A history of the Abu Dhabi Company For Onshore Oil Operations  (ADCO), published in 2003 to mark 40 years since the company first started exporting oil. ADCO was originally known as the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company and Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast), and played a key role in the economic development of the emirate of Abu Dhabi. It was later absorbed into ADNOC. The book features hundreds of scarce photographs and other archive material from the period, both of oil-related activities and of the wider development of Abu Dhabi and its people. This example is signed and inscribed by Andre Von Strijp, the company’s GM at the time of the book’s publication, with two original photos showing him at work in ADCO offices. It also  includes a separate original colour photograph of Wilfred Thesiger visiting ADCO for a ceremony in Abu Dhabi in 2000. Thesiger was best-known as the author of Arabian Sands, published in 1959, which contains many references to the Emirate. He returned to the UAE in 2000 to mark the re-release of some of his books, and was invited to a number of events and ceremonies. Published by ADNOC in 2003. Hardcover, in near-fine condition. 250 pages, bilingual text English/Arabic.