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'86/12-III CONFIDENTIAL A. 85 P.C.L. MUSCAT' [‎122v] (249/564)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (278 folios). It was created in 20 Oct 1937-31 Dec 1944. 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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4
company, and sent to the Governor for consideration, in the meantime Peti oleum
Concessions (Limited) have been given permission to send an exploiation pa it
the Protectorate (see also note under “ Muscat and Oman ).
Saudi Arabia: (i) Red Sea Area.
21 The petroleum rights in this area were granted to Petroleum Concessions
(Limited) on the 9th July, 1936. The concession runs for a P e [ 10 f, of /^ t y >'f“ s
and covers the whole of the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia o a depth of 100 ki
(together with the Farsan and other islands and territorial waters). Prospec g
work has been carried out by Petroleum Development (Western Arajua) (Limited)
the local operating company of Petroleum Concessions (Limited) but w
exception oAhe Farsan Islands and a very small stretch of the coast the results
have been disappointing.
Saudi Arabia: (ii) l<Iejd. ^
22. (a) Hasa. —The oil rights in this area were conceded to the ^nc ar
Oil Company of California by Ibn Baud on the 27th May, l^-The con
cession has since been transferred to the California ra mn , i
Company, a subsidiary company, the share capital of whic is w Y •
Standard Oil Company of California and the Texas Corporation equally,
concession runs for a period of sixty years. The area of the concession as se ou
in the relevant article of the concession agreement is as follows :
“All of Eastern Saudi Arabia, from its eastern boundary (mcluding
islands and territorial waters), westward to the westerly edge o, the J)ah ana,
and from the northern boundary to the southern boundary of Saudi Arabia
provided that from the northern end of the westerly edge of the Lahana the
westerly boundary of the area in question shall continue in a straight him
north 30 degrees west, to the northern boundary of Saudi Arabia and f om
the southern end of the westerly edge of the Dahana such boundary shall
continue in a straight line south, 30 degrees east, to the southern boundary
of Saudi Arabia.”
23. Drilling has been carried out by the company s o me
found It has recently been reported that a well giving 3,400 barrels oil per
d a v has been brought in. Some of the oil from Hasa is being taken to Bahrein
tv refinin' It fs also understood that plans for the development of a port
nn the Hasa coast are under consideration and that the necessary t la
will shortly be prepared by the Admiralty on the basis of information supp ie
bv the company as the result of a survey carried out by them. . ,
~ 24 (b) Remainder of Nejd.—The position as regards oil exploration rigii
in territory of Saudi Arabia not included in the Red Sea
concessions referred to above, is uncertain. It was believed at the time that tl ^
Hasa concession agreement had been supplemented by a special agreement or
“ secret clause,” giving the Standard Oil Company of California some km o
an notion on this territory, but details were lacking. . . .
25 Information has recently been received, however, which points to
the probability that on the 29th May, 1933, the Saudi Arabian Government and he
roZany agreed upon a modified form of the concession signed on the
OTftf M/referred to in paragraph 22), the modifications consisting of the addi-
Uob o^twiextralrGcl s, numbered respectively 3 and 7, which have been mserted
irtheir appropriate positions in the body of the original agreement of the
27th May, the subsequent articles being appropriately renumbered, and a revised
version ofthe addi tional articles (or special agreement)
is to accord to the Standard Oil Company of California—
“a oreference right to acquire an oil concession covering the balance o
Eastern Saudi Arabia extending as far west of the westerly boundary of the
exclusive area {i.e., the Hasa concession area) as the contact between the
sedimentary and igneous formations.
HG Maiestv’s Government are not at present aware whether or where
Sis ‘ ‘contact line ” has been established. There is presumab y an area uncovered
by any “slonor preference rights between the “ contact line,’ wherever that
may be, and the eastern boundary of the Red Sea concession.

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Content

The volume comprises correspondence between 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. , 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 Muscat, 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 Bahrain, 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. (Roland Tennyson Peel, John Percival Gibson, Francis Anthony Kitchener Harrison) , the Secretary to the Government of India (Sir Aubrey Metcalfe), the Sultan of Muscat and Oman (Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd) and Petroleum Development (Oman and Dhofar) Limited (Ernest Vincent Packer, John Skliros, H H Wheatley) regarding the oil concession agreements concluded with the Sultan of Muscat for Dhofar [Zufār] and Muscat territory. Copies of the two concessions can be found at folios 17-47.

