There are more ways than ever to listen to History Daily ad-free.

Listen with Wondry Plus in the Wondry app.

As a member of NoisorPlus at noisor.com or in Apple Podcasts,

or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts at IntoHistory.com. It's early morning on September 23, 1933, in Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

American geologist Robert Miller braces his hands on the side of a motorboat as it slows on the approach to the

Jubail port. Robert is always more comfortable on land than sea. He grips the rail a little

tighter as the boat bumps against the dock. As crewmen attach the mooring lines, Robert pulls

a linen rag from his back pocket and wipes the sheen of sweat from his forehead.

Robert's colleague, fellow geologist Skyler Krug Henry, joins him, and they make their way down

the gangplank to a rickety wooden dock. The two men worked for the standard oil company of

California, otherwise known as SoCal. They have crossed the globe on a hunt for oil,

but they want to be as inconspicuous as possible. To soften how strange

their pale faces look here, both men have grown full beards, and instead of their usual

battered field hats, they wear flowing Arab headscarves. As Robert walks along the sweltering dock,

he spots the man he's come to see. American mining engineer Carl S. Twitchell surveyed the deserts

beyond Jubail for the Saudi king, and he was the first to identify that there may be oil here.

That's what's drawn SoCal's interest and convinced them to buy exploration rights in the region.

Now it's up to Robert to establish whether Carl was right. The two men shake hands and exchange greetings.

Behind Carl, a small group of local officials and hired guides wait beside a convoy of trucks and camels.

This is Robert and Krug's ride.

Somewhere in the expanse of desert, beyond Jubail, a fortune may lie hidden beneath the sands.

They just have to find it.

...