Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi said today that the commemoration of the World Petroleum Congress of its 75th anniversary coincides with the jubilee celebration of the Kingdom's establishment of Saudi Aramco, noting that 75 years ago, upon directives of King Abdulaziz Al Saud the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed concession agreement with Standard Oil Company of California, allowing the company to explore for oil in Saudi Arabia. Then oil industry began in Saudi Arabia un-checked by outside world who could not imagine that the agreement signed on May 29, 1933 could have triggered a series of developments that would dramatically change the future of the people in the Kingdom. In a lecture on the sidelines of the World Petroleum Congress 2008, currently ongoing in Madrid, he said that the oil industry in Saudi Arabia has become an important means through which King Abdulaziz achieved his vision of turning the Kingdom into a modern country, providing a better life for its citizens and becoming what is sometimes referred to as the "economic miracle in the desert". He added that the era of oil coincides with the period in history of the world different from earlier periods of the 20th century as it was a period of unprecedented achievements in science and technology. The human mind was the source of innovations that changed the world in ways that would have been unimaginable before. He noted the role played by the oil industry in the renaissance of the 20th century in the field of transport and economy, which led to rapid improvements in living standards and personal freedom of movement. --More
