Oil industry in Khafji started in mid 1956 when Mr.Yamashita Taro and a group of Japanese entrepreneurs established the Japan Petroleum Trading Company Ltd.
1956- Oil industry in Khafji started in mid 1956...
Oil industry in Khafji started in mid 1956 when Mr.Yamashita Taro and a group of Japanese entrepreneurs established the Japan Petroleum Trading Company Ltd. In February 1957 Mr.Yamashita made his first visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in order to obtain an oil concession where he held preliminary negotiations with the Saudi Government top officials.
1957- In July 1957, Mr.Yamashita was entrusted with power.
In July 1957, Mr.Yamashita was entrusted with power to conduct negotiations on the owner's behalf, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (K.S.A) at this time sent a delegate to Kuwait to ask for a Saudi-Kuwaiti joint move over the concession agreement and over the Divided Neutral Zone between the two countries. 
In December 1957, negotiations were concluded by signing the concession agreement between Saudi Government and Japan Petroleum Trading Company Ltd.
1958 - On February 10, 1958, the operating company "Arabian Oil Company Ltd."
On February 10, 1958, the operating company "Arabian Oil Company Ltd." was established. Consequently all rights and obligations under the said concession were assigned to it from the mother "Japan Petroleum Trading Company". Under the said agreement the Saudi government provided the company with an exclusive petroleum exploration and prospecting license for a period not exceeding two years and exploration concession for 40 years as of the date, of termination of the former 2 year period.
On July 5, 1958, Kuwait government granted AOC the concession of its one half interest of the neutral divided zone for 44 years including the period of exploration and geological survey. Following the conclusion of the two concession agreements in the years 1957 & 1958, AOC commenced its activities at Khor Al-Mufattah, 33 km northward Khafji.
1960 - In 1960, as a result of the discovery of oil...
In 1960, as a result of the discovery of oil in commercial quantities, AOC decided to consider its permanent Operations base at Al-Khafji and constructed all the onshore supporting facilities of production, shipping, offices, housing and other facilities required for the company's developing operations.
2000 - On April 1, 2000 and after Aramco Gulf Operations Company(AGOC)...
On April 1, 2000 and after Aramco Gulf Operations Company (AGOC) commenced its activities and took over the Saudi Government share in the Divided Zone. AGOC and AOC which represented Kuwait Government side, carry out the Joint Operations in accordance with a Joint Petroleum Production Operations Agreement (JPPOA). This undertaking is internally known as Khafji Joint Operations on KJO.
Based on the JPPOA, two committees were established for Management of the Joint Operations. These are, the Joint Executive Committee (JEC) which is the supreme decision making body, deciding on policy matters of the Joint Operations, including the operations program and Budget and the Joint Operating Committee (JOC) which will be for the supervision of the day-to-day operations and activities. Both committees are comprised of six members from both sides of the agreement.
The KJO worked right from the beginning to develop cooperation ties between the concerned Saudi and Kuwaiti parties particularly the officials in both countries. As a result, the KJO achieved consistency of performance and created the team spirit atmosphere among its operating components.
2003 - It is worth mentioning that on Jan 4, 2003...
It is worth mentioning that on Jan 4, 2003, the AOC concession agreement with the Kuwait Government expired and the Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC) took over to run the Kuwaiti share in the undivided one half of the divided zone to mark the beginning of a new era of a joint operations between the two national companies, i.e. Aramco Gulf Operations Company(AGOC) for running the Saudi share and the Kuwaiti Gulf Oil Company (KGOC) for running the Kuwait share.