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‘File 86/2 I (C 30) Bahrain Oil Concession (Eastern & General Syndicate)’ [‎66r] (148/661)

The record is made up of 1 volume (328 folios). It was created in 28 Aug 1925-8 Sep 1929. 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. .

Transcription

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GONglPEMTIAL .
D.O. Ko.^1/2/2.
Bahrain t
^-thc 3th Novem'ber 1925,
j
r
Reg. /ofo
Date
GONFiDEHTiAL RE00RD8
Please refer to my telegram lTo.115^ dated the 6th
instant in regard to Major Holmes' negotiations for an oil
concession in Bahrain.
Soon after your departure from Bahrain, Major Holmes
sent a copy of the draft oil concession to Sheikh Hamad
and informed me in writing on the following day ohat he had
done so. I wrote to him in reply that I thought this rather
premature as you had told me "before leaving that y ©u. had
asked him to take no further steps in the negotiations until
you had received official intimation from the Colonial Officft
in regard to the suggested amendment to Article IV of the
draft mining lease. I said I was sure I could rely on him
to do nothing more than he had now done in the matter until
receipt of the above intimation, which I would send him
as soon as it reached me. I allowed Sheikh Hamad to keep
the draft concession, as I saw no object to be gained in
^ demanding it from him.
Major Holmes sent me an apologetic reply,, and
this is how matters stand, except that I have now received
from you the necessary intimation from the Colonial Office
under 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. endorsement No.393-S, dated the 23rd
October 1925. I have not informed^ Major Holmes of this,
as I wished first to get your definite permission for him
to carry on the negotiations, and, as this seems now the
certain result, for Sheikh Hamad to si^n the concession.
\ '
After his success with the water. Major Holmes is
v
very popular locally, and Sheikh Hamad would I think have
popular opinion behind him, if he gave him the oil concess-
-ion.
The Hon'ble Lieut. Colonel. P.B.Prideaux, C.S.I., C .I .E.,
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. .
I

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Content

The volume contains letters, telegrams and memoranda relating to negotiations for the extension of Eastern & General Syndicate Limited’s (hereafter E&GS) concession for oil exploration in Bahrain. Correspondents in the volume include 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 (chiefly Major Cyril Barrett, incumbent from September 1926 to April 1929), representatives of E&GS (including Major Frank Holmes and the Company Secretary, H. Adams), and various British Government officials in the Colonial Office.

Key subjects covered by the volume include:

  • Fears on the part of British officials in 1925 to the prospects of the discovery of oil in Bahrain (folios 29-31), and resistance to the E&GS having signed a concession with the Ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah (folios 62-63);
  • An application by E&GS in 1928 to extend their oil concession agreement (folios 110-11);
  • Confusion over the terms of a new agreement, with particular reference to a new clause insisting that the E&GS would remain a British interest (folios 193-95, 206-10);
  • Reports of American investment in E&GS (folios 196-98);
  • Terms of the agreement between E&GS and the North American Gulf Oil Company (folios 217-50);
  • Assignment of Gulf Oil’s option on the concession to the Standard Oil Company of California (folios 260-61);
  • Negotiations between E&GS and the Colonial Office over the maintenance of British control over oil exploration funded by foreign investment in Bahrain (folios 277-86);
  • Confirmation of the concession extension with the agreed terms over the extent of foreign (American) investment (folios 299-304).

The volume also contains copies of the numerous drafts of the oil concession, with its various modifications and amendments, including the original 1925 concession in English and Arabic (folios 79-97), and a draft copy of the 1928 agreement with additions inserted by a representative of the Government of Bahrain, presumably the Adviser to the Government, Charles Dalrymple-Belgrave (folios 156-75).

Extent and format
1 volume (328 folios)
Arrangement

The volume’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest items at the front to the latest at the end. The office notes at the end of the file (folios 309-17) mirror the chronological arrangement.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: There is an incomplete foliation sequence and a complete foliation sequence. The complete sequence is circled in pencil, in the top-right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio, and runs from 1 on the front cover, to 324 on the inside back cover. The following foliation anomalies occur: f.1 is followed by f.1a-f.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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‘File 86/2 I (C 30) Bahrain Oil Concession (Eastern & General Syndicate)’ [‎66r] (148/661), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/649, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023615245.0x000095> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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