Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani
It was administered wholly by Qatar Petroleum at the time of its inception. The government had agreed to the company's request to allow it full jurisdiction over the area and, until the 1960s, the government had prioritized the development of Doha rather than its natural gas industry. The rapid growth of oil revenues in the 1960s and the accession of Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani in 1972 resulted in the government assuming a portion of control over the area. In 1970, the first government-prepared industrial site in Mesaieed was created for QAFCO.