DHAHRAN -- Not long after dawn, cars and vans gather at the monument to Dammam Well No. 7 on a road that leads into Dhahran. The site is the place where in March 1938 a significant oil find proved to be the first step of Saudi Arabia's march to become the world's leading producer and exporter.
But on this morning the well site marks one of the first steps for a group of young Saudis who will become the Kingdom's geologists and geophysicists of tomorrow.
As part of Saudi Aramco's College Degree Program for Non-Employees (CDPNE), some of the brightest young minds in the country are being groomed for career success. This day brings them together with some of the company's top geologists to gain an understanding of the Dammam Dome. Millions of years in the making, they will study the dome's arrangement and succession of rock beds (stratigraphy), the classification of the various rocks (petrology) and the ancient fossils (paleontology).
"All of these students have majors in geology or geophysics," said Keith W. Wallis of Saudi Aramco's Industrial Training Center. "What they're doing today is to use some of the knowledge they've gained in the theory programs and see what it looks like in the field. The field is where everything starts and ends in the study of rocks. They haven't got much knowledge or experience in the field, so this field trip gives them the chance to see how even some of the simple things they've learned in the classroom can be used in the field."
For the rest of the morning, students examine rock formations as Saudi Aramco geologist Geraint Wyn Hughes explains the subtleties of climatic changes over eons as sea beds pile up on what had been dry land and then turned to marshland, becoming desert much later in time.
And the results of decades of study on the geologic formation of the Ghawar Field -- one of the world's largest and most carefully maintained oil fields -- will help these budding scientists make informed decisions and observations in future oil-exploration efforts.
"Geology was only introduced this year -- it's a kind of pilot program, which probably will be extended next year," Wallis said of the college degree program. "The main-course programs are in math and the sciences -- chemistry, physics -- at the AP, Advanced Placement, level."
Each year, talented young Saudi high school graduates from around the Kingdom begin the CDPNE. The first year of the program is conducted at Dhahran's Industrial Training Center. After that the students continue their studies at leading universities and technical institutions at home and abroad.
"It's very good for entry into universities, not only in the United States but in other countries as well," Wallis said. "In addition, students study information technology, which covers basic courses in Microsoft Word and Excel, and then they go on to C++ and Java programming. To do all that in one year is quite an achievement."
The future scientists have obstacles to overcome.
"The main basis of all this, though, is the English program," Wallis said. "It allows them to understand and express in English and to think in English as a key to all the other subjects.
"Students are very interested in gaining proficiency in these studies to use as a tool, particularly the English language, as means of access to the sciences, mathematics and information technology. They realize the importance. They're not going into English courses when they attend universities. They're mainly going into engineering courses. These courses are applied fields of study, so they need this background, particularly vocabulary, which underpins everything. The real challenge, in geology for example, is the vocabulary. Students are quite able to understand the concepts, but I think building up their vocabulary is really important so you don't frighten them off from the subject as a whole."
A case in point might be found in one of many descriptions of the Damman Dome from the day's field study.
"This contains the benthonic foraminiferal species Alveolina elliptica and A. oblonga, and the species enables an early Middle Eocene age to be determined ..."
"If I was talking in geological terms to ordinary English people, they might have great difficulty in understanding what is meant also.
"Geology speak" is another language," Wallis said. "It's an English-based language, but it's really another language. As soon as geologists are talking in "Geology speak," they are not only using concepts, but they are using the identification of terms within the language as well. As soon as students can master that facility of vocabulary, then they can advance into greater areas of understanding. I think that is our biggest challenge."
As the students stream off to universities around the globe, Saudi Aramco advisers will be on hand in the United States and the United Kingdom to help them over the rough spots in adapting to life overseas and monitor their academic progress. After graduation, the young men will be offered jobs in related fields within Saudi Aramco, where they will continue in programs designed to enhance their potential for career success.
Stephen L. Brundage
© Arab News 2004
