Filling Station in the Rub-al Khali
- Pipeline
- In Search Of Oil
- Other - In Search Of Oil
Author: Aramco ExPats
Released 8 July 2006
In 1961, the Seismograph Party 3 used their aircraft wing tanks to transport truck gasoline; a filling station in the Sand Mountain area of eastern Rub-al Khali.
GSI employee, Mr. Darby
Photograph by Dale O. Reese
The sand was terrible with 550 foot high Seif dunes above the sabkha. Due to the sand, the workers could not drive trucks to the work site from their camp each day as it would take several days to drive. Aramco had a desert base camp (Seismo 3) where a Beaver aircraft was stationed that flew the work crew out each morning and back in the afternoon.
The height of the dune was determined by a Beaver pilot who was stationed in the camp to fly the work crew to the work site on seismic lines. After an extensive discussion as to how high this dune crest was, the pilot became exasperated and jumped into his Beaver aircraft and skimmed over the dune top after zeroing his altimeter on the sabkha flight strip. This was very effective but probably unsafe. He skimmed it pretty close, leaving a notch in the dune crest caused by the prop wash! Only pilot can tell you how close this was, but it had to be too close!
Seismo 3 Base Camp
Photograph by Dale O. Reese
Safety rules dictated that one American remain on the ground overnight so that the plane would not land unattended. Dale O. Reese, who took these photographs, loved to stay overnight in the quiet peace of the desert. However, he took the precaution of sleeping in a cot on the bed of the truck as he had one encounter with fox footprints near where he slept.