Heavy Metals and Microbial Analysis of Soil Samples Collected from Aramco Gulf Operations Company Al-khafji, (AGOC) Saudi Arabia

Soil samples were collected from Aramco Gulf operations Company (AGOC), Al-Khafji town, Saudi Arabia.Soil metals and microbial contents were determined. The obtained results revealed that all soil samples were sandy in texture, mildly alkaline in reaction and containing low amount of organic matter wich ranged between 0.48 – 0.98 %.Total soluble salts ranged from 5.8 to 13.18 % and soil pH ranged between 8.3-9.2 and revealed no appreciable differences within localities. Soil samples differ in their mineral content. All tested localities contained high amounts of lead followed by manganese, cadmium, cobalt, and nickle. Isolated microbial flora consists of eight fungal genera belonging to Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Curvularia, Fusarium, Penicillium, Trichoderma and Ulocladium and four bacterial genera belonging to, Bacillus Corynebacterium, Listeria and Staphylococcus