KT
The basics
Quick facts
Intro
American engineer
A.K.A.
Karl Saben Twitchell
Gender:
Male
Places:
Work field:
Birth:
1885
Death:
1968
The details
Biography
Karl Twitchell (d. 1968) was an American mining engineer.
He surveyed for minerals in Saudi Arabia, for King 'Abd al-'Aziz. He then worked for Charles Richard Crane, looking for places to drill for water in Yemen. He decided there were no aquifers but saw the potential for oil drilling.
He first struck oil in Bahrain, which gave him a good inkling that there would be oil in Saudi Arabia due to its close proximity (12 miles).
Twitchell's discovery opened the way for the partnership that eventually came to be known as the Arabian American oil company—Aramco.