‘File 86/2 VI (C 46) Bahrain Oil’

Content

The volume contains letters, telegrams and memoranda relating to ongoing exploratory oil drilling being undertaken in Bahrain by the Bahrain Petroleum Company (hereafter BAPCO), and the resignation of Major Frank Holmes as Chief Local Representative for BAPCO in Bahrain. The volume is a direct continuation of ‘File 86/2 V (C 44) Bahrain Oil’ (IOR/R/15/1/653). The principal correspondents in the volume are Captain Everald Gastrell, officiating Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. in Bahrain, Major Holmes, and various Government officials from the Colonial Office, India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. and Petroleum and Mining Departments in London.

Key subjects discussed in the volume include:

• Holmes’s resignation as Chief Local Representative for BAPCO in Bahrain, including a record of proceedings at the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. in London, dated 10 August 1933, in which a decision for Holmes’s removal was established (folios 27-33), an announcement of Holmes’s resignation in a telegram from the Secretary of State for India, dated 15 September 1933 (folio 58), and a copy of the text of a letter from Holmes, dated 15 September 1933, announcing his resignation to the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. (folio 83);
• The Ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah’s response to Holmes’s resignation (folios 46, 55-56, 66);
• Holmes’s departure from Bahrain, including translations of speeches given by the secretaries of the Manama and Muharraq municipalities at a farewell party in Holmes’s honour (folios 159-60, 161);
• Oil prospects in Bahrain and the need or lack of need for refineries in Bahrain (folio 113);
• A request from the replacement Chief Local Representative, Ed Skinner, for an urgent extension to the Company’s prospecting license, and subsequent negotiations for the extension (folio 148, 165-67, 180-82);
• Modifications to the BAPCO mining lease, with a draft of the amended lease (folios 128-42).

The volume also contains a printed translation of the Saudi decree announcing the oil concession at Al-Hasa, dated 10 July 1933 (folios 170-74).

Extent and format

1 volume (206 folios)

Arrangement

The volume’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. The office notes at the end of the volume (folios 191-96) mirror the chronological arrangement.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The main foliation sequence begins on the first folio and ends on the last folio, using circled pencil numbers written at the centre and top of each recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. . A second foliation sequence is also present between ff 3-190; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. The following foliation anomalies occur: 2, 2A, 2B and 2C. Index numbers written in red and blue pencil are part of the volume’s original filing system, and correspond to the numbered office notes index at the end of the file (ff 191-96).

Written in

English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script

Type

Archival file

Access & Reference

Original held at

British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/R/15/1/654

Former external reference(s)

A Series: 86/2 VI Confidential Series: C 46

History of this record

Date(s)

23 Apr 1928-31 Oct 1933 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Concessions, Oil, BahrainPetroleum products

Places

BahrainSitrah

People & organisations

Bahrain Petroleum CompanyChief Local RepresentativePolitical Agent

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‘File 86/2 VI (C 46) Bahrain Oil’, British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/654, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x000274> [accessed 16 April 2024]

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