
Das Island ( Arabic : جزيرة داس ) is an
Emirati island in the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
. It lies about north-west of the UAE mainland; Qatar is also close by. It covers approximately by , and was almost rectangular in shape, but was significantly expanded to the south by artificial additions for a new runway and new accommodation in 2016.
Das Island is inhabited by about 6,000 oil and gas industry personnel on a rotational schedule. It exports
crude oil
Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...
and
liquefied natural gas
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...
by tankers as far as Japan and Europe. Oil production began after prospecting during 1956-1960 by Abu Dhabi Marine Areas (ADMA), a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
between
BP and Compagnie Française des Pétroles (later known as
Total
Total may refer to:
Mathematics
* Total, the summation of a set of numbers
* Total order, a partial order without incomparable pairs
* Total relation, which may also mean
** connected relation (a binary relation in which any two elements are comp ...
). Local exporting companies now all fall under the
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (), known by its acronym ADNOC, is the state-owned Petroleum industry, oil company of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
It is the world's 12th largest oil company by production. As of 2021, the company has an oi ...
ADNOC brand, include ADNOC Offshore (Oil), ADNOC LNG (LNG) and other companies. Das Island airport is the only airport on the island, and the runway was expanded and relocated in 2018.
Das Island is a noted breeding site for
turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order (biology), order Testudines, characterized by a special turtle shell, shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Crypt ...
s and
seabird
Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adaptation, adapted to life within the marine ecosystem, marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent ...
s. Despite oil and gas production, turtles still feed safely in the area and Das Island has remained an important landfall for migrant animals.
History
On 22 November 1976, a
Gulf Air
Gulf Air () is the flag carrier of Bahrain, which was founded in 1950. Headquartered in Muharraq, the airline operates scheduled flights to 51 destinations in 30 countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe. The airline's main hub is at Bahrain I ...
Short SC.7 Skyvan
The Short SC.7 Skyvan (nicknamed the "Flying Shoebox") is a British 19-seat twin-turboprop aircraft first flown in 1963, that was manufactured by Short Brothers of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Featuring a basic rugged design and STOL capabilities ...
cargo plane travelling from
Bahrain
Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
to
Abu Dhabi-Al Bateen Airport experienced an engine failure. The crew abandoned the aircraft off Das Island. The two occupants were rescued while the plane sank.
Climate
References
Islands of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi
{{UnitedArabEmirates-geo-stub