‘Ajab Khan: Interpreter in the Early Years

Originally from Peshawar, in what is now known as Pakistan, ‘Ajab Khan was present in the earliest days of Saudi Aramco’s history. He is best known for his keen ability to bridge the cultural gap between the early American explorers and the Saudis by serving as a guide, translator and interpreter.

Khan was a young man residing in Bahrain when he was asked to provide interpretation services for a group of Bapco (Bahrain Petroleum Company) geologists engaged in oil exploration. He first came to Saudi Arabia in 1933, accompanying Casoc (California Arabian Standard Oil Company) geologist Allen White to the Kingdom.

With his excellent translation skills, Khan became well known and relied upon for his abilities to facilitate communication between the Americans and the Saudi work force, as well as between Aramco and the Government. He became a Saudi citizen and went on to serve as a personal translator-interpreter for Floyd Ohliger, Casoc’s manager in residence. Thanks to his time with Aramco, Khan was able to start his own business and eventually relocated his family to al-Khobar.

In a 1983 interview, in the film Aramco at 50, Khan reflected fondly on his time with the company’s pioneers and related the early oil exploration adventures in a firsthand account describing hardships the geologists faced, the reliance on Saudi guides who knew every inch of the desert, and the arrival of cars in the Kingdom. With Khan’s contributions, the cultural and language differences experienced by the early geologists and the Saudis were lessened.