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Saudi Arabian–Kuwaiti neutral zone

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The Saudi–Kuwait Neutral Zone
(2 December 1922 – 18 January 1970)
(Established by the Uqair Convention of December 1922)

The Saudi Arabian–Kuwaiti neutral zone, also known as the Divided Zone, was an area of 5,770 km2 (2,230 sq mi) between the borders of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait that was left undefined when the border was established by the Uqair Convention of 2 December 1922.[1][2]

According to Daniel Yergin, "The Neutral Zone was the two thousand or so square miles of barren desert that had been carved out by the British in 1922 in the course of drawing a border between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. In order to accommodate the Bedouins, who wandered back and forth between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and for whom nationality was a hazy concept, it was agreed that the two countries would share sovereignty over the area."[3]

The Uqair Convention stated that "the Government of Najd and Kuwait will share equal rights until through the good offices of the Government of Great Britain a further agreement is made between Najd and Kuwait concerning it".

There was however little interest in a more definitive settlement in the Neutral Zone until the 1938 discovery of oil in the Burgan (Burqan) area of Kuwait. With the possibility of oil within the Neutral Zone itself, concessions were granted by Kuwait in 1948 to the American Independent Oil Company and in 1949 by Saudi Arabia to the Pacific Western Oil Corporation,[a] the two companies cooperatively explored and developed the zone. Oil was discovered in March 1953 and the reservoirs were of significant size.[3] The first oil was shipped in January 1954. In 1957, Saudi Arabia signed a concession agreement with the Japanese-owned Arabian Oil Co., and Kuwait signed in 1958. That concession expired in 2000.[4] The company made its first offshore discovery in January 1960.[3]: 505–507 

The partitioning negotiations commenced shortly after the rulers of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia met and decided, in October 1960, that the Neutral Zone should be divided. On 7 July 1965, the two governments signed an agreement to partition the zone (which took effect on 25 July 1966). A demarcation agreement dividing the Neutral Zone was signed on 17 December 1967 but did not formally take effect until the exchange of instruments and signing which took place in Kuwait on 18 December 1969.[5] Ratification followed on 18 January 1970, and the agreement was published in the Kuwaiti Official Gazette on 25 January 1970.[6]

The zone was never assigned an ISO 3166 code since it was partitioned before the adoption of ISO 3166 in 1974. But for example in trade journals of the oil industry it was treated separately like a country.

The area was quickly, but briefly, overrun during the First Gulf War by Iraqi forces in 1991 after they invaded and occupied Kuwait; however, Coalition forces composed of American and Saudi contingents repelled the Iraqi offensive and liberated the area and the rest of Kuwait.[7]

Despite the zone being partitioned half a century ago, oil pumping is still done by agreements.[clarification needed][8][9]

Oil industry

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The conclusion of the negotiations between American Independent and the Kuwaiti government was announced on July 6, 1948.[10]

Geologist Paul T. Walton on behalf of Western Pacific Oil negotiated with King Ibn Saud in the Shepheard's Hotel in Cairo. The concession was granted for a $9.5 million initial bonus, 55 cents per barrel production royalty with a minimum of $1 million to be paid each year (corresponds to 1,818,182bbl) and a 25% interest in net profits.[11]

The two companies on June 30, 1949 signed an agreement for the first phase which involved the drilling of 4 holes to a depth of 5,000ft and signed a further agreement on February 14, 1950 for a phase of seismographic and core drilling work.[12]

The headquarters for the exploration crews was a refurbished Landing Ship, Tank, LST 1014, renamed MV Aminoil. The conversion was carried out by Levingston Shipbuilding Company in Orange, Texas from June 15 till September 30, 1949. The ship and the 3,000 tons of cargo represented an investment of $2 million. With the arrival of this mobile base camp via the Suez Canal in the Persian Gulf at the end of November 1949, exploration in the neutral zone commenced. The first drilling location was 25 miles inland on the border with Kuwait, in proximity to the prolific Burghan field.[13][14]

During 1950, three dry holes were drilled. Wafra No. 1 was spudded on December 11, 1949 and completed at 5,020ft on February 4, Wafra No. 2 was spudded 2 miles west of No. 1 on February 22 and abandoned at a depth of 5,250ft on June 9. Wafra No. 3[b] reached 5,000ft on October 20. In this early phase a fourth well, Fuwaris No. 1[c] also found nothing. In the meantime a comprehensive geophysical campaign was underway and in March 1952 the fifth wildcat (Al Hazaim) was spudded closer to the coast, but abandoned as a dry hole at 7,429ft by June 1952.[16][17][18][12] The 5-well exploratory campaign at the end of 1952 had resulted in an expenditure of $30 million[19] and the gamble to drill early concurrently with geophysical work had not paid off.

