OREANDA-NEWS. October 10, 2012. Retiring Saudi Aramco employees may be preparing to leave the Kingdom, but in many ways they also will be taking it with them. At a farewell dinner at the Plaza Center in Dhahran, Management Services executive director Abdulaziz K. Al-Hashimi thanked 277 retiring expatriate employees from 16 nations for their years of service and urged them to continue to serve as goodwill ambassadors for the company and the Kingdom, reported the press-centre of Saudi Aramco.   

The "Aramcons" honored at the Expatriate Retiree Farewell Dinner represent more than 2,500 accumulated years of experience with the company. Some have spent their entire careers here, raised families here, and when they speak about their lives and careers in Saudi Arabia, they will speak with authority. "That old saying holds true: 'Once an Aramcon, always an Aramcon,'" Al-Hashimi said in his keynote speech.

"This is a time of celebration, fulfillment and achievement, but it’s also a bittersweet moment, because you are much more than employees — you are members of a family," Al-Hasimi said.

“There’s real satisfaction in doing work that truly matters. Everyone at Saudi Aramco contributes to the energy that keeps economic and societal wheels turning around the globe. This passion creates a strong sense of mission in our people," Al-Hashimi said.
 
Event organizer Huda Al-Ghamdi said that the night’s festivities are just a small way for Saudi Aramco to say thank you for the lengthy service of retiring employees, 80 of whom have given 30 years or more of service.

Andrew Pearson, an emergency room physician for six years at the Abqaiq Clinic, says he has “enjoyed working with an interesting group of colleagues, learning about the culture of Saudi Arabia, being able to travel and being able to provide a future for my family.”

Some employees say they find it difficult to say goodbye. Michael Stephens, a senior planning and program analyst with Drilling and Workover, had left Saudi Aramco once before, after serving a 20-year stint. He returned in 2007. Stephens said that many employees come to Saudi Aramco to stay because "it's a fantastic place to raise a family." 

Crisanto T. Perez joined Aramco in 1977, and he will be retiring this year after working on offshore platforms as a metal technician for 35 years. "Saudi Aramco is the best company," Perez said. "There are people working here from all parts of the world. It’s a great experience."   

Andrew Bartlett, a senior operations engineer with the Terminal Operations Department in Ras Tanura, will be retiring after 35 years with the company. One of the best parts of his job has been helping transfer skills to younger engineers in his department, who he sees as the company’s future. 

"Being able to work with a lot of young Saudis and teaching them what I know has been very uplifting for me," Bartlett says. Living and working in Saudi Arabia has been an adventure, and he has relished learning about Saudi culture as well as the pleasures of scuba diving in the Red Sea. "I don’t think you can find a better life than this," he says.