Dhahran

Dhahran (Arabic الظهران aẓ-Ẓahrān) is a city located in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, and is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Large oil reserves were first identified in the Dhahran area in 1931, and in 1935 Standard Oil of California (now Chevron Corporation) drilled the first commercially viable oil well. Standard Oil later established a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia called the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO), now fully owned by the Saudi government as Saudi Aramco. Dhahran has been Saudi Aramco's headquarters for 80 years and is its first and largest gated compound with over 9,700 residents. Aramcons, employees and dependants of Aramco, have a tendency to use Dhahran to solely refer to the Aramco camp while using Khobar and/or Dammam to refer to the area outside the camp. The Saudi Aramco Dhahran Camp makes up most of the city of Dhahran today.