1963 Saqr Map of Qatar - Oil Infrastructure

A scarce and striking 1963 map of Qatar, prepared by Abdel Badie Saqr, a leading figure in the country's educational bureaucracy. It presents the territory late in the period when it was a largely autonomous British Protectorate and in the early years of an oil and gas boom that has defined its economy ever since.

A Closer Look

Qatar is displayed with roads, administrative boundaries, cities, towns, police stations, oases, and other features labeled. The red line running horizontally across the country is an oil pipeline from the Dukhan Field to the port of Mesaieed (مسيعيد). The capital, Doha (الدوحة), appears to its north, though today Doha has grown to the point that Mesaieed, al-Wakrah (الوكرة), and al-Wukair (الوكير) are practically suburbs of the metropolis. An inset map at top-left presents Qatar in the context of the wider Persian Gulf.

The Dukhan Field

The Dukhan (دخان) Field was the first oilfield discovered in Qatar, in the late 1940s, and remains its most productive. However, its remote location and the difficulty in moving heavy equipment there, along with the disruptions caused by World War II (1939 - 1945), limited its exploitation until 1949. The field was initially operated by Petroleum Development (Qatar) Ltd., a subsidiary of the Iraq Petroleum Company, until the nationalization of the oil sector in 1973. In subsequent years, natural gas reserves were also discovered, making it an essential and lucrative part of Qatar's national economy.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared by Abdel Badie Saqr (عبد البديع صقر) in 1963 (AH 1383). Saqr was an education official and a founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Qatar. A stamp at bottom suggests that it was sponsored by the Qatari government, plausible given Saqr's position, though this is not explicitly stated. It is marked as the tenth edition of the map (الطبعة العاشرة), though the map is now very rare in any edition. The only other known example is held by the Beirut Arab University.