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‘File 86/2 XIII (C 61) Bahrain Oil’ [‎78r] (165/438)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (218 folios). It was created in 21 Dec 1934-30 Aug 1935. 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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Direction of the straa In that turner will cx>ntinuD until all of the oil,
and possibly a small amount of netsr, have been returned to this tank,
whertmpon the water strear: will be diverted through the ballast line and
into the bilge witer tank. hen discharge of brdlast vatcr is eompleted,
about 50 barrels of oil id 11 be drawn frora one of the other oil tanks and
pusrped by means of the land puiaps through the circulating line, displacing
water left in this line into the same tank into which oil frota the sea line
had been placed, whence s.ich water ray subsequently be drained off, 'This
entire operation will be completed before gauging of the tank*-, froti which
shipaent is to be made or before any of the steps in oil raeasurement
described in theiaemorandum on that subject are taken.
ifter full and careful consideration, the Company feel that the imethod
above outlined will be the siraplest and moat practicable one for handliaf oil
displaced frcffij the eea line, Ihe only possible objection to the method is
that it does not Demit a direct measuroment of the amount of oil returned
to the Bitrah oil tanks nor hence the amount of deduction required in the
oil -royalty account, 4 direct laeasur^neat of oil so returned, however, is
not necessary in the interests of practicable accuracy, as the volume of the
sea loading line can be closely eomputed by a siiaple calculation, the length
of the pipeline itself, frors the 12" valve in the control house to the sea
end is 15,975 feet, inclusive ot expansion bends, and its internal diameter
11 #875 inches. There i® also the aea hose, 175 feet in length and 8 inches
in internal diameter. [tie conbined capacity of the two can be readily com
puted as 2,199,15 TJ. , barrels {9,702 cubic inches per barrel.)
In order to provide against any possible loss of revenue to ie
ixcellency, however, the Ca&paay proi>ose a figure of E,160 barrels as the
assumed amount of oil returned to the tanks when the mam is displaced tvm.
the sea loading line. It ie believed that the amount of 39.15 barrels
subtracted from the vdliaae figure above computed will amply provide for
{X) a reasonable amount of error, (2) a correction of the oesaputed volume of
oil to volurae at 60° F, and (5) a email amount of oil that mic^t rer?iain lodged
in the pipeline. Ihe Cdapany further fRiggest an even amount of *s94 tons as
beinr^ the assumed weight of the 8,160 barrels referred to above, as this is
approxiisately the weight of that amount of oil with an gravity of
^).9 0 , which is thought to be a fair average for the Bahrein oil.
Hie Company propose, therefore, that on occasionr, when oil in the aea
loading line ~iust be re? turned to the Pitrah oil tanks they follow the procedure
outlined above and deduct frosi the evrailative amount of oil on which royalty
is currently due to His xcellency an a&iount of S94 tons, -ending a period
of observation and trial in actual practice, the Coiapany suggest uiiat the
foregoing proposal be agreed upon initially with the understanding that
either the Conpany or Ills 1 xcellency may be free to reconsider anci re -open
the question at any time in the future when it may appear necessary or
advisable to either of thaa.

About this item

Content

The volume contains letters, telegrams and memoranda relating to oil production in Bahrain, being undertaken by the Bahrain Petroleum Company (hereafter BAPCO). The volume is a direct continuation of ‘File 86/2 XII (C 54) Bahrain Oil’ (IOR/R/15/1/660). The principal correspondents in the volume are the 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 Trenchard Fowle, 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. in Bahrain, Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch, and BAPCO’s representatives in London (Hamilton Ballantyne) and Bahrain (Messrs Russell and Smith).

The subjects covered by the volume are:

  • Finalisation of BAPCO’s mining lease, and its signing on 29 December 1934 by the Ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, and representatives of BAPCO. The volume includes a photostat [photocopy] of the original lease (in English and Arabic, folios 137-67) and a printed copy (English, folios 170-87), both of which contain a map (folios 164 and page 186 respectively) showing the 100,000 acres designated by BAPCO for the mining lease;
  • Discussion over the status of land reserved by Shaikh Hamad and the ruling family for leisure purposes within the concession area (palace and gardens, hunting, racing), with a scientific survey of the areas in question (folios 191-99);
  • Details relating to the transfer of oil from storage tanks on land to tankers off the coast of Sitrah Island, including proposals for procedures to be followed relating to oil in the sea-loading line and the discharge of ballast (folios 77-79, 81-84) and a diagrammatic plan (folio 50) of the tank installation, attached to a detailed description of the tank facilities (folios 43-49);
  • The appointment of Mr Smith as Chief Local Representative for BAPCO (folio 119), pending Mr Russell’s planned absence from Bahrain;
  • Speculation over the extent of oil exports from Bahrain, and Japan as a key market, with an anticipated five tanker visits during 1935 (folios 110-11);
  • An abstract of accounts for oil measured in 1934 (folios 102-04), including details of the amount of oil produced and shipped, the amount of oil in storage, and royalties paid to Shaikh Hamad;
  • BAPCO’s annual report for 1934 (folios 127-34), with details about the status of BAPCO’s wells, a description of the oil camp buildings, and a breakdown of the nationalities of the Company’s 589 employees;
  • An application by BAPCO to reserve uncultivated land for the drilling of water wells, including a map of the area under consideration (folios 204-05).
Extent and format
1 volume (218 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 (ff 209-13) mirror the chronological arrangement. There is a subject index, arranged alphabetically, at the front of the volume (f 1A), the numbers of which correspond to the volume’s foliation.

Many items of correspondence in the volume have pencil annotations, which refer to related items of correspondence found within other parts of the Bahrain Oil subject file. These annotations include the related confidential file number and the page number.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The volume is foliated from the first folio to the last folio, using pencil numbers written in the top-right corner of each recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. . The foliation sequence switches to pagination between ff 171-186. Numbers written in red or blue pencil are part of the volume’s original filing system, and correspond to the office notes index at the end of the volume (ff 209-13). The following foliation anomalies occur: 1A, 1B, 1C and 1D; 187 and 187A.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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‘File 86/2 XIII (C 61) Bahrain Oil’ [‎78r] (165/438), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/661, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023556256.0x0000a7> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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