Thomas Barger (1909 – 1986) was an American

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

, explorer, miner, businessman and former CEO of the Arabian American Oil Company (formerly Aramco now

Saudi Aramco Saudi Aramco ( ') or Aramco (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a majority state-owned petroleum and natural gas company that is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. , it is the fourth- l ...

Biography

Thomas Barger was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, in 1909 to Mary Barger and Michael Thomas Barger. He grew up in

Linton, North Dakota Linton is a city in and the county seat of Emmons County, North Dakota, Emmons County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 1,071 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. When compared with the other 356 cities in North Dakota, ...

, and graduated from the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

's College of Engineering in

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, third-most populous ...

, with a degree in

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

and

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

in 1931. After college he worked as a surveyor and miner in Canada, an engineer, assayer, and assistant manager of a silver and

radium Radium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in alkaline earth metal, group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, ...

mine in the Northwest Territories and as an assistant professor of mining at the University of North Dakota. He accepted a position at the Anaconda Copper Mining Company but the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and falling copper prices resulted in his being forced to find work elsewhere. In 1937 Barger interviewed with J.O. Nomland, the chief geologist at the Standard Oil Company of California, in San Francisco and accepted a job as a surveyor in Saudi Arabia. He married Kathleen Elizabeth Ray on November 18, 1937, shortly before heading off to Saudi Arabia by himself for what ended up being three years exploring potential oil sites in the Saudi Arabian desert. He worked alongside Ernie Berg under the American geologist

Max Steineke Max Steineke was a prominent American petroleum geologist. He was chief geologist at California-Arabian Standard Oil Co. (CASOC) from 1936 until 1950 (by which time CASOC had become Aramco). His efforts, and persistence through repeated setback ...

, who used a group of

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

trackers headed by Khamis bin Rimthan. Together, they discovered the

Ghawar Field Ghawar (Arabic: الغوار) is an oil field located in Al-Ahsa Governorate, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Measuring (some ), it is by far the largest conventional oil field in the world, and accounts for roughly a third of the cumulative ...

. After the men discovered Saudi Arabia's vast fields of oil Barger began a career with Aramco that would last 32 years. He started as a surveyor and geologist then worked as the director of Local Government Relations, was the company representative to the Saudi government and was the manager for Concession Affairs. Fluent in Arabic, Barger was a key element in the company's relationship with the Saudi government and people. He ensured that the goal of the company was to be mutually beneficial, training and employing thousands of Saudis and eventually becoming a Saudi run and owned entity (which it is today). In 1957 Barger became a vice president and assistant to President Norman Hardy. In 1959 Barger became president of Aramco and in 1961 he was appointed the company's Chief Executive Officer.Time Magazine
Business: Personal File
1961-10-20. Kathleen and Thomas lived in

Dhahran Dhahran (, ) is a city located in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. With a total population of 143,936 as of 2022, it is a major administrative center for the History of the oil industry in Saudi Arabia, Saudi ...

and had six children. Barger retired from the company in 1969. Thomas Barger died of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

June 30, 1986, in San Diego at the age of 77.

References

*"Tom Barger of N.D. Heads One of World's Oil Giants." The Forum. 24 Apr. 1966. (The Forum is a newspaper in Fargo - Moorhead North Dakota).
North Dakota Entrepreneur Hall of Fame Inductees

External links

- Obituary

- Pictures of Tom Barger and his wife and of Saudi Arabia from the 1930s onward

- Personal File on Thomas Barger

- Saudi Aramco World Magazine cover story {{DEFAULTSORT:Barger, Thomas 20th-century American geologists Saudi Aramco 1909 births 1986 deaths Businesspeople from Minneapolis University of North Dakota alumni Explorers of Arabia American expatriates in Saudi Arabia People from Emmons County, North Dakota 20th-century American businesspeople

Biography

See also

References

External links