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Original large format colour-printed map of Qatar (108 x 72.5 cm) with a geologic key to upper corner. Some light wrinkling and minor marginal repairs to verso, generally in very good condition. Large-format 1970 bilingual geological map of Qatar, prepared by an international team of geologists and published by Ali Mohammed Jaidah. It represents the first comprehensive geological survey of the country and therefore played an important role in the subsequent development of Qatar's oil and gas industry. The map covers the entire Qatari Peninsula, using colour-shading to indicate a variety of sands, gravels, clay, and stone, as explained in the bilingual legend at top-left. Geologic contacts, anticline axes, the location of fossils, and quarries are also noted. Settlements and geologic feature are labelled throughout in English and Arabic, while roads, tracks, oil wells, pipelines, waterways, cultivated areas, sabkhas (coastal mud and salt flats), and other features are recorded, as explained in a legend at bottom-left. A local grid surrounds the map, described at bottom. Qatar's Oil Industry Takes Off The early history of Qatar's oil industry began in the 1920s and 1930s, when the small, sparsely populated British protectorate first attracted the interest of international oil companies exploring the Persian Gulf. In 1932, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company obtained the first oil concession in Qatar through a subsidiary, the Iraq Petroleum Company. Initial exploration efforts included geological surveys and test drilling, reflecting British hopes that Qatar might yield oil reserves comparable to those already found in neighbouring Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The first promising discovery came in 1939 at the Dukhan field on Qatar's western coast. However, development was delayed by the outbreak of the Second World War, which diverted resources and prevented large-scale extraction. Oil production in Qatar truly began after the war. In 1947 - 1948, the Dukhan field was finally brought into production, with the first export shipment departing in December 1949. Revenues from oil began to replace traditional industries like pearling, fishing, and small-scale trade. Through the 1950s, the Qatar Petroleum Company (then an operating arm of the concession-holding consortium) expanded infrastructure at Dukhan and the growing port of Umm Said (Mesaieed), which became the center of refining and export operations. The influx of oil revenue initiated an era of modernisation. Beginning in the 1950s, the ruling al-Thani family used oil income to fund public works, schools, healthcare, and roads, gradually transforming Qatar from a relatively poor Gulf sheikhdom into a state with rapidly improving infrastructure and services. This map was produced on the eve of independence, when Qatar's oil industry entered a period of rapid growth. The discovery and development of new offshore reserves were especially significant during this period, as they expanded Qatar's resource base beyond the ageing Dukhan onshore field. One of the most important offshore discoveries was the Bul Hanine field, located southeast of the Qatari peninsula. Discovered in 1970 and brought into production in 1972, Bul Hanine became a key contributor to Qatar's output during the 1970s, reflecting the country's shift toward offshore exploration that would later define much of its energy sector. Although foreign companies still controlled production at this time, Qatar steadily increased its role in managing the sector, especially after independence. In the early 1970s, the government negotiated increased participation in concessionary operations, aligning with a broader regional trend across the Gulf and the wider Arab world. In 1974, Qatar achieved a majority state share in the Qatar Petroleum Company's operations, reflecting the global momentum of resource nationalisation. Oil exports from fields such as Bul Hanine strengthened the young state's financial position, enabling even further.
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