'Confidential 86/14-ii B.47 PETROLEUM CONCESSIONS LTD. BAHRAIN' [‎183r] (372/416)

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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. (Trenchard C Fowle, Percy G Loch, Olaf K Caroe, 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 Bahrain (Percy G Loch, Hugh Weightman, Tom Hickinbotham, John B Howes), 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. (Maurice J Clauson, Roland T Peel, John C Walton, John P Gibson), the Shaikh of Bahrain (Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah), the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles D Belgrave), Petroleum Concessions Limited (John Skliros, Stephen H Longrigg, Frank Holmes, Ernest V Packer) and the Bahrain Petroleum Company (Hamilton R Ballantyne, Edward A Skinner) regarding negotiations for a concession in the unalloted area of Bahrain which would include Bahrain's territorial islands and the Hawar Group of Islands.

The correspondence centres on the Shaikh of Bahrain’s decision to postpone negotiations for one year until May 1938 in order to concentrate on the resolution of his ownership claim to Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. [Az Zubārah] which was being contested by the Shaikh of Qatar (Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī). Later correspondence relates to the Shaikh’s decision to split the unalloted area into two concessions with the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) being granted the remaining area on the main island and some territorial waters including Sitrah Island; and Petroleum Concessions Limited (PCL) being granted the Hawar Group of Islands and a number of other territorial islands and waters along with an allocated site at Muharraq for use in constructing a refinery and storage areas.

Also included is continued discussion around the question of ownership of the Hawar Islands and Fasht Dibal [Fasht ad Dībal]. 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. concluded that their evidence supported the Shaikh of Bahrain’s claim to the islands and that therefore responsibility for disputing the claim lay with any other potential claimants. The question under discussion however was whether to make the Shaikh of Qatar, as the other potential claimant, aware of their conclusions.Other matters discussed in the volume include:

• the question of oil rights to Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. , which had been granted under the Qatar Oil Concession, and the assurance given by the Shaikh of Bahrain to His Majesty’s Government that should his claim of ownership to Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. be recognised it would not affect the Qatar Oil Company’s work in that area;
• notes on a meeting at 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. with Hamilton R Ballantyne, a representative of the Standard Oil Company of California who were interested in oil concessions on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. as well as the unalloted area of Bahrain.
• discussion regarding Major Frank Holmes’ actions during his work for PCL in 1936/1937 on the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. and the Political Resident’s wish to prevent him from travelling to Bahrain or the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. in order to prevent further potential confusion and intrigue. Also reported on is a conversation between 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 and Major Holmes at which Holmes' vision for oil concessions to drill under the pearl banks between Bahrain and Qatar is revealed.

A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 193-200.

The correspondence with the Shaikh of Bahrain and various draft concession documents are in English and Arabic.

Extent and format

1 volume (203 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 205; 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 6-192; these numbers are written in pencil and red crayon, 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 and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script

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