مجموعة ٣٠/ ١١٩ "قطر: احتجاج ابن سعود على منح امتياز نفط قطر. مراسلات مباشرة بين شيخ قطر وابن سعود." [و‎‎٩] (١٩١/١٧)

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The South-Bfstern Arabian Frontiers
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On Noveaber 27th the Saudi Mlnioter, with whom I had been
lunching, raised the question of the south-eastern Arabian
frontiers with special reference to the Qatar Oil Concession.
I found that Sheikh Hafiz had not clearly realised the position
about the conceseion andfexplained to him, with the aid of a asp
produced by Mr. %aca, that the conceo; ion was for a limited area
which was ceacribed on a map attached to the concession# and that
although in one place it extended slightly beyond the naximum
frontier clei ed by Xing Abdul Aziz^it did not# in fact# extend
to what we regarded ee the frontier between Qatar and Saudi
Arabia. The limit of the concession in feet lay well to the
North of the maximum line which we had been able to offer to
King Abdul Aziz. There was no question of an unlimited "blanket
’concession"# as in the ease of the Saudi concession to the
Standard Oil Company of California, and in view of ourbown views
on the frontier question there could be no question of the
ucer ion extending over territory the sovereignty over which
was in any real doubt.
bheikh Hafiz did not discent from this explanation and did
not pursue the matter further# but the conversation then turned
on the question of the aouth-eoatern frontiers of Arabia as a
whole. As t>ir A. Ryan had by then almost certainly already made
hi.G of:er to Xing Abdul Axiz I sew no reason for not giming an
outline of it to the Minister# and I accordingly gave him a
x'ougn exp an&tion of the line which Sir A. Ryan had been authoris
ed to propose. Sheikh Hafiz rather surprised me by appearing
extremely oisappointed that we had not been able to offer eny
further concession to King Ibn Saud in the neighbourhood of
Khor el Ode id. I ex
>lained to him why this was impossible# and
reminded/