Skip to item: of 506
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

'File 86/1 VII (D 101) Kuwait Oil' [‎100r] (214/506)

This item is part of

The record is made up of 1 volume (249 folios). It was created in 9 Apr 1934-30 Jun 1934. It was written in English. 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. .

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

flaHglDEHTIAL .
P.0.N0.481-S of 1934
The Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. ,
Bushire, the 29th May 1934
c
/
f 4*0
Please refer to paragraph 3 of your letter Uo.
P. a ..2987/34 of 8th May 1934 to Rendel. As you say, I had
forgotten for the moment that the Kuwait Oil Company would
not be free to operate in the Neutral ^one. Howeirer,
substituting the Iraq Petroleum Company, who can operate
in the ^one, for the Kuwait Oil Company, who cannot f I
think there may be something in my idea. The Iraq
Petroleum Company and the California Oil would hare to
get together and agree amongst themselves that proTided no
third competitor entered the field for the iione say for the
space of two years, (which could be ensured by His Majesty^
Government exercising their veto on the Shaikh), neither
party would compete for the <«one» This would effectively
sterilise this area. This sterilization I imagine might
suit the Iraq Petroleum Company as well as both the
California Oil and the Kuwait Oil Company. It is quite on
the cards that neither of these latter Companies will find
oil in their respective areas, i.e. Hasa and Kuwait, and
if this is the case I do not imagine that there will be
much competition for the small zone in between•
2. Of course the sterilization would not suit Bin Saud
or the Shaikh, but as it would only be for a period of a
couple of years I think that their complaints could be
resisted*
3./
J•G.Laithwaite iSsquire.
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. ,
London.

About this item

Content

The volume contains correspondence between 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. at Kuwait (Harold Richard Dickson); 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. (Trenchard Craven Fowle); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan); Officials in the India and Foreign Offices (including Sir Louis Kershaw, John Gilbert Laithwaite, George Rendel); the Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ); the Air Ministry (Wilfred Ashton McLaughry); the Air Office Commanding, Iraq (Alexander Duncan Cunningham); and representatives of the Kuwait Oil Company (Frank Holmes, Archibald Chisholm), Arabian Development Syndicate, Anglo-Persian Oil Company, and Iraq Petroleum Company.

The correspondence relates primarily to the Kuwait Oil Company's negotiation's with His Majesty's Government and the Shaikh of Kuwait for the Kuwait (also given as Koweit) Oil Concession, focusing on discussions around clauses in both the Commercial and Political Agreements and the Shaikh's concerns over how certain clauses may be perceived both within his own country and in neighbouring ones.

Also discussed are developments in Saudi Arabia with regards to their share of the Nejd-Kuwait Neutral Zone Oil Concession, which was being competed for by the Standard Oil Company of California and the Arabian Development Syndicate, and the British Government's opinions on the situation and their intended approach with regards to the Kuwait share of the concession. The information relating to the Saudi Government's approach to the concession is relayed through letters and reports from Sir Andrew Ryan, HM Minister at Jedda, and contain details of his discussions with representatives of both the Saudi Government and the oil companies.

The correspondence also includes a discussion relating to land at Shuwaikh, identified by the British Government for possible use as an air base, and includes negotiations over the cost of renting the site or the possibility of reserving it for future use. Also included are details of reconnaissance undertaken by the Air Officer Commanding for alternative sites, which was unsuccesful, and correspondence regarding the use of Kuwait Harbour for flying boats and the need to identify suitable locations in the Harbour for moorings.

Extent and format
1 volume (249 folios)
Arrangement

The contents of this volume have been arranged mostly in chronological order.

Folios 236-241 contain file notes detailing each letter contained within the volume, and giving the page numbers each letter commences on enabling the notes to be used as an index.

Some of the letters refer to earlier correspondence in previous volumes, and provide a page and volume reference in order for the earlier correspondence to be identified.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The volume has been foliated in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio with a pencil number enclosed in a circle. The foliation sequence commences on the first folio after the front cover, with 1A and concludes on the back cover with number 246. Foliation anomalies: 1A-E.

Written in
English in Latin script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

'File 86/1 VII (D 101) Kuwait Oil' [‎100r] (214/506), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/643, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023586318.0x00000f> [accessed 28 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023586318.0x00000f">'File 86/1 VII (D 101) Kuwait Oil' [&lrm;100r] (214/506)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023586318.0x00000f">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x000269/IOR_R_15_1_643_0214.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000193.0x000269/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image