Ras Tanura

Ras Tanura
رأس تنورة
Ras Tanura is located in Saudi Arabia
Ras Tanura
Ras Tanura
Location of Ras Tanura
Coordinates: 26°39′N 50°10′E / 26.650°N 50.167°E / 26.650; 50.167
Country Saudi Arabia
ProvinceEastern Province
Government
 • MayorAbdulrahman Bin Othman Al Rshodi
 • Provincial GovernorSaud Bin Nayef Al Saud
Area
 • Total242.5 km2 (93.6 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)[1]
 • Total62,314
 • Density260/km2 (670/sq mi)
 Ras Tanura governorate
Time zoneUTC+3
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3
Postal Code
32819
Area code+966-13

Ras Tanura (Arabic: رأس تنورة, romanizedRa's Tannūrah, lit.'cape oven, cape brazier', presumably due to the unusual heat prevalent at the cape that projects into the sea) is a city in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia located on a peninsula extending into the Persian Gulf. The name Ras Tanura applies both to a gated Saudi Aramco employee compound (also referred to as "Najmah") and to an industrial area further out on the peninsula that serves as a major oil port and oil operations center for Saudi Aramco, the largest oil company in the world. Today, the compound has about 3,200 residents, with a few Americans and British expats.

Geographically, the Ras Tanura complex is located south of the modern industrial port city of Jubail (formerly a fishing village) and north across Tarut Bay from the old port city of (Al-)Dammam. Although Ras Tanura's port area is located on a small peninsula, due to modern oil tankers' need for deeper water, Saudi Aramco has built numerous artificial islands for easier docking. In addition, offshore oil rigs and production facilities have been constructed in the waters nearby, mostly by Saudi Aramco, Schlumberger, and Halliburton.

  1. ^ "R'ās Tanūrah governorate". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2024-02-03.