Q 01/05

The 1991 Gulf War followed Iraq's invasion of which neighbouring Gulf state?

A) Qatar

B) Bahrain

C) Kuwait

D) Oman

Answer · why

C) Kuwait

Kuwait was overrun on 2 August 1990 and freed in February 1991; the retreating Iraqi army set more than 600 of its oil wells alight, and the last was ...

Q 02/05

Which body of water lies immediately east of the Strait of Hormuz, on the way to the open ocean?

A) The Gulf of Oman

B) The Gulf of Aden

C) The Red Sea

D) The Caspian Sea

Answer · why

A) The Gulf of Oman

The Gulf of Oman takes every ship that leaves, and then the Arabian Sea; inside the strait itself the shipping lane in each direction is only about tw...

Q 03/05

Which oil giant began life in 1909 as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, after a big strike at Masjed Soleyman in Iran?

A) Shell

B) BP

C) Chevron

D) TotalEnergies

Answer · why

B) BP

BP became a state concern in 1914: the British government bought a 51% stake so that the Royal Navy, which Churchill was switching from coal to oil, h...

Q 04/05

The Persian Gulf is ultimately an arm of which of the world's great bodies of water?

A) The Atlantic Ocean

B) The Indian Ocean

C) The Southern Ocean

D) The Pacific Ocean

Answer · why

B) The Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean reaches it through the Arabian Sea and the Strait of Hormuz; so much water evaporates in the heat, and so little river water arrives,...

Q 05/05

Which nation's only coast is a 58 km strip at the Gulf's head?

A) Kuwait

B) Qatar

C) Iraq

D) The UAE

Answer · why

C) Iraq

Iraq has about 58 km of coast in all, while Kuwait next door, a country some 25 times smaller, has nearly 500 km.