[3] In 2014, the cabinet ratified a draft amending provisions to the 1988 law that formalized Al Shahaniya as Qatar's eighth municipality.

[1] The plant's Latin name is Artemisia inculta; it is an aromatic perennial that frequently grows in the Middle East and North Africa region but which is scarce in Qatar due to its unsuitable soils.

Other geographic features listed by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment include 169 jeris (places where water flows), 71 hills, seven highlands, 13 sabkhas, and 15 capes.

These villages typically have less than a 100 inhabitants and were built over the few existing water sources in the region, as is often reflected in their names.

As an urban center, it serves as a central location for surrounding rural settlements, such as Rawdat Rashed and Al Khurayb.

[14] The majority of activity associated with camel racing and oryx breeding in Qatar take place within the municipality.

[17] The following zones were recorded in the 2015 population census:[1] Other settlements in Al Shahaniya include:[18] In the early days of oil and natural gas exploration, Dukhan was Qatar's most important industrial city.

[19] Natural gas and oil distribution pipelines and pumping stations are located in Al-Shahaniya City, Al Khurayb, and Mazrouah.

[23] A substantial government wellfield in Rawdat Rashed was historically used as a water source for Umm Bab's cement industry.

[24] Currently, Rawdat Rashed is one of the three major landfill sites in Qatar, being used mainly for construction and demolition waste.

[26] In April 2018, the Animal Production Research Station was established in Al-Shahaniya City by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment.

Spanning roughly 78,000 square meters and constructed at a cost of QR 30 million, its facilities include a research station, animal sheds and a veterinary clinic.

[27] There is a major government-owned plant nursery which spans over 2,500 sq meters in the village of Al Utouriya.

Oryxes for the reserve were transported from Muaither Farm by sheikh Abdulrahman bin Saud Al Thani.