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‘File 86/2 III (C 42) Bahrain Oil, Eastern and General Syndicate Limited’ [‎28r] (72/546)

The record is made up of 1 volume (271 folios). It was created in 8 Sep 1930-31 Jan 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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•7)/ ^
THE BAHREIN PETROLEUM COMPAl^Y LIMITED.
225, Bush Street,
San Prancisco,
California,
July 17th 1930,
Sir, i
A^a oil and gas concession dated December 2nd 1925, !
originally granted by Hamid Bin Sheikh Issa al Khalifah, Sheikh of
Bahrein, to Easterm and General Syndicate, Ltd., and covering the
Sheikh ? s territories comprising the Bahrein Islands in the Persian
Gulf, which concession has been subsequently modified as to certain
terms and conditions, is about to be assigned by said Syndicate
to the undersigned, The Bahreinn Petroleum Company Ltd. One of the
conditions of the Sheikh f s consent to the assignment is the
following:
"The Bahrein Petroleum Company Limited, as assignee of the
Eastern and General Syndicate Limited, shall be and remain a
British Company registered in Canada, but shall maintain an
office in Great Britain which shall at all times be in the
charge of a British subject, who shall be the recognised
channel of communication between the Company and His Majesty f s
Government in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland".
In compliance with this condition, the undersigned design
ates lTo.31 Old Jewry, London (E.C.2) as its office in Great
Britain, which shall be in charge of D.Duncan Smith, Esq., a British
subject, who shall be the recognised channel of communication
between His Majesty f s Government and the undersigned. Mr.Smith is
a partner in the firm of Preshfields, Leese and Munns,Solicitors.
Very respectfully,
The Bahrein Petroleum. Co. Ltd.
by W.H.Berg. Vice-President.
The Under Secretary of State,
Colonial Office,London,S.W.I.
I
II
ngland.

About this item

Content

The volume contains letters, telegrams and memoranda relating to the completion of the transfer of the Bahrain oil concession to the Bahrain Petroleum Company (hereafter BAPCO), and BAPCO’s ongoing oil exploration activities in Bahrain. The volume is a direct continuation of ‘File 86/2 II (C 31) Eastern and General Syndicate, Oil, Bahrain’ (IOR/R/15/1/650). The principal correspondents in the volume are 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 (Captain Charles Prior until November 1932, Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch thereafter), 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 Hugh Vincent Biscoe until July 1932, Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Fowle thereafter), and representatives of BAPCO, chiefly Major Frank Holmes in Bahrain and Kuwait, and Hamilton Ballantyne in London.

Key subjects covered by the volume include:

  • The British Government’s rejection in 1930 of a request from BAPCO for an extension to the Bahrain concession area (folios 16, 18-21);
  • The appointment of the Canadian-born solicitor Montague G. Powell to the BAPCO board, in response to the British Government’s stipulation that a British subject sit on the BAPCO board (folio 27);
  • The extension of BAPCO’s prospecting license, including provisions, with a copy of the 1932 extension (folio 196);
  • A discussion between British Government and BAPCO officials over the terms of the concession in relation to determining the value of a well (folios 81-82, 84-85);
  • News of oil having been struck in Bahrain (folios 96-97);
  • Holmes’s guarantee in 1923 of 0.5 per cent of the company to Shaikh Abdulla bin Esa al Khalifa [Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah], for assistance in helping Eastern Syndicate & General win the Bahrain concession (folios 107, 115-16);
  • Concern that Holmes, in his capacity as chief representative of BAPCO in Bahrain, does not spend sufficient time in Bahrain (folios 139-41);
  • Negotiations throughout 1932 for amendments to clauses in the prospecting license, relating to the measurement, payment of royalties and use of crude oil by the company, including copies in both English and Arabic of an indenture modifying the terms of the concession (folios 228-31, 240-43).
Extent and format
1 volume (271 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 247-57) 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: 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. It begins on the front cover on number 1, and ends on the inside back cover, on number 263. The following foliation anomalies occur: 1, 1a, 1b, 2, 2a, 2b, 2c.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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‘File 86/2 III (C 42) Bahrain Oil, Eastern and General Syndicate Limited’ [‎28r] (72/546), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/651, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023808998.0x000049> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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