Epic Tale Of The 'Original Indiana Jones'

Max Steineke’s role in discovering richest mineral treasure chest in history of mankind

WND

ANTHONY C. LOBAIDO

Editor’s Note: Alternating between the broiling landscape of Saudi Arabia and the splendor of the gorgeous campus at Stanford University, journalist Anthony C. LoBaido has traveled to document the epic tale of the late geologist Max Steineke. The Stanford graduate’s role in the discovery of the Ghawar field in Saudi Arabia – the richest mineral treasure chest in the history of mankind – is legendary. Some estimates claim the Ghawar’s capacity may exceed 300 billion barrels of oil.

Steineke began searching for oil across the sands of Arabia in 1934. There were no roads, few sources of water, brutal heat and humidity, sandstorms, and an alien language and culture. After years of exploration without success, he heard from the headquarters of the California-Arabian Standard Oil Company, or CASOC, located at 225 Bush Street in San Francisco. (Standard Oil of California is today known as Chevron.) Steineke convinced the company’s elites they needed only to “drill a little deeper.” Steineke changed the face of geopolitics through his sheer determination. His signature was the then-maverick technique of “core sampling.” He learned this method at Stanford under professor J.E. “Brick” Elliott, who taught petroleum technology. Steineke also discovered the massive Abqaiq field, which features 12 billion barrels of oil.

In the 21st century, through the work of Dr. Donald Lowe, the Max Steineke endowed professor at Stanford, the field of geology informs astrobiology, as NASA searches for alien worlds guided by knowledge of ancient Earth. Astrobiology is an academic discipline that seeks to study the origins, evolutionary arc, distribution and possibilities of future life in the known universe. It pursues useful environments within our solar system (consider that both methane and water are found in abundance on several of Saturn’s moons) and potentially habitable planets outside our solar system. Does other life exist in the universe, at what level, and can we find it?

Astrobiology is underpinned by traditional fields such as geology, geography, molecular biology, physics, chemistry and astronomy. Exobiology is another term used in regard to astrobiology. This refers more specifically to life beyond Earth, and how extraterrestrial environments might impact such life. Duke University has an interesting exobiology overview.

“Ad astra per aspera” – Latin for “A rough road leads to the stars.”

PALO ALTO, California – One cannot help but recall that singularly memorable scene in the (circa 1930s) Hollywood epic, “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

It’s the one in the map room when the rising sun shows “Indiana Jones” (adroitly played by Harrison Ford), the exact location of the Ark of the Covenant. Ostensibly, the Ark, dominated by two winged angels sitting atop God’s “mercy seat,” contains the tablets upon which the actual Ten Commandments delivered to Moses were written. At the height of the Great Depression, there was a real-life, archetype Indiana Jones figure operationally deployed in the field. His name was Max Steineke, and his relentless quest to find oil in Arabia would change the world forever.

Read More Here

Reposted with permission