
To reach the top of the minarets you climb circling stairs inside the structure
and there is a fine view of Meerut City from the top.
The old walled city was encircled by seven huge gates. These were: Delhi
Gate, Budhana Gate, Baghpat Gate, Kamboh Gate, Khair Nagar Gate,
Shorab Gate and Shah Peer Gate. Now there remains only four gates. The
other three were demolished over time. Just 200 years ago, there was a
tradition of shutting the doors each night before opening them again the
next morning. During this time nobody was allowed to enter the city for
safety reasons.
3
4
31

Tomb of Shah Peer
Shah Peer Sahib’s tomb was constructed by the Moghul
Empress Noor Jehan, the favorite wife of Moghul
Emperor Jahangir, son of Emperor Akbar. The tomb was
built in honor of Shah Peer Sahib.
The tomb has no roof and its building is constructed by red stone, which
is embellished with fine paintings and masonry work. Moghul emperors
especially used to construct the royal buildings and monuments with red
stones, which give them their own unique style and beauty that is very
difficult to describe in words. Other examples of red stone construction
are Jama Mosque of Delhi, Red Fort of Delhi, Red Fort of Agra, a famous
city of UP India where the Taj Mahal is located, and the famous Shahi
Mosque of Lahore, Pakistan.
The tomb of Shah Peer is listed as a National Heritage Monument by the
Archaeological Survey of India.
Moghul Empress Noor Jehan’s real name was Mehur-un-Nisa. She was
born in 1597 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Her father, Etmad-Ud-Daulah,
was a prominent Minister in the Royal Court of Moghul Emperors. His
mausoleum is in Lahore, Pakistan.
Deoband
Speaking of mosques, it is only fair that I write a few
lines about Deoband, a city not far from Meerut. As I
could not visit the place due to visa problems, I must
share with you the details that were provided to me
by Mr. Shahid Hussain’s son-in-law, Mr. Kamal Ahmed
Siddiqui, who is a resident of Deoband.
Deoband, a sub-district Saharanpur, Uttar Perdesh (UP) India, has its
ancient Hindu history dating back a few thousand years. After the
advent of Islam in India, the Muslims also settled at Deoband. The town
Deoband has a population ratio of around 40% Muslim and 60% Hindu.
Within the town of Deoband, there is a famous Islamic University called
Darul-Uloom Deoband, which is ranked second after Al-Azhar University
of Cairo, Egypt.
In the town of Deoband there are numerous descendants of the first and
third Caliphs of Islam, Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddiq RAA and Hazrat Usman
Ghani RAA. Consecutively, the father-in-law and the son-in-law of the
last Messenger of Islam, Hazrat Mohammad, SAWA, peace be upon him.
In the town of Deoband, the huge, spacious and splendid Rasheediyah
Mosque was built a decade ago. The mosque has fine Muslim
architecture. The front gate is tall and beautiful.
5
6
32

Iftar Dinner at Shahid Husain’s Place
The Holy Month of Ramadan began while I was in
Meerut. My old friend and Saudi Aramco ex-employee,
Shahid Hussain, who lives in Meerut invited myself and
my cousin, Shiri Pervez Halim, to an Iftar Dinner.
It was wonderful seeing Shahid Hussain again after seven months. We
last met in Karachi in December 2012 when Shahid Hussain was visiting
his relatives in Pakistan. There are some delicious dishes during the
month of Ramadan, which you will never enjoy during any other time
of the year. Mrs. Shahid Hussain prepared very delicious dishes for us
and we both enjoyed it very much. We congratulated Shahid Hussain
for becoming a grandfather of Master Saalif Siddiqui, the son of his only
daughter Bushra, who was married to Kamal Ahmed Siddiqui who lived
in Deoband.
Images on previous page
1. Delhi Zoo
2. Family Reunion
3. Iqbal Khan enjoying the fresh mangoes
with his cousin Nadeem Khan
4. Relaxing in the shade
Images on these pages
5. Jama Masjid (Mosque)
6. The mango grove
7. Cooling off by racing in the pool
7
33

While some may view
their yard as a source
of endless labor, others
perceive it as a canvas.
Mary Cooper, a Dhahran
resident, strives to make
her garden aesthetically
attractive while
minimising maintenance.
DHAHRAN — Coming from an
arts background, Mary Cooper’s
inspiration for her garden’s design
comes from the paintings of bones
by Georgia O’Keeffe, an American
female artist from the mid-20th
century. Cooper used a bleached
Saudi Life: The Art of Desert Gardening
pelvis bone to centre her garden,
similar to O’Keeffe’s paintings.
Using materials that are not plants,
such as bricks and sculptures
to beautify the garden, is called
hard landscaping. These elements
add an interesting visual effect to
otherwise empty space, and they
have no trouble enduring the heat
and sunrays of the Kingdom.
With Cooper’s favorite art
medium being watercolors,
she likes to juxtapose elements
with contrasting colors, e.g.
the contrasting orange Dahna
sand and green Japanese grass
accentuates the borders around
the plants.
Cooper is not the first gardener
in her family. Her mother, Anne
W. Olmsted, was well-known
in Wisconsin, with people from
across the State coming to see her
garden in Wauwatosa.
That garden was special for
Cooper and she still has fond
memories of it. “I remember
walking along (the pathway), my
hand touching the large rhubarb
leaves with drops of water on
them, bending over and looking
at the delicate ‘bleeding hearts’
or just enjoying the mass of
‘forget-me-nots’ blooming next
to our patio,” she said. Today,
gardening remains one of Cooper’s
hobbies because it allows her “to
be outside, working with living
plants, arranging them, sticking
my (her) fingers in the earth and
watching the plants grow.”
Texas experienced a 15-year
drought while Cooper was living
there, and it was then that she was
first exposed to water-efficient
gardening techniques. However,
The Art of
Desert GardeningWords Musherf Alamri
1
34