Wafra No. 4 was the discovery well. It was spudded on February 10, 1953 and on March 17, 1953 struck oil at 3,470ft and was completed at 3,620ft.[20][18]

At the end of 1953 a 34 mile 8- and 10-inch pipeline[d] was completed to the Mena Abdulla terminal (29°00′54″N 48°09′38″E / 29.0151°N 48.16065°E / 29.0151; 48.16065 (Mena Abdulla oil terminal)) in Kuwait, which was built concurrently and located immediately south of the Mena el Ahmadi terminal of the Kuwait Oil Company. In the first stage of completion the new infrastructure could pump 20,000 barrels per day from field to terminal tanks.[22][23] The first shipment (92,000bbl) of oil sailed aboard the Tsuruoki Maru on January 13, 1954,[24] bound for the 14,000bpd refinery of the Daikyo Oil Co. in Yokkaichi (Japan). At which time there were 2x73,000bbl storage tanks completed.[e] The 16-inch 7,500bbl/hour submarine loading line had a length of 12,000ft[18] and established a berth at a depth of 48ft of water.[25][21][26] See map in the World Petroleum 1954-02 issue. Aminoil completed a 30,000bpd topping plant at the end of 1958 and to supply it laid a 12-inch loop line to parallel the exiting 8/10-inch line.[27] A 32 mile 24-inch loop line was finished in 1961. The same year a 200ft diameter, 64ft high 600,000bbl tank was built, the largest oil tank in the world at the time. A 100,000bpd expansion of the topping plant was due to begin operations in 1962.[28][29]

Pacific Western eventually established their own loading dock and named it Mena Saud (28°44′29″N 48°23′34″E / 28.74146°N 48.39284°E / 28.74146; 48.39284 (Mena Saud oil terminal)) to honor the Sheikh who had ruled that they would not be allowed to continue using Mena Abdulla. A 8,674ft 20-inch outer diameter 1⁄2-inch thick pipe was welded on the beach and on October 23, 1954 was floated in place and sunk at Ras az Zour. It had no coating and it did have cathodic protection. A 10-inch pipe line connected the field to the terminal. The terminal became operational in early 1955.[30][31] Getty had a 50,000bpd topping plant in operation in 1959. A 31 mile 18-inch spiral weld loop line proved to be unserviceable and was replaced.[27]

Because of the low pressure encountered at the wells of the Wafra field, pumping jacks were soon introduced. In August 1959, one half of the 62 producers were already pumping and Getty Oil had plans to reconfigure all their wells.[27][32]

Oil production by year, by field (x1,000 barrels)[33]
Year Wafra Khafji Fuwaris Gudair Al Hout
1954 6,023
1955 8,848
1956 11,725
1957 23,300
1958 29,510
1959 41,980 420
1960 49,270 540
1961 57,705 7,482
1962 67,319 21,936
1963 66,254 48,246
1964 68,200 61,251 1,949
1965 64,970 65,235 2,046
1966 56,210 92,969 1,545 2,700
1967 49,665 101,848 1,207 0
1968 33,412 109,504 706 13,078
1969 30,373 110,596 392 4,699 7,092
1970 39,936 119,305 490 16,944 7,225
1971 45,000 127,809 832 19,441 6,031
1972 38,422 144,896 788 17,885 5,309
1973 30,020 139,836 876 16,167 4,029
1974 39,655 135,918 910 19,108 2,558
1975 43,441 117,000 945 18,149 2,100
1976 40,165 109,490 1,142 17,991 2,925
1977 42,657 69,380 1,068 20,200 2,900
1978 38,520 109,118 1,204 19,280 2,026
1979 40,723 134,600 955 18,538 2,320
1980 38,040 137,345 588 17,930 2,555
Producing fields and zones[28]
Field Zone Discovery Depth API Cumulative 1961
Wafra Burgan 1953 3,700 24 88,048,919
Eocene 1954 1,200 - 2,200 17 - 19 63,607,691
Ratawi 1955 7,100 25 47,456,827
Khafji 1960 5,500 26 1,909,550
Trade of neutral zone crude oil (barrels)[f]
Destination 1954 1955 1956 1957
Aminoil PacWes Aminoil Getty Aminoil Getty
USA 4,148,027 1,424,836 1,407,069 243,971 3,284,005 739,152 12,580,231
Japan 1,190,438 904,725 1,483,257 3,680,054 1,023,803 4,887,678 189,317
Italy 174,988 1,473,739 1,496,564 2,424,976 313,132
France 117,139 443,377 1,094,113 1,587,211 134,515
Germany 70,117 132,758
Egypt 112,974 896,105
Netherlands 531,387
Total 4,379,435 3,984,439 5,420,589 6,017,993 8,717,708 13,978,785
Total 5,700,709 8,363,874 11,438,582 22,696,493
Wells completed[g]
Year Oil Gas Dry Wildcats Feet
1950-1952 0 0 0 5 ca. 32,000
1953 4 0 0 1[h] 20,635
1954
1955
1956
1957 46 0 8 0 110,390
1958 37 0 12 0 102,424
1959 40 0 0 0 104,267
1960 80 0 0 0 202,038

