SUMMARY OF MINING AND PETROLEUM LAWS OF THE WORLD (In Five Parts) 3. Near East and South Asia by Northcutt Ely 1 2 3 ABSTRACT This volume summarizes mining and petroleum legislation in 22 jurisdicions of the Near East and South Asia. Within these jurisdictions, primary ttention is given to requirements that must be met in each country for cquisition of rights to permit development of mineral resources. Coverage ncludes: First, identification of the controlling laws or statutes governing inerals acquisition and reference to the administrative authority; second, nalysis of the laws governing mines and quarries and their products; and hird, analysis of laws applicable to natural gas, petroleum, and related aterials. Where pertinent, sections dealing with historical background r administration have been added. In countries where minerals are subject to control of states or provinces, those areas are considered separately From the central government. INTRODUCTION This Bureau of Mines Circular is the third of a five-part series revising the "Summary of Mining and Petroleum Laws of the World" published as Informaion Circular 8017 in 1961. (Part 1, IC 8482, covers the Western Hemisphere and part 2, IC 8514, covers East Asia and the Pacific.) The author has sought to include all significant legislation applicable to minerals in each jurisiction. Instances where this goal has not been fulfilled are due to lack of available source material or to apparent insignificance of the area as a present or potential producer of minerals. Where rights have been granted under specific contractual negotiations between governments and companies, such as petroleum concessions in Iran, Counsellor at law, Washington, D.C., and Member of the Bars of the United States Supreme Court, the States of California and New York, and the District of Columbia. James E. Hickey, Jr., J. Michel Marcoux, and Robert F. Pietrowski, Jr., collaborated in the research and assisted in compiling this manuscript. Lester G. Morrell, mining engineer, Bureau of Mines, adapted the original manuscript for Federal publication. Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates, highlights of those contracts, where available, have been given. For Summaries of laws of the individual nations are necessarily brief, havin been condensed for the most part from a great volume of original material, much of it translated from a foreign language. While the latest material has been sought, new laws and regulations are continually being enacted. these reasons a caveat is appropriate; this text is intended only as an outline or guide. The reader who is concerned with investment or working conditions in a country is advised to ascertain the latest detailed provision of laws currently in force and to seek assistance of counsel experienced in local jurisprudence. Historically, many countries in the Near East and South Asia shared a common origin in British common law concepts. Mineral rights passed with the surface estate and consequently some deposits remained in private lands. Today, however, this system has been generally replaced by a leasing and concession system whereby minerals are owned by the State which determines, upon application from private individuals, the nature and extent of their usage. The great bulk of mineral laws in the areas covered by this volume were enacted within the last two decades. Most of those enacted earlier have undergone substantial change in recent years. Reference has been made to offshore petroleum laws where they exist, but with recent discoveries of petroleum on the Continental Shelf of several countries new laws can be expected regulating the exploration and exploitation of these resources. Throughout this volume equivalent currency values are based on the International Monetary Fund Schedule of Par Values, 51st issue, Washington, D.C., March 1971. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author is greatly indebted for the invaluable assistance and comments received from a large number of Government officials, scholars, representatives of private industry, and members of the Bar engaged in mineral law problems of the various jurisdictions studied. In particular the author wishes to acknowledge the following: Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. Bureau of International Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce, President of Mines and Geology, Royal Afghan Ministry of Mines His Excellency, Sheikh Sulman bin Hamad al Khalifah, Al Manamah, Geological Survey Department 48, Sri Jincratana Road, Colombo 2, Ceylon. Senior Mines Officer, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, i Nicosia, Cyprus. Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Mines and Metals, New Delhi, India. Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Chemicals, New Delhi, India. Minister of Industry and Mines, Tehran, Iran. Ministry of Oil and Minerals, Baghdad, Iraq. Ministry of Development, Tel Aviv, Israel. Ministry of National Economy, Amman, Jordan. Ministry of Finance and Oil, Kuwait. Director of Concessions Control, Ministry of Hydro-Electric Director, Nepal Bureau of Mines, Lain Chour, Katmandu, Nepal. Department of Petroleum Affairs, c/o the Minister of Finance, Directorate General of Mineral Resources, Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Jiddah, Saudi Arabia. Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Planning, Medinat as-Shaab, General Petroleum Establishment, Post Office Box 2349, Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic. Their Excellencies (UAE): Shaikh Zaid bin Sultan al-Nuhyan, Ruler of Abu Dhabi; Shaikh Rashid bin Sa'id al-Maktum, Ruler of Dubai; Shaikh Khalid bin Mohamed al-Qasimi, and his successor, |