Nomland, the chief geologist at the Standard Oil Company of California, in San Francisco and accepted a job as a surveyor in Saudi Arabia.

He worked alongside Ernie Berg under the American geologist Max Steineke, who used a group of Bedouin trackers headed by Khamis bin Rimthan.

[1] After the men discovered Saudi Arabia's vast fields of oil Barger began a career with Aramco that would last 32 years.

Fluent in Arabic, Barger was a key element in the company's relationship with the Saudi government and people.

Thomas Barger died of Parkinson's disease June 30, 1986, in San Diego at the age of 77.