Recent developments

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In December 2022, Saudi Aramco and Kuwait Gulf Oil Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop the Durra gas field, located in the neutral zone. The development aims at producing 280,000,000 cubic metres (9.9×109 cu ft) of natural gas and 84,000 barrels of LNG per day.[39]

On 26 May, 2025, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait announced a new discovery (500bpd of 26 to 27 API gravity) 5 kilometers north of Wafra field.[40][41]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ El Ghoneimy, Mohammed Talaat (1 July 1966). "The Legal Status of the Saudi-Kuwaiti Neutral Zone" (PDF). International and Comparative Law Quarterly (ICLQ). 15 (3). London, United Kingdom of Great Britain: British Institute of International and Comparative Law/Cambridge University Press: 690–717. ISSN 0020-5893. JSTOR 756765. OCLC 1753375. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  2. ^ Hosni, Sayed M. (1 October 1966). "The partition of the Neutral Zone". American Journal of International Law. 60 (4). American Society of International Law (ASIL)/Cambridge University Press: 735–749. doi:10.2307/2196925. ISSN 0002-9300. JSTOR 00029300. S2CID 147323918.
  3. ^ a b c Yergin, Daniel (1 December 2008). "22: The Age of Discovery". The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power (3rd ed.). New York City, New York: Free Press (Simon & Schuster). pp. 437–445. ISBN 9781439110126. OCLC 22381448. Retrieved 9 July 2021 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ Al-Naimi, Ali Ibrahim (2016). Out of the Desert: My Journey From Nomadic Bedouin to the Heart of Global Oil (1st ed.). London: Penguin Books. pp. 173, 234–236. ISBN 9780241978399. Retrieved 9 July 2021 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ "KSA Kuwait 1969". Archived from the original on 2005-01-09. Retrieved 2005-12-02.
  6. ^ Barson, E.S. (15 September 1970). Hodgson, R.D. (ed.). International Boundary Study No. 103 – September 15, 1970: Kuwait–Saudi Arabia Boundary (PDF). Office of the Geographer (Directorate for Functional Research, Bureau of Intelligence and Research) (Report). Vol. 103. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of State. pp. 1–10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  7. ^ Titus, James (1 September 1996). Kelly, Jay W. (ed.). The Battle of Khafji: An Overview and Preliminary Analysis (PDF). College of Aerospace Doctrine, Research, and Education (CADRE), Air University, United States Air Force (Report). Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air University (United States). pp. 3–39. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 January 2020.
  8. ^ Muzoriwa, Kudakwashe (16 February 2020). Mullaly, William; Rodrigues, Nigel (eds.). "Kuwait, Saudi to resume oil output from neutral zone this month". Islamic Business & Finance. Dubai, United Arab Emirates: CPI Financial. Bloomberg News. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  9. ^ Meddaugh, William Scott; Griest, Stewart; Barge, David Lee (15 March 2009). Tan, Michelle; Boyd, Michelle; Smith, Glenda; Rubin, Mark A.; Roodhart, Leo (eds.). Quantifying Uncertainty in Carbonate Reservoirs – Humma Marrat Reservoir, Partitioned Neutral Zone (PNZ), Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. SPE Middle East Oil and Gas Show and Conference. Vol. XVI. Manama, Bahrain: Society of Petroleum Engineers. doi:10.2118/120102-MS. ISBN 978-1-55563-215-1. Retrieved 9 July 2021 – via OnePetro.
  10. ^ "U. S. Group Wins Oil Grant Near Richest Arabian Deposits". The New York Times. Vol. 97, no. 33037. 7 July 1948. p. 1.
  11. ^ "Dr. Walton Negotiates Arabic Lease". California Oil World. Vol. 42, no. 9. May 1949. p. 40.
  12. ^ a b c "Neutral Zone Test - Fourth Venture Reported to be Below 7,000ft". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 49, no. 38. 25 January 1951. p. 177.
  13. ^ "Neutral Zone Exploration to Operate from Floating Base in Persian Gulf". World Petroleum. Vol. 20, no. 12. November 1949. p. 44.
  14. ^ "Mobile Base Sails for Persian Gulf". World Oil. Vol. 129, no. 8. November 1949. p. 272.
  15. ^ "Neutral Zone Test Fails". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 49, no. 48. 5 April 1951. p. 68.
  16. ^ "Neutral Zone Test Dry". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 51, no. 7. 23 June 1952. p. 54.
  17. ^ "Neutral Zone [during 1950]". World Oil. Vol. 133, no. 2. 15 July 1951. p. 236.
  18. ^ a b c d e "Wafra's Drilling, Development, and Shipping System". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 53, no. 8. 28 June 1954. p. 98.
