Legends from the desert

We salute the skill and the knowledge of two legends of the country’s oil history: In March of 1938, the Saudi tracker and intuitive geographer Khamis bin Rimthan, who understood the desert and used the stars for navigation, helped the American chief geologist Max Steineke find the legendary Well No.7, now known as the ‘Prosperity Well.’ Rimthan’s skill was well known in the 1930s, and he was chosen to be the official guide for American geologists when the oil company asked then Emir of the Eastern Province, Abdullah Bin Jalawi, to provide them with a skilled

desert guide. At the time, Rimthan was living with his tribe in the Al-Dahna desert. He became known as “the guide of guides.” An oilfield was named after Rimthan in 1974 in recognition of his efforts, while a building in the Aramco complex is named after Steineke in recognition of his role. Here we see Steineke take a moment to rest on sand dunes in a photo dated 1935, while this iconic photo from 1955 captures Rimthan trying his hand at using the Alidade, a sighting device that allows one to see a distant object and use the line of sight to perform a task. 1967