King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals is located in Dhahran, between the headquarters of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (SAUDI ARAMCO) and the Dhahran Air Base. It is situated on top of the geologic dome, or anticline, where the first petroleum was discovered in Dammam Well No. 7, located about half a kilometer from the campus. A number of producing oil wells were at one time actually on University land, although sub-soil mineral rights are held by the Government.

    The campus is situated near the Arabian Gulf at a distance of about seven Kilometers from the town of Al-Khobar. The port city of Dammam, capital of the Eastern Province, is only 20 kilometers away and the oil refinery at Ras Tanura is 70 kilometers from the campus. The academic buildings are located on a 100-foot "Jebel" (Arabic for hill). The island of Bahrain, an independent emirate some 35 kilometers from the Saudi coastline, can be seen from the Jebel during clear weather. The oil-producing town of Abqaiq is located 70 kilometers west, and the ancient oasis of Al-Hasa is situated about 130 kilometers south of the University campus.

   The SAUDI ARAMCO facilities at Dhahran adjoin the University campus, with necessary support facilities (which are in general closed to non-SAUDI-ARAMCO employees and hence to University faculty and staff). The Dhahran Air Base includes the air terminal and facilities for commercial aviation serving the Eastern Province and the training and maintenance facilities for the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF). A number of major companies with government contracts or industrial plants have installations within a 20-kilometer radius of the University. The majority, even when located in cities, have residential "compounds", or virtually self-sufficient communities, for their employees. One of these, the United States Consulate General, is located adjacent to the University.

    The 900 acres of the University are divided into three Sectors: North, Central, and South. The North Sector consists of the Preparatory Year Campus, the North Faculty/Staff housing compound, and the student dormitories. The Central Sector contains all the academic facilities: classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, the University administration, the Research Institute, the Library, the Information Technology Center, and many support facilities. The South Sector contains faculty and senior staff housing.