PDTC Survey Map of Abu Dhabi with Notes on Ras Sadr – 1949/50

A remarkable and unique map from the earliest days of the petroleum industry in Abu Dhabi.

This is a 1949 survey map of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, printed by Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast), the first entity to undertake oil exploration in the country and the forerunner of the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company (ADPC). It features handwritten notes describing an aircraft landing at Ras Sadr, the site of the first oil well ever drilled in the territory of the present-day UAE.

Background and Description

PDTC was an affiliate of the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), the consortium of European and US firms which had led the development of the Iraqi oil industry after the First World War, and which later expanded their interests elsewhere in the region. It initially began surveying for oil in the Trucial States in the 1930s, with progress then interrupted by the start of the Second World War.

In 1939 the company signed a 75-year agreement with the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan, covering exploration in both onshore and offshore areas. PDTC recommenced surveying in the winter of 1946/7, leading to the selection of a site at Ras Sadr for the first exploration well, located roughly 40km north of Abu Dhabi town.

Drilling at the Ras Sadr 1 well began in February 1950, and although it ultimately turned out to be barren, the milestone marked a historic moment in the Emirate’s history and is today commemorated by a symbolic wellhead and signboard installed by the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Exploration (ADCO).

Entitled Trucial Oman, this map shows the coastline and immediate inland areas of present-day Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which were at that time relatively undocumented and poorly-charted – as well as being largely empty. It is listed as 3rd Edition, dated 1949, with internal code TP-229.

Captions underneath the main map area note that it is “based upon a triangulation by N.R. Fallon and a geophysical survey by Robert H. Ray Co’s party during Season 1946-7”, referring to the US surveying firm, founded by Robert Ray, that had been contracted by IPC to conduct exploration work around the region.

Remarkably, the map features handwritten notes in pencil which record a landing at Ras Sadr on 1 March 1950. The notes list the names of three crew on board the plane, all of which were formerly in the British Royal Air Force (RAF), who were flying a Vickers Viking with tail number G-AKTV, which is recorded as having entered service in 1948.

The notes state that this was the “first Viking landing at RAS SADR’, having been achieved in a “moderate breeze from seaward”, with the date given as “Wednesday the first of March, AD. 1950”. It also lists the name of the ‘Manager of Aviation of the Iraq Petroleum Company at London’, who was present on the flight.

Also marked on the map are water wells, tracks usable by vehicles, head villages, tidal flats and others. Dubai is spelled as ‘Dubei’, with other notable locations including Abu Dhabi island, Ras as-Sadiyat, Ras Laffan, Batin, Jebel Ali, and Ned Shibeih.

This is a scarce and historically important piece of history in the development of Abu Dhabi and the wider UAE. Similar material is now rarely found outside of institutional archives or private collections.

Specifications

Sized 90cm x 60cm. Folded, black-and-white. Scale 1:200,000. In very good condition, some minor edgewear. In addition to the handwritten notes, there are several other pencil marks which highlight places of interest.

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