Included in the volume is correspondence relating to the political agreement between His Majesty’s Government and Petroleum Development (Oman and Dhofar) Limited including its presentation to the Sultan of Muscat; the Sultan’s concerns about the document and negotiation with 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. in order to agree a suitably amended version that satisfied all parties, including the decision by 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. to have a separate pre-emption agreement. Copies of the Political Agreement and Pre-Emption Clause agreement can be found at folios 93-98 and 132-135.

Also discussed is the decision by Petroleum Development (Oman and Dhofar) Limited to take up in 1942 the option of an extension on their exploration agreement for two years owing to wartime conditions and further discussion regarding possible methods of extending the exploration agreement to the end of the war and a period beyond. The conclusion of the discussion being the decision by the Company to take up their concession rather than attempt to negotiate any further extension. Also discussed are concerns by the Sultan of Muscat that the Company did not really intend to explore and develop a concession in his territory and were only really interested in preventing other companies operating there. The concession with the Shaikh of Ajman [‘Ajmān] (Rāshid Bin Ḥumaid Al-Nu`aimī) is also discussed in this context as the exploration of that territory had also not commenced on the outbreak of World War II and extensions to the exploration agreement were therefore also required.

Further correspondence relates to the Oil Undertaking made in 1923 by Sultan Taimur bin Faisal [Sayyid Taymūr bin Fayṣal bin Turkī Āl Bū Sa‘īd], formerly Sultan of Muscat and father of Sayyid Said bin Taimur. The correspondence centres around the assertion made by Sultan Said bin Taimur that the undertaking was not binding on him as his father had written a letter to the political authorities in 1923 stating that any such undertaking would not be binding on his successors unless specifically stated in the contractual agreement. Further correspondence concludes that the letter written by Sayyid Taimur bin Faisal in 1923 was received by 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. but was never responded to by him or forwarded on to 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. or Government of India and that they were therefore unaware of any such opinion or response and that as a result were prepared to consider a re-negotiation of the Sultan’s treaties and undertakings.

Also of interest within the volume are:

  • discussions about the Muscat Arms Subsidy which was originally granted to Sayyid Faisal bin Turki [Fayṣal bin Turkī Āl Bū Sa‘īd] including the conditions under which it was granted and the lack of clarity in the terms and conditions of the subsidy’s contract;
  • discussions regarding the Oman hinterland which the Company were interested in exploring but which was under the authority of the Imam of Muscat and the decision to wait until the following year to raise the question again as the Imam’s authority in that area was considered to be dwindling and the Sultan hoped then to be able to make arrangements with either the Imam of the tribes living there;
  • a memorandum prepared in the Petroleum Department, June 1938, looking at areas where petroleum concessions were mostly likely to be, or had been already been obtained, on the Arabian Peninsula (Koweit [Kuwait], Koweit Neutral Zone, Bahrein [Bahrain], Qatar, Trucial Sheikhdom’s, Aden Protectorate, Saudi Arabia, The Yemen, Muscat, and Oman) and looking at Petroleum Concessions Limited's refinery agreement and pre-emption clause.

The agreements and correspondence with the Sultan of Muscat are in Arabic and English.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 264-276.

Extent and format
1 volume (278 folios)
Arrangement

The volume contains a table of contents on folio 3 comprising of subject headings and page references. The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with folio 1 and terminates at the back cover with folio 280; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional mixed foliation/pagination sequence is also present between ff 2-267; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled. These are located in the same position as the main sequence, except for some instances which are located on the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. . Pagination: a short pagination sequence is present at the back of the volume between ff 264-276; these numbers are written in pencil, and are located in the top outermost corners of each page.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'86/12-III CONFIDENTIAL A. 85 P.C.L. MUSCAT' [‎122v] (249/564), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/684, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100024507296.0x000032> [accessed 24 April 2024]

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