'File 86/1 III (D 81) Kuwait Oil. Eastern and General Syndicate' [158r] (334/382)
The record is made up of 1 volume (190 folios). It was created in 14 Jun 1932-31 Jan 1933. 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.
production which Is likely to be secured. And here the amount
Is important. G enerally speaking the Coy. withthe higher*
of Tnfl niwniwi rnyfli ty/win have the greater inducement to produce
minimum loyalty
oil. ItfL may also be said that too high a tonnage royalty
may retard production, and here the provision in the Eastern
and General Syndicates draft, allowing a cessation of operations
should not be lost sight of. The rate of royalty offered by the
Eastern and General Syndicate is the same as that in India,
but thare is a local market to absorb all the production. The
rate offered by the Anglo-Persito. Oil Company is approximately
the same as that levied by the Iraq Goverm® nt.
In Venezuela the rate of royalty Is understood
not to exceed 2/- a ton in most instances, while in Trinidad
there are many leases with a roylaty of from 1/6 to 2/;
although in recent years a royalty of 3/- has been imposed.
In the case of both these countries, over 90 per cent of the
oil has to bo exported.
Eastern and General
Syndicate. f Anglo-Persian Oil Company.
Gustoms Duty . The company Customs Duty. No similar
undertake to pay the Shaikh provision,
a Customs Duty of on all
oil produced from Kuwait
territory, calculated on
the value of the oil at the
wells.
Comment .
It is not usual to impose a Customs Duty in
addition to royalty. Such a charge mi^it with some Justifi
cation be levied in a country where the State does not own
the mineral rights and desires to secure some financial considei>
atlon for the loss of a wasting asset such as petroleum. But
where the State is the owner of the minerals it is regarded as
preferable that the State should take the whole of its financial
return in the shape of royalty. Apart from the principle
involved there is bound to be some difficulty in assessing the
value of the oil for purposes of the duty, whether at the
About this item
- Content
The volume contains correspondence relating to the draft oil concession agreements presented to the Shaikh of Kuwait (Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) by the Eastern and General Syndicate Limited, and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (A.P.O.C.).
The correspondence focuses particularly on the individual clauses within the two draft agreements and a comparison of them for the Shaikh in order that he can make an informed decision on which concession proposal is best for his country. The memorandum comparing the drafts is produced by the Petroleum Department of the British Government and two copies of it are contained in the volume (folios 48-64, 153-161).
Also included in the volume is correspondence between the US Embassy in London and the Foreign Office regarding what the US embassy view as unacceptable delays in the amount of time it has taken the British Government to discuss the question of the Kuwait concession and repeating their concerns that the Eastern and General Syndicate will not be compared favourably alongside the British A.P.O.C. proposal. Also outlined by the Foreign Office are their fears that the Government's delays in responding to the US in this matter could potentially affect more serious negotiations in the future between the two countries.
Other items of interest in the volume include:
- Letters from the Admiralty and the Army Council expressing their concerns over strategic and military assets in the Gulf should American interests be permitted to acquire the oil concession in Kuwait;
- Enquiries from 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. to the Secretary of State for India asking if anything can be done to assist the Shaikh of Kuwait with his grievances regarding his date gardens in Iraq and Ibn Sa'ud's blockade;
- A letter from the Secretary of State, Foreign Office (on behalf of the Secretary for Mines) to the Director of the Eastern and General Syndicate Limited outlining the history and background to an oil concession in Kuwait dating back to 1917 when A.P.O.C. first undertook preliminary examinations in Kuwait and Bahrain (folios 76-81);
- Details of proposals by A.P.O.C. to increase the financial offer of their concession
- Letter from 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 Kuwait to 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. regarding anti-A.P.O.C. and anti-British propaganda which is being circulated in Kuwait (folios 106-108).
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (190 folios)
- Arrangement
The contents of the file have been arranged mostly in chronologically order.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The principal foliation runs from the first folio to last folios and consists of numbers enclosed in a circle in the top right hand corner. A second former sequence commences on the first folio of writing and concludes on folio 173, consisting of pencil numbers (not circled) in the top right hand corner. This sequence has gaps. Foliation anomalies: 1A-1D, 21A, 162A
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/1/640
- Title
- 'File 86/1 III (D 81) Kuwait Oil. Eastern and General Syndicate'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 1r:1v, 1ar:1dv, 2r:5v, 7v:21v, 21ar:21av, 22r:22v, 24v:41v, 42v:116v, 116ar:116av, 117r:127v, 130v:170v, 171v:172v, 173v:180v, i-r:i-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence