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'86/21 - III B.65. Trucial Hinterland Exploration' [‎27r] (53/256)

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The record is made up of 1 file (126 folios). It was created in 3 Jan 1939-24 Jul 1945. 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

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M
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA.
Confidential * Department.
EXPRESS LETTER (AIR MAIL),
via Bahrain*
[N.B .—This is an ORIGINAL message sent by AIR MAIL which provides a means of communication more
expeditious than the ordinary mail and is cheaper than the telegraph. It is intended to be treated,
on receipt, with the same expedition as if it had been telegraphed. To save time and to obviate
formaliXies it is drafted in the form of a telegram. It is authenticated by the signature of a
responsible officer of the Department^
No*
To
XX
117-S of 1939.
Dated
25th January,
19.
39,
yrom - 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. ,
50
Bus hi re.
To - His Majesty’s Secretary of State for India,
London*
Reference
xxxxxxxxx
Repeated The Secretary to the Grovernment of India,
External Affairs Department, New Delhi.
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. , Muscat.
Subject : Muscat Oil.
Reference my Express Letter No.93-3 of 20th January.
2 .
- b*^‘
I have received a report 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. Muscat to
the effect that Petroleum Concessions Limited are now going to carry
out both a ground and an aerial survey of Dhofar with the approval of
the Sultan.
3. In so far as the ground survey of Dhofar is concerned, Jatts
anticipates no difficulties since the province is under the effective
control of the Sultan, and the inhabitants are friendly. I concur.
4. Thompson, the head of the survey party, stated that he would
like to make also an aerial survey on a flight of seme 150 miles from
the coast. The Sultan pointed out that this would take the aeroplane
over /
>\
S. 44.
S \ \
MFP—1048 S& P—(M-2042)—17-12-37—20,000.
{Signature)
(Designation)

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Content

The file 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. (Trenchard Craven Fowle, Charles Geoffrey Prior), 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 (Hugh Weightman), 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 (Ralph Ponsonby Watts, Tom Hickinbotham), 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. (John Percival Gibson, Roland Tennyson Peel) and Petroleum Concessions Limited, later Petroleum Development ( Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ) Limited (Basil Henry Lermitte, Stephen Hemsley Longrigg, Thomas Fulton Williamson) regarding geological exploration of the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. and Muscat, and its subsequent postponement owing to World War Two.

The correspondence discusses initial plans for the exploration of the Trucial coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. and Muscat during the winter of 1939 – 1940 and the intention that the Sultan of Muscat (Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd ) would provide access to areas under the control of the Naim [Na‘īm] and Al Bu Shamis [Āl Bū Shāmis] tribes. Also discussed is the possibility of the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi (Shaikh Shakhbūt bin Sulṭān bin Zāyid Āl Nahyān) providing access to Baraimi [Al Buraymī ] now that a concession has been signed for his territory; and other work that might be undertaken in both Muscat and Abu Dhabi. This survey work was ultimately postponed owing to concerns over access to, and protection whilst in the relevant territory, as well as the outbreak of War in Europe.

Later correspondence discusses the decision to postpone geological surveying owing to wartime conditions, and consideration of a resumption of work in 1945 with proposals for a small geological survey party working in the Baraimi and Jebel Hafit [Jabal Ḩafīt] area’s with geophysical surveys commencing in 1946. Included in the file are reports from a geologist for Petroleum Concessions Limited, Thomas Fulton Williamson, which discuss the potential problems of supplies, labour, transport, and accommodation that would have to be overcome.

Other matters discussed in the volume include:

  • news of the death of Shaikh Muhammad bin Sultan An-Nu’aimi [Sheikh Muḥammad bin Sulṭān Al-Nu`aimī] of Dhank who had been succeeded by his brother Shaikh Saqr bin Sultan [Sheikh Saqr bin Sulṭān Al-Nu`aimī] of Baraimi;
  • the need to attempt to define the boundaries of the various Trucial Shaikh’s territories and proposing that initially each Shaikh be asked to state what they considered to be under their control so that areas of joint or disputed ownership could be identified;
  • a meeting in Sharjah with 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, Shaikh Mohammed bin Saqr al-Jawassim [Sheikh Muḥammad bin Saqr Āl Qasimī] brother of the Shaikh of Sharjah, Shaikh Saqr bin Sultan of the Naim at Dhank, Shaikh Rashid bin Hamad [Rāshid Bin Ḥumaid] of Al Bu Shamis at Baraimi) and Shaikh Mohammed bin Ali bin Huweidin of the Beni Qitab (also written as Beni Chittab). That this was the first time in ten years that the Chief of the Beni Qitab had been persuaded to come to Sharjah and was considered a positive sign that could benefit Petroleum Concessions Limited in gaining access to territory under the Beni Qitab’s control;
  • concerns in 1939 over Petroleum Concessions Limited’s intentions with regard to their concessions in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and whether they actually intended exploiting them or had merely acquired them to prevent other companies from doing so.
Extent and format
1 file (126 folios)
Arrangement

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 1 and terminates at the back cover with 128; 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 foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-127; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'86/21 - III B.65. Trucial Hinterland Exploration' [‎27r] (53/256), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/695, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025313712.0x000036> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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