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PUMP STATION COMMUNITIES
The travels of Barrel X through the Tapline
system tell only part of the story. Activities and responsibilities of
the main pump stations go far beyond the operation and maintenance of
pumping equipment and the pipeline. Relatively isolated, each station
is virtually a miniature city whose facilities range from the most
complex electronic devices to a one-chair barber shop.
Keeping the pumphouse units running requires,
besides skilled crews, many supporting services and equipment. Under
normal conditions, 600 tons of freight from the Middle East, United
States and Europe enter Saudi Arabia each month for Tapline's
use. Ninety-five per cent of it comes by truck through Lebanon, the
Syrian Province of the United Arab Republic and Jordan; five per cent
is delivered by air. In emergencies, as much as six tons of cargo a
day has been flown into Turaif and other stations.
Turaif, customs point of entry for
northwestern Saudi Arabia, operates the line's central
warehouse. Staffed by 34 men, this building stocks up to 36,000
separate items.
Each pump station has an aircraft landing
strip. Company aircraft make several flights weekly to pump stations
to transport employees and others on company business, and to deliver
priority and emergency cargo.
A considerable amount of Tapline equipment and
material is transported over the road that parallels the pipeline in
Saudi Arabia. This road was built and is maintained by the company as
a necessary artery for the supply of construction and operating
materials, and as a means of quick access to the pipeline for
inspection and repair. It has also become an important supply route
for commercial trucks
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hauling thousands of tons of cargo monthly from Lebanon, The Syrian
Province of the United Arab Republic and Jordan to destinations on the
Persian Gulf and the interior of Saudi Arabia.
Each station provides housing for all
employees who wish to live at the station. The company has established
an attractive home loan plan which makes it possible for Saudi Arab
employees who wish to have their families with them to own their own
homes in the communities developing adjacent to the pump
stations. Each station operates a cafeteriastyle dining hall, and a
community store which stocks all necessary commodities.
For recreation, stations offer a motion
picture theater, a snack bar, tennis and volley ball courts, a soccer
field, a small golf course, pocket billiard tables, table tennis,
swimming pools and other indoor games.
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