In 1939, Standard Oil discovered the world’s largest oil deposit in the Saudi Arabian desert. At the time it was described as the “single greatest prize in all history”. Nearly 80 years later, as energy, automotive and technology industries converge, Gianni Kovacevic looks at the potential for this discovery to be eclipsed.
In the mid-1930s Standard Oil of California had won the right to explore and drill for oil in the Saudi Arabian desert by paying the hefty sum of $275,000. The more Middle East dominant British had declined the opportunity, citing there was no . . .