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‘File 86/2 II (C 31) Eastern and General Syndicate, Oil, Bahrain’ [‎5r] (21/495)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (251 folios). It was created in 16 Sep 1929-15 Jul 1930. 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. .

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(E.1697/281/91).
MEMORANDUM ,
It would appear that in December 1925
an original concession for the operation of a
petroleum field in the Bahrein Islands was conceded
by the Sheik of Bahrein to the Eastern and General
Syndicate, a British company. In November 1927
this syndicate gave to the Gulf Oil Company of
Pennsylvania an option contract covering this
concession, but the latter company, since it was
a member of the American group, was debarred from
operating in the Bahrein Islands by the terms of the
Turkish Petroleum Company agreement signed on
July 51st, 1928• On December 21st, 1928, the
Gulf Company, with the consent of the Eastern and
General Syndicate, assigned its rights to the
Standard Oil Company of California under the above
option, and the latter company, in turn, organized
a Canadian subsidiary to hold and operate the con
cession. Under the terms of the option contract it
would appear that the Eastern and General Syndicate
undertook to secure from the Colonial Office a
renewal of the concession for one year from the
date of its expiry, December 2nd, 1928. The
Colonial Office, however, when approached in
October 1928 by the syndicate made its approval
of a renewal contingent upon the insertion in the
original concession agreement of a clause providing,
j - ri1: ' er "that the concessionaires should be a
British registered company; furthermore, that the
managing

About this item

Content

The volume contains letters, telegrams and memoranda relating to negotiations over the transfer of the Bahrain oil concession, conducted between the British Government, Eastern & General Syndicate Limited (hereafter E&GS), and the Eastern Gulf Oil Company of the United States (EGOC). The volume is a direct continuation, with some overlap of correspondence, with ‘File 86/2 I (C 30) Bahrain Oil Concession (Eastern & General Syndicate)’ (IOR/R/15/1/649). 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, Major Frank Holmes, Director of E&GS, and various representatives of the Colonial Office of the British Government in London.

Key subjects covered by the volume include:

  • Negotiations between the British Government and E&GS (on behalf of EGOC) for the transfer of the Bahrain oil concession from E&GS to EGOC, with particular emphasis on four conditions stipulated by the British Government to ensure sufficient British control of a concession funded by foreign finance;
  • An agreement of the concession transfer, and negotiations between the British Government and the solicitors appointed by EGOC (Freshfields, Leese and Munns of London) for the transfer;
  • Questions over legal jurisdiction and property law in Bahrain; negotiations with regard to the liability of the Ruler of Bahrain (Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah) in the event of theft of oil company property by oil company employees;
  • Registration of the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) in Canada;
  • Holmes’s trip to Bushire and Bahrain, and his appointment as chief representative of BAPCO in Bahrain;
  • E&GS/BAPCO application to extend the oil concession area across those parts of Bahrain not covered by the existing concession.

The volume contains numerous copies of the indentures and concessions agreements, in copy and original (folios 110-14, 206-10, 211-29).

Extent and format
1 volume (251 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 234-38) mirror the chronological arrangement. The subject index at the front of the volume (folio 2) refers to the original foliation system using uncircled pencil numbers.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The main foliation sequence begins on the front cover and ends on the inside back cover, using circled pencil numbers written in the top-right corner of each recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. . A second foliation sequence is present between folios 2-53 and 72-233; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence.

The following foliation anomalies occur: 1, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E; 2 and 2A; 130 and 130A; 144 and 144A.

Folios 176-195 are bound together and housed in a clear polyester sleeve.

Written in
English in Latin script
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‘File 86/2 II (C 31) Eastern and General Syndicate, Oil, Bahrain’ [‎5r] (21/495), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/650, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023838270.0x000016> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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