Abqaiq, or in Arabic Bqaiq (Arabic: بقيق bgayg), is a Saudi Aramco camp in the interior of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, located in the desert 60 km southwest of the Dhahran-Dammam-Khobar metropolitan area. The camp was built in the 1940s by ARAMCO (now Saudi Aramco). The Abqaiq compound itself had a population of approximately 1,950 in 2005, though the inclusion of the population outside the compound, brings this number closer to 30,000.
After crude products (oil, natural gas, water, sand, etc.) are processed by the GOSPs (Gas Oil Separation Plants), the sour oil (containing H2S, hydrogen sulphide) is sent by pipeline to Abqaiq. The Abqaiq site stabilizes the oil, then pumps it to Ras Tanura (where it is exported), or further refined at a domestic refinery. Abqaiq also has NGL (Natural Gas Liquids) plants that extract natural gas liquids (butane, propane, hexane, etc.) from the oil. These NGL's are stabilized by Abqaiq, then sent to other sites for further separation and purification.
The Abqaiq resident's compound (Aramco code: AB) is one of four residential compounds built by Saudi Aramco, including Dhahran (the main administrative center), Ras Tanura (the main refinery and oil port), and Udhailiyah. It is located between the smaller company outpost of Udhailiyah to the south and larger Dhahran to the north.
Abqaiq compound is surrounded by a security fence. Saudi employees also maintain some of their extended families inside the camp. Built originally to house only company employees, the community today is now a multi-ethnic mosaic of Saudis, other Arab nationalities (e.g., Egyptian and Jordanian), Indians, Pakistanis, and a few US and UK expats - with English as the common language. The Abqaiq Elementary and Middle school follow American curricula, and are available to dependents of Saudi Aramco employees. Because the Saudi Aramco School System only goes up to 9th grade, Saudi Aramco pays the tuition for children of employees to attend boarding schools for further education.
A small madinat or town is adjacent to the camp. A local HQ for the criminal police is located there. Though Saudi Aramco employs its own security force to patrol within the compound. An Islamic propagation center is also located in the town.
Abqaiq has an 18-hole golf course with the oiled-sand fairways and "greens" made up of very fine sand that has been rolled flat (commonly referred to as "browns"). The compound also includes two swimming pools, tennis courts, a BMX track, several playgrounds, a youth center, a game room and a library, all of which are maintained by Saudi Aramco, and are free for employees and their dependents to use.
Abqaiq's weather is 10 C (50 F) on winter nights to 50 C (122 F) in summer daytime. On rare occasions, Abqaiq has reached freezing temperatures (0 C or below) during the winter. Highest recorded temperature is 51.7C and it was recorded in August 1956, while the lowest of -1C was recorded in January 1964. There are only around 50 to 70 mm (a few inches) of rain each year. Dust storms are a regular occurrence.
It is served by King Fahd International Airport which is 90 km (56 mi) away from the city, new road is being planned at the present time to shorten this distance to 70 km (43 mi). There is a small airfield in Abqaiq (Abqaiq Airport) just few kilometers away from the city however it is owned by Saudi Aramco thus cannot be used for commercial air traffic.
Abqaiq was the site of a terrorist attack attempt by Al Qaeda on February 24, 2006 to attack the oil processing facility.[1] The news of attack pushed oil prices up by $2. The damage, however, was immediately contained by Saudi Aramco. According to Khalid R. al-Rodhan of Center for Strategic and International Studies, "even if some of the facilities were destroyed, Saudi Aramco has claimed that it has backup and redundant facilities to produce at near capacity." In a report about the incident, he concludes that "the attack against Abqaiq should not be seen as a turning point in either Saudi stability or the global energy market. Rather, it is evidence that al-Qaeda and other extremists groups will stop at nothing to disturb the global economy and international peace. It also signals that al-Qaeda is changing tactics to attack an area that will garner most attention and inflict most damage on the Saudi leadership, the U.S., and the international community."[2]
However, a moderate to severe attack on Abqaiq would slow production from an average of 6.8 million barrels (1,080,000 m3) a day to 1 million barrels (160,000 m3). As mentioned earlier, the chief purpose of Abqaiq is to remove hydrogen sulfide from crude oil and reduce the vapor pressure, making the crude safe to be shipped in tankers. Abqaiq is the world's largest facility for this stabilization.[3]
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Saudi Aramco Employee Compounds
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