Saudi Aramco became fully owned by the Saudi Arabian government in 1980.
The company grew from an oil concession granted by Saudi Arabia to the Standard Oil Company of California in 1933. Oil was discovered commercially at Dammam Well No. 7 in 1938, and the business later became known as the Arabian American Oil Company, or Aramco.
Saudi Arabia gradually increased its ownership during the 1970s. The government reached an agreement to acquire the remaining American ownership in 1980, making Aramco fully state-owned. The company was formally renamed Saudi Aramco in 1988.
The years are often confused because 1933 marks the original concession, 1938 marks the first commercial oil discovery, and 1988 marks the modern company’s formal name. The full ownership milestone itself is 1980.