Saudi Aramco operates Ghawar, the world’s largest conventional oil field.
Ghawar is located in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province and extends for roughly 280 kilometers from north to south. Saudi Aramco, formally Saudi Arabian Oil Company, manages production and related petroleum operations there. Ghawar has been a central contributor to Saudi Arabia’s oil output since commercial production began in the twentieth century.
Saudi Aramco traces its origins to a 1933 concession granted to Standard Oil of California. Oil was discovered at Dammam Well No. 7 in 1938, and the company later developed into the state-controlled petroleum producer known as Saudi Aramco. Saudi Arabia completed its takeover of the company in the 1980s.
The company’s 2019 initial public offering listed shares on the Saudi Exchange. Its market value has made it one of the world’s most valuable publicly traded companies. Ghawar is sometimes called the world’s largest oil field overall, but descriptions vary depending on whether they mean conventional fields and how reserves are measured.