In a touching letter posted on online news sites, Tony Wifer Hoven is eager to find out about his former Saudi colleagues, especially those from the northern city of Rafha.
He still cherishes sweet memories of his unforgettable life in Rafha and other parts of northern Saudi Arabia.
Hoven is keen to know what had happened to his friends in Rafha and Budna (the old name of Arar). He expressed pride over the unique opportunity to work with such a group of nice people in Rafha and get involved in acquainting them with modern technology.
Hoven was part of a batch of foreigners who worked on the Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline), an oil pipeline from the Kingdom’s Qaisumah to Sidon in Lebanon owned by Saudi Aramco.
When construction was completed in 1950, it was the world's largest oil pipeline system. Tony spent 17 years in the Kingdom from 1957 until 1974. He was in charge of the electricity power supply division of the Tapline pumping stations.
“I am Tony Wifer Hoven from the Netherlands. I had worked as a Tapline official during the period between 1957 and 74. I have been at all stations of Tapline,” he starts his letter.
“Now I am 78 years of age. Until this day, I have been overcome with nostalgic feelings. After spending several years in Rafha, I am still cherishing good feelings about my contributions in the progress achieved by a section of people in the region.”
Tony said he was fully confident that some of his colleagues still remember him.
The Dutchman says that his first memories revolve around Budna during 1957. “I was in charge of the electricity division of the pumping station (Tapline Budna). I had to also supervise all electricity power supply-related problems in Arar city. During those days, Budna was a small inhabited area. Life was quite different there,” he said.
“During the 50s and 60s, Tapline was used to transport crude oil from Saudi Aramco facilities to Europe via Lebanon. Due to the increased production, it was essential to expand the pipelines and add more turbines, in addition to pumping gas to stations in Al-Shouba, Jalamid and Jordan.”
Tony recalled that during the early 60s, he had been asked by the Saudi oil company to move to Rafha, where he discovered a small community. “I lived together with them. They were a small group of Saudi local officials. We formed a team to confront the new challenge. We started providing training on the basis of transferring technology from one person to another,” he said.
According to Tony, this interaction developed into a bond of solidarity among all the colleagues who had then been transformed into an integrated team.
Referring to the infrastructure facilities during the period, he said: “Roads were very limited and their condition was the worst. The distance between gas turbine stations and pumping stations was about 150 km, and that forced me to cross hundreds of kilometers. In view of the poor condition of roads, we had acquired some sort of expertise in this,” he said.
Citing the factors behind his return home, Tony said: “During the 70s it was very difficult to continue the transportation of crude oil through Tapline, especially because of the stiff competition from huge oil tankers. That forced the eventual halting of the project, and subsequently I left the company and returned together with my family to Holland in 1974.”
