OREANDA-NEWS. November 06, 2013. With the beginning of Hajj season, all the early preparations made by Saudi Aramco and its employees are put to the test.

This tremendous challenge is successfully faced by hundreds of employees in various departments, such as the Pipeline, Distribution and Terminals, which provides millions of barrels of petroleum products for thousands of buses, cars, aircraft and ships transporting pilgrims and goods during Hajj season, and also to plants and stations that provide electricity and desalinated water to millions of pilgrims.

Because of the vast stretch of the Kingdom’s borders and its connection with neighboring countries, pilgrims arrive from many geographical locations.

Thousands arrive through land ports stretching to all four corners of the Kingdom, and this requires the company to provide sufficient amounts of fuel — especially gasoline and diesel — to locations along the routes of the pilgrims, as well as major airports and seaports.

One can scarcely imagine the amount of steadfast effort that is put into planning for this unique occasion and its timing that changes from year to year.

Each year during the peak periods of Hajj season, the Distribution Operations Department in the Western Province assumes the responsibility of providing petroleum products for air traffic to Jiddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport and Medina’s Prince Mohammed ibn Abdulaziz Airport, both supplied with 1.8 million barrels of jet fuel.

It is also responsible for supplying tanker fuel to Jiddah Islamic Port and other seaports in the Red Sea, where large ships carrying pilgrims are provided with fuel from various Saudi Aramco bulk plants and other fuel supplies from company refineries on the West Coast.

In explaining the nature of his department’s work and daily operations, Mohammed H. Al-Qahtani, manager of the Distribution Operations Department, noted that the department distributes various types of petroleum products to all cities in the Western Province. The number of trucks loaded with petroleum products this Hajj season, for example, exceeds 4,300 trucks per day.

Al-Qahtani stressed that the inspection methods currently used by the Western Province distribution terminals are identical to those used at all Saudi Aramco distribution terminals throughout the Kingdom, and that all safety procedures are followed.

Safety is in fact a main pillar of work in the Distribution Department in the Western Province. Hani R. Bakhashwain, operations foreman at the Aircraft Fueling Unit at Jiddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, said that all distribution operations are subject to stringent measures to ensure safety and product quality, and that approved standards are met regardless of how high the demand is during Hajj season.

Bakhashwain added that the increased amount of work during the peak periods before, during and after Hajj season does not deter employees from monitoring safety measures. “No matter how busy we are, safety comes first before any other priority,” he said.

“Therefore, we apply the most stringent safety standards, as we always do.”

And, at the end of each year’s Hajj season, preparations for the next Hajj season begin all over again.