Which oil company operates the Ghawar field, the world's largest oil field?

Saudi Aramco operates the Ghawar field, the world’s largest known conventional oil field.

Ghawar lies in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province and stretches roughly 280 kilometres from north to south. Its scale—about 8,400 square kilometres—helped make Saudi Arabia the leading force in global oil production for decades. The field was discovered in 1948 and began producing in 1951.

Ghawar is not simply a privately held project operated by an international major. It is entirely owned and operated by Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state-run oil company. Aramco was formerly linked to the Arabian American Oil Company, but Saudi Arabia progressively nationalized the business during the 1970s and completed nationalization in 1980.

A common mix-up is confusing Ghawar with the companies that once held historical concessions in Saudi Arabia, such as Standard Oil of California or Texaco. Those companies helped develop Saudi oil before nationalization, but Saudi Aramco is the current operator. Ghawar’s discovery also predates the giant Khurais field, another major Saudi Aramco asset.