QATAR-UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (ABU DHABI)

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP08C01297R000600140002-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 25, 2012
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: March 20, 1969
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/09/25: CIA-RDP08CO1297R000600140002-1
Qatar-United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi)
Report Number 7-9
Agreement on Settlement of Maritime Boundary Lines and Sovereign
Rights over Islands between Qatar and Abu Dhabi
Signed: 20 March 1969
Entered into force: 20 March 1969
Published at: Limits in the Seas No. 18 (1970)
I Canadian Annex 175 (1983)
II Libyan Annex No. 19 (1983)
I Conforti & Francalanci 115 (1979)
National Legislative Series, UN Doc. No. ST/LEG/SER.B/16, p. 403
(1974)
28 Basic Oil Laws and Concession Contracts (Middle East) A-O
(1970)
1 The International Law of Ocean Development: Basic Documents
419 (1976)
The agreement between Abu Dhabi and Qatar resolved a longstanding dispute
over several islands and delimited the boundary between the parties' conti-
nental shelves. The agreement also provides for.'equal rjghts of ownership'
and revenue-sharing with respect to the Al-Bunduq oil field. Abu Dhabi (now
a member of the United Arab Emirates) and Qatar are adjacent states that
share a concave coastline on the Arabian side of the Gulf. Their continental
shelf boundary is approximately 115 nautical miles (n.m.) in length and
connects four points. The landward and seaward termini are equidistant points.
One of the turning points coincides with the location of an oil well and the
other is a negotiated point with no apparent basis. It is assumed that the
boundary also involves a 3-mile arc around the island of Dayyinah, although
this is nowhere mentioned in the agreement.
The agreement entered into force upon signature.
J.1. Charney and LM. Alexander (eds), International Maritime Boundaries, 1541-1548.
Z 1993 The American Society of International Law. Printed in the Netherlands.
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Qatar-United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi) 1543
while not constructed as an equidistant line, nevertheless approximates such
a line. Point A, the seaward terminus, is approximately equidistant from the
Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Iran mainlands. Point D, the landward terminus, is
situated at the intersection of the parties' 3-mile territorial sea limits, and is
therefore also an equidistant point.
5 Islands, Rocks, Reefs, and Low-Tide Elevations Considerations
Shoals close to the Abu Dhabi mainland were used in establishing the seaward
terminus of the boundary, which is equidistant from Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and
Iran.
? 6 Baseline Considerations
Neither state has declared a system of baselines and baseline considerations
were not a factor in the delimitation of the Abu Dhabi-Qatar boundary.
7 Geological and Geomorphological Considerations
Geology and geomorphology did not affect the location of the boundary. The
seabed in the vicinity of the boundary is very shallow (10 meters to 40 meters)
and devoid of any distinguishing geomorphological features.
8 Method of Delimitation Considerations
The delimitation involved a selective use of equidistance modified to take
account of special circumstances (specifically, the location of an existing oil
The seaward terminus of the boundary is equidistant from ~Qatar, ~Abu Dhabi,
and Iran. From there, the boundary, proceeds to the Al-Bunduq No. 1 well,
which was drilled by ADMA prior to the delimitation. From this point, the
boundary proceeds on a line that is at certain points equidistant from the
islands of Arzanah (Abu Dhabi) and Shara'iwah (Qatar). to a negotiated point
with no apparent basis. The previously disputed island of Dayyinah, which is
allocated to Abu Dhabi by the agreement, lies on Qatar's side of the boundary
but within 3 miles of it. It is assumed that the parties intended the continental
shelf boundary to follow the 3-mile limit around Dayyinah. The boundary then
continues to the landward terminus, which is defined as the point where the
territorial seas of the two states intersect at the mouth of the Khaur Al'Adid
and is, therefore, an equidistant point.
9 Technical Considerations _
The State Department Geographer has noted that the coordinates specified in
the agreement for the turning point that coincides with the Al-Bunduq No. 1
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Qatar-United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi) 1545
The boundary is discussed in the following sources:
A.A. AL-HAKIM, THi MIDDLE EASTERN STATES AND THE LAW OF THE SEA (1979)
Amin, Customary Rules of Delimitation of the Continental Shelf: The Gulf States Practice, 11
JOURNAL OF MARITIME LAW AND COMMERCE 509 (1980)
Gault, Offshore Boundary Delimitation in the Arabian/Persian Gulf, in OCEAN BOUNDARY
MAKING: REGIONAL ISSUES AND DEVELOPMENTS (D. M. Johrfston and P. M. Saunders, eds.
1988)
Lagoni, Oil and Gas Deposits across National Frontiers, 73 AJ.I.L. 215 (1979)
Historial aspects of the parties' dispute over islands are discussed in the following works:
H.N. AL-BAHARNA, THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE ARABIAN GULF STATES (1968)
D.W. BowETT, THE LEGAL REGIME OF ISLANDS IN INTERNATIONAL LAW (1978)
Hay, The Persian Gulf States and their Boundary Problems, 120 Geographical Journal, 431
(1954)
Prepared by Robert F. Pietrowski, Jr.
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/09/25: CIA-RDP08CO1297R000600140002-1