Arzanah - The Island
Arzanah as seen from the
satelliteArzanah is an island located 25 kilometers southeast of Dayyinah, 175 kilometers north west of Abu Dhabi. The island, with an area of about 10 square kilometers, has a barren central hilly spine rising to 66 meters and is geologically the higher part of an underlying salt dome.
No archaeological sites have been located on Arzanah, although it first appears in history in 1580 in a list of Gulf islands published by the Venetian jeweler Gasparo Balbi. Recent developments may have destroyed some sites, however further survey work is required. Important pearlbeds exist locally which were presumably exploited in historic times.
27 new bird species were recorded during the bird monitoring survey. The island provides habitat for three terrestrial mammal species -- Feral Cat, Brown Rat, and House Mouse. A few turtles come ashore to lay their eggs annually, but the hatchlings, as with incubating seabirds and chicks, are at risk because of the local cats.
Red-billed tropic-birds (Phaethon aethereus)
In 1994, ADNOC assigned the operations of Arzanah Island to ZADCO and commenced a program to remove predators not native to the area such as cats in 1996. Arzanah produces crude oil at a rate of 15,000 barrels a day from the offshore field.
Fishing Boats at the Island
