Overview

The remarkable story of one man's journey to leadership of the world's largest energy company, The Caravan Goes On, is the first published inside account of the workings of the corporation by a CEO and represents a significant addition to the literature on the turbulent development of the world's oil industry. Frank Jungers, former President, Chairman, and CEO of the petroleum giant Aramco, tells the inside story of his three decades in Saudi Arabia (1947–1978) with the world's largest oil-producing company. A North Dakota farm boy, Jungers rose to the top of one of the most important hydrocarbon enterprises ever, a company that eventually found itself responsible for nearly one-quarter of the world's oil resources. He writes of his face-to-face encounters with King Faisal and other Saudi leaders, and his role in steering the company through major international crises that included the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, the dramatic oil price increases of the 1970s, the Arab oil embargo, and the OPEC hostage incident of 1975. Central to Jungers' story is his role in helping to develop Aramco's Saudi workforce in preparation for the eventual transfer of company ownership from four American oil majors to the Government of Saudi Arabia. He explains the unique nature of the ownership transfer, which was remarkably different from the bitter nationalisation processes seen in Iraq, Libya, Iran, and Venezuela. Jungers describes how Aramco and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in an important sense, grew up together, and he highlights the crucial role played by Aramco in the development of the young nation's infrastructure and economy. This personal, colourful, and up-close view is essential reading for oil-industry watchers, as well as those interested in big business, geopolitics, America's role in the Middle East, and the extraordinary transformation and emergence of modern Saudi Arabia since oil was discovered in its Eastern Province.

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9781909339194

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A key figure in Aramco's history, Frank Jungers witnessed and eventually oversaw momentous growth during his three decades with the company. Born in North Dakota, he earned a mechanical engineering degree at the University of Washington and joined Aramco in 1947. Jungers became President of Aramco in 1971 and served Chairman of the Board and CEO from 1973 to 1978. He initiated the construction of the Saudi Master Gas System, the consolidation of eastern Saudi Arabia's electric power grid, and the Saudization of the company workforce while at all times representing the best interests of his American shareholders. He worked closely with King Faisal during the Arab oil embargo and the oil price hikes of the 1970s. Since retiring in Oregon, Jungers has remained active with companies in the hydrocarbons and energy sectors, traveled to 200 countries with his wife, Julie—an accomplished photographer—and revisited nearly all Arab Middle Eastern countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, which he considers his second home. Jungers is actively involved in philanthropy, particularly in the fields of higher education, medical research, and with The Nature Conservancy. A former trustee of the American University of Cairo for 20 years, Jungers is especially involved with Oregon Health Sciences University, University of Washington, Central Oregon Community College and Bethlehem University in Palestine.

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