  19. ^ "Neutral Zone Costs Bared". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 51, no. 22. 6 October 1952. p. 83.
  20. ^ "Neutral Zone". World Oil. Vol. 137, no. 3. 15 August 1953. p. 189.
  21. ^ a b "Oil From Neutral Zone Enters International Trade". World Petroleum. Vol. 25, no. 2. February 1954. p. 46.
  22. ^ "Neutral Zone..." World Oil. Vol. 139, no. 3. 15 August 1954. p. 104.
  23. ^ "American Independent Oil Co. - To Begin Oil Shipments From New Terminal". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 178, no. 5281. 14 December 1953. p. 1.
  24. ^ a b "No. 55-26: Economic Developments in Kuwait 1954". World Trade Information Service. United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Foreign Commerce. 1955. p. 2.
  25. ^ "American Independent Oil Co. - Ships From Kuwait". Commercial and Financial Chronicle. Vol. 179, no. 5293. 25 January 1954. p. 1.
  26. ^ "Second Lifting Due". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 52, no. 38. 25 January 1954. p. 118.
  27. ^ a b c "Pumping Jacks Making Bow in the Neutral Zone". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 57, no. 34. 17 August 1959. p. 118.
  28. ^ a b "Neutral Zone". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 59, no. 52. 25 December 1961. p. 110.
  29. ^ "World's largest oil storage tank built of USS T-1 Steel (advertisement)". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 59, no. 47. 20 November 1961. p. 260.
  30. ^ "World Wide Oil Report - Neutral Zone". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 54, no. 34. 26 December 1955. p. 150.
  31. ^ "Speedy Launching of Submarine Pipe Line". World Petroleum. Vol. 26, no. 10. September 1955. p. 106.
  32. ^ "Neutral Zone - Japanese Speed Things Up". The Oil and Gas Journal. Vol. 57, no. 53. 28 December 1959. p. 121.
  33. ^ "Historical Resume of Oil Production From Fields of the Arabian Platform in the Divided Neutral Zone, Through 1980". The Petroleum Resources of the Middle East. Energy Information Administration. May 1983. p. 146.
  34. ^ "Part 1, No. 56-44: Economic Developments in Kuwait 1955". World Trade Information Service. United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Foreign Commerce. 1956. p. 2.
  35. ^ "Part 1, No. 57-32: Economic Developments in Kuwait 1956". World Trade Information Service. United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Foreign Commerce. 1957. p. 3.
  36. ^ "Part 1, No. 58-21: Economic Developments in Kuwait 1957". World Trade Information Service. United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Foreign Commerce. 1957. p. 2.
  37. ^ "World Oil's 9th International Operations Issue - Neutral Zone..." World Oil. 15 August 1954. p. 104.
  38. ^ "World Oil's 16th International Outlook Issue - Wells Completed in the Neutral Zone, by Years". World Oil. 15 August 1961. p. 160.
  39. ^ "Aramco Gulf Operations, Kuwait's KGOC agree to develop Durra gas field, Saudi news agency reports". Reuters. 2022-12-11. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  40. ^ Editor, Khitam Al Amir, Chief News (2025-05-26). "Saudi Arabia, Kuwait announce new oil discovery in partitioned zone". Gulf News: Latest UAE news, Dubai news, Business, travel news, Dubai Gold rate, prayer time, cinema. Retrieved 2025-05-26. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  41. ^ "Saudi Arabia, Kuwait announce new oil discovery in partitioned zone". Qazinform.com. 2025-05-26. Retrieved 2025-05-26.
  1. ^ since 1932 controlled by J. Paul Getty and in 1956 was renamed the Getty Oil Company
  2. ^ By supplemental agreement of June 23, 1950 was drilled as an exploratory well not counting towards the 4 wells in the original agreement
  3. ^ reportedly 6 miles west of Wafra No. 3 and was below 7,000ft in January 1951[12] but abandoned as dry hole at ca. 9,400ft[15]
  4. ^ 12 miles of 8-inch and 22 miles of 10-inch surplus pipe purchased from Aramco. A single crew completed ca. 3,000ft per day with one stringer bead man and 5 production welders. There is a change in bearing in the line at mile 10 from the field, where it takes a slight left turn. This is due to a last minute 13 mile northward relocation of the terminal from the original point called Ras al Jaliyah (map: [21]).[18]
  5. ^ Due to long lead times on new tanks, two riveted tanks were dismantled in Wichita, Kansas and shipped abroad.[18]
  6. ^ 1954[24] 1955[34] 1956[35] 1957[36]
  7. ^
    • 1950-1952: see text above
    • 1953: [37]
    • 1957-1960: [38]
  8. ^ Wafra No. 4 - discovery well
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