Saudi Life: The Art of Desert Gardening
1. Cooper keeps more fragile
plants, like this white flower
of Plumeria (commonly called
Frangipani), in the shade.
2. Mary Cooper of Dhahran
poses in front of her yard. The
Aramcon especially enjoys
gardening because it allows
her to be outside, working with
living plants and digging her
hands into the earth.
3. Cooper uses juxtaposing
elements with contrasting
colors — likes the orange
Dahna sand and green grass
— to accentuate the borders
around plants.
4. The desert rose, a cluster of
crystals formed from gypsum
under the ground and found
near the Arabian Gulf, is a hard
landscape element.
5. A pelvis bone centres the
garden. This inspiration came
from Georgia O’Keeffe’s view
that bones represent “the
eternal beauty” of the desert.
6. A close up look at a cactus in
Mary’s garden.
it was in Dhahran that she started
experimenting with desert
landscaping.
“(I just looked) around to see which
gardens worked all year round
in the Kingdom,” she said about
learning to do desert landscaping.
She added that the only difference
between here and Texas is that
the Eastern Province’s climate has
a change of seasons that allows
her to change some of the plants
and flowers, giving the garden a
new and a fresh look. However,
the majority of the plants in her
garden thrive all year round, such
as assorted cacti, which are well
suited to the desert climate.
While living in the Kingdom, Cooper
and her husband, Thomas F. Cooper
Jr. of the Shaybah NGL Department,
have explored the unique landscape
of Saudi Arabia. “My husband and
I have driven from here (Dhahran)
to the Red Sea, down to Najran and
back, camping all along the way.
My absolute favorite desert in Saudi
Arabia is the Dahna, with its red
sand,” she said. It is on these trips
that Cooper finds visual elements
for her garden, such as desert roses
and bones.
Those bones, O’Keefe said,
represent “the eternal beauty” of
the desert. O’Keeffe came to that
conclusion while roaming the
desert of New Mexico, in which
she found an escape from the
crowded streets of New York and
its critical community of artists.
While camping in Saudi Arabia,
Cooper is also on the lookout for
plants native to the Kingdom. She
has a few in her garden because
they add local favor and require
minimal watering. “Local plants
are happy in the simmering
heat of the summer,” she said.
Nevertheless, some imported
plants, such as Japanese grass,
thrives in the harsh climate and
only requires mowing four times
a year.
Cooper said that, despite some
people believing her garden took
much time and effort to create, her
choices are actually designed to
minimize maintenance so she can
have more free time.
2
3
4
5
6
35

Runners are
poised to race on
the new track,
as part of the
inauguration
ceremony of the
first government
school to be built
by the company in
Dammam, 1954.
Saudi Aramco
financed the
construction and
maintenance of
more than 135
schools for boys
and girls during
the program.
Capture the Moment: Running Ambitions
36

Capture the Moment: Running Ambitions
37

In Memoriam
In Memoriam
Born in Whitehaven, Cumbria,
England, Allan was the youngest
child of Alf and Annie and brother to
Jean and Margaret.
His Aramco career began in 1981
in the Field Laboratories of Abqaiq
& Udhailiyah - one of the SLOBS
(‘Southern Labs Old Boys’).
In 1983, he was assigned to
Qurayyah Seawater and five years
later he transferred to Dhahran
Laboratory where, via promotions
within his job, he went on to GC 15
and became a Chartered Chemist
of The Royal Society of Chemistry.
Allan retired from Saudi Aramco in
April 2013 as the ‘Standards Officer
for Laboratories’, where he oversaw
a state-of-the-art Research and
Development Centre in Dhahran.
He managed the design, build and
fit-out project, which now stands as
a permanent legacy of his time in
Saudi Aramco.
Jenny joined Saudi Aramco in 1981
and was assigned as Secretary to the
Manager of Abqaiq Pipelines.
During her time in Aramco, she was
a member of the Company’s Literary
Group, guiding the selection of new
books for the Library, and was an
active participant in various other
Self Direct Groups.
Many in Abqaiq/’Udhailiyah lost
a good friend when Jenny left the
Company in September 1990 and
returned to Poole, England, to look
after her parents.
In Memory of Jenny, donations may
be made to a charity of your choice.
As we sail through life, we shall
never walk alone, while we
remember Jenny.
In the 80’s and 90’s, Allan was a
member of the Dhahran Runners
and was determined to take part in
the ‘Bahrain Marathon’. For many
months, with the help of three
friends he trained for this very
arduous event and despite all that
preceded the race his determination
saw him through, completing the
very challenging marathon.
Allan was also a keen amateur golfer
and member of Dhahran Rolling Hills
Golf Club, who had good days and
bad days with his game. However,
the highlight of his game was that he
recorded ‘the first hole in one’ on a
golf course in Bahrain.
Sadly, only six weeks into his
retirement in Spain, Allan died
unexpectedly in the local hospital at
the age of 60.
Perhaps the best tribute to Allan’s
life and character is contained
within these quotes from his family
and close friends:
“He was a very loyal friend who
would go to the ends of the world to
help.”
“His family are very proud of him”.
Those we love don’t go away,
They walk beside us every day,
Unseen, unheard, but always near,
Still loved, still missed and very dear.
Jennifer Joy Layard
February 20, 1946 - June 2, 2013
Allan Birkett Fox
January 17, 1953 - July 30, 2013
38

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39

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