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‘File 86/2 IV (C 43) Bahrain Oil; Eastern and General Syndicate Limited’ [‎2cv] (14/456)

The record is made up of 1 volume (227 folios). It was created in 6 Jan 1933-29 Jun 1933. It was written in English and Arabic. The original is part of the 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. .

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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). The volume is a direct continuation of ‘File 86/2 III (C 42) Bahrain Oil, Eastern and General Syndicate Limited’ (IOR/R/15/1/651). The principal correspondents in the volume are Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Fowle, Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch, 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, and Major Frank Holmes, Chief Local Representative of the Bahrain Petroleum Company.

Key subjects discussed in the volume include:

  • Discussion amongst British officials in Bahrain and London over whether BAPCO are fulfilling conditions C and D of their contractual obligations in the concession agreement, respectively: the long periods of absence from Bahrain of the Chief Local Representative of the Company (Holmes), and the proportion of British to non-British workers employed by BAPCO;
  • A dispute over exemption of duty on equipment imported by BAPCO;
  • Whether oil royalties should be paid in Indian rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. or Sterling;
  • A request by BAPCO for an extension of the prospecting license, including Holmes’s offer of terms and a draft indenture (folios 68-72), and the Ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah’s rejection of Holmes’s offer (folios 86-91);
  • A map of the prospective location of the British naval base at Bahrain (folio 117a);
  • Enquiries by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company after a concession for those parts of Bahrain not covered by the existing BAPCO concession.

The volume also contains a set of notes which provide a concise overview of the Bahrain concession to date, including details of the commercial viability of Bahrain’s oil, under the heading ‘exploitable quantity’ (folios 58-64).

Extent and format
1 volume (227 folios)
Arrangement

The volume’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest items at the front to the latest at the rear. Office notes at the end of the volume (folios 210-16) mirror the chronological arrangement. The subject index at the front of the volume (folio 2) refers to the uncircled numbers used by the volume’s original foliation system.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The main foliation sequence begins on the front cover and ends on the last folio, and uses circled pencil numbers located in the top centre of each recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. . A second foliation sequence is present between ff 3-209; 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: 1, 1a, 1b, 2, 2A, 2B, 2C, 117 and 117a.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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‘File 86/2 IV (C 43) Bahrain Oil; Eastern and General Syndicate Limited’ [‎2cv] (14/456), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/652, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023529586.0x000010> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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