ABSTRACT
The Arabian/Persian Gulf, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman which connects the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, is some 500 miles long and between 50 and 200 miles wide. The depth of water rarely exceeds 50 fathoms. There are no significant seabed features such as troughs or declivities, and the littoral states therefore share a common continental shelf. The Gulf is almost an enclosed sea, and the moderate depth of superjacent waters places the entire area within the technological reach of the oil industry.
