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'Confidential D 107 86/5-I Eastern and General Syndicate Ltd. - Saudi Arabia' [‎90v] (185/386)

The record is made up of 1 volume (213 folios). It was created in 5 Mar 1933-30 Jan 1935. 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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■■Hm
2
a Jl d arrangement as regards non-competition between the grout*
f j ^ sin ® e Iiaq Petroleum Company was confirmed in an agreement between
entered into m 1928. This was a private agreement between S
„loups with which the British Government was not associated. Under tkii
c?cW?S in o n ?, was . d '?™ round Arabia . Palestine and Asia Minor, whS
'l l! the Snltanate of Koweit and the Farsan Islands, but included Bahreii
Trnn p + t was ^ hus defin ed within which the various groups constituting the
Iraq Petroleum Company agreed that they would not seek for or obtain oi
concessions otherwise than through the Iraq Petroleum Company or its nominee
T p . th ^ adm ^ si0n of French and American interests the share capital of the
Iraq Petroleum Company was distributed as follows 1
Anglo-Persian Oil Company
Royal Dutch Shell
French Group
American Group(')
C. S. Gulbenkian
Percentage.
2375
23 75
23 75
23 75
500
10000
th „ R^tch Shell is 60 per cent. Dutch and 40 per cent. British
shareholding in the company now only represents about 33f per cent’
F e , Ir o«? f etroleum Company is still technically *a British company as in
aiticle 32 of its convention with the Government of Iraq the company'must be
and remain a British company, registered in Great Britain, and the chairman
Rr,H«hV a t tln p eS be ? Brit ! sh object- But the position is different from a
British Fn facfal will asTn^lI Ch f0 ™ erly ° btained when the ™
_ A P art fr ° m t he Anglo-Persian Oil Company and the Burmah Oil Company
there aie no really large oil companies which are entirely British, and which
could compete with the big groups represented on the Iraq' Petroleum Company
ou h ttide IndO 01 T^p mpany ^ neVe1 ’ u*™ inclined to undertake exploration work
outside India. There may, however, be some instances where the Iraq Petroleum
InXpers'ia^ O^rr 1,6 " 1 t0 see ^ con cessions in the reserved area, and where the
J ° Company either by itself or in association with one or more
of the other gioups, may be allowed to acquire concessions.
the OOfh A nr if Now Com P an y and Mosul Oil-fields (Limited).-0^
on n? f P ’ l 93 n the 1 ra< I Government granted an oil concession to the British
O De\elopment ( ompany (Limited) over the western portion of Iraq The
4n n o C nn S l° n 18 a period of se y, e nty-five years and covers an area of about
40,000 square miles, comprising all Iraq lands situated west of the River Tigris
BrRDh Oi^nJ 6 thirty-third parallel of latitude. A special law confirming g the
British Oil Development Concession was passed and published in the
Gazette on the 29th May, 1932. This is reckoned as the date of the commence
ment of the concession. The company must be and remain a British company
registered in i^reat Britain, and the chairman must be a British subiect There
mpit°rp Ver ’ & arg6 f c° r ! lgn mtere ?.in the company. The British Oil Develop-
Company was first registered in 1928 with a nominal capital of £82 500
the original directors being Sir Edward Manville (chairman), Sir Edward
Mountain (chairman of the Eagle Star and British Domin ons Insurance
Company) (Sir E. Mountain subsequently became chairman of the British Oil
Development Company), the late Admiral Lord Wester Wemyss W R Brown
(representing Lord Inverforth), General Sir A. Mola (Italy), three'reprefen tatives
of the Italian Azienda Generale Italiana Petroli, and E. C. Simmons (solicitor)
At some stage, but when it actually occurred is not clear from the information
available, German and f ranco-Swiss interests were also included
P) In 1932 the American shareholding in the American trrouii t\Wr nw tw,^i * ,, . ,
was held in the following proportions g P Development Corporation)
Standard Oil Company of New Jersey Percentage.
41f
16 f
(Lii
can
£1
the
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The
AT
AT
beei
29tl
the
und
24tl
for
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and
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in ]
sole
par
and
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Nea
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About this item

Content

The volume contains correspondence to and from 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, Percy Gordon Loch), 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 (Percy Gordon Loch), and 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 Kuwait (Harold Richard Patrick Dickson) regarding matters in Saudi Arabia and their affect, particularly on Kuwait and Bahrain. The main topic of discussion being a concession in Hasa, Saudi Arabia which was contested by the Standard Oil Company of California and the Iraq Petroleum Company, and was awarded to Standard Oil in July 1933.

The correspondence, primarily between HM's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan) and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir John Simon) includes details of the negotiations and translations of the concession agreement which was published in Umm-al-Qura in July 1933. Also discussed are attempts to obtain information about the special agreement between Standard Oil and the Sa'udi Arab Government which was not published and which contained details of the exact values of the concession, the area covered by it, and a clause relating to the Kuwait-Najd neutral zone concession. Later correspondence also discusses the progress being made by Standard Oil in developing their concession.

Other matters discussed in the file include:

  • correspondence 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. at Kuwait regarding rumours that the Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) travelled to Najd to meet with Ibn Saud (‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd), King of Saudi Arabia, or one of his close advisers to discuss matters including a potential alleviation of the blockade on Kuwait and their joining forces in regards to the oil concession agreement in the neutral zone (ff 6-17);
  • a memorandum written by the Petroleum Department about Petroleum in Arabia which covers the topics: Petroleum prospects in Arabia, interested or potentially interested companies, past concessions affecting Saudi Arabia, the present position. The memorandum includes brief summaries of all the key oil companies and interested parties in oil concessions in Arabia (ff 90-91);
  • correspondence regarding the prohibition on private planes flying to Bahrain and a request by the Standard Oil Company of California to use Bahrain as their base of operations during their survey of Hasa which was denied, and the eventual decision to allow Standard Oil's aeroplane to land at Bahrain should there be a serious medical emergency involving either their staff or those of the Mesopotamia-Persia corporation (ff 112, 131-133, 155-156, 173-175);
  • a record of an interview which Frederick Charles Starling of the Mines Department had with Edmund William Janson of the Eastern and General Syndicate Limited in which Eastern and General's interest in a possible concession in Asir was discussed along with their activities in regard to previous concessions (ff 147-149).

A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 179-187.

Extent and format
1 volume (213 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, and terminates at the inside back cover; 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 present in parallel between ff 6-192; these numbers are also written in pencil, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence, but they are not circled.

Written in
English in Latin script
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'Confidential D 107 86/5-I Eastern and General Syndicate Ltd. - Saudi Arabia' [‎90v] (185/386), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/667, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100025704695.0x0000ba> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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