Dhahran

Dhahran الظهران
city
ad-Dahrān
Dhahran Location in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Coordinates: 26°16′N 50°09′E / 26.267°N 50.150°E / 26.267; 50.150Coordinates: 26°16′N 50°09′E / 26.267°N 50.150°E / 26.267; 50.150
Country	Saudi Arabia
Province	Eastern Province
Area
• city	100 km2 (40 sq mi)
• Land	100 km2 (40 sq mi)
• Water	0 km2 (0 sq mi)
Elevation	17 m (56 ft)
Population (2012)
• city	138,135
• Metro	4,140,000
Time zone	EAT (UTC+3)
Postal Code	31261
Area code(s)	+966-13

Dhahran (Arabic الظهران aẓ-Ẓahrān) is a city located in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. It is a major administrative center for the Saudi oil industry. Together with the nearby cities of Ad Dammam and Al Khobar, Dhahran forms part of the Dammam Metropolitan Area, which is commonly known as greater Dammam and has an estimated population of 4,140,000 as of 2012.

Large oil reserves were first identified in the Dhahran area in 1931, and in 1935, Standard Oil drilled the first commercially viable oil well. Standard Oil later established a subsidiary in Saudi Arabia called the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO), now fully owned by the Saudi government and known as Saudi Aramco. Dhahran has been the home of Saudi Aramco's headquarters for 80 years and is its first and largest gated compound with more than 9,700 residents. Employees and dependents of Aramco, known as Aramcons, have a tendency to use Dhahran to solely refer to the Aramco camp while using Khobar and/or Dammam to refer to the area outside the camp. The Saudi Aramco Residential Camp makes up much of the city of Dhahran today.

Dhahran is a short distance west of downtown Khobar. It is about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Dammam. Both are older Saudi port cities on the coast of the Persian Gulf. Looking farther afield, Dhahran is northeast of Abqaiq, and southeast of Qatif and, further north, Ras Tanura, a major oil port. The island of Bahrain is also within easy driving distance to the east (about 20 miles (32 km)), across the King Fahd Causeway, from Khobar.

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