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'B. 56. Confidential 86/14 - v. BAHRAIN UNALLOTED AREA.' [‎164r] (332/510)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (251 folios). It was created in 14 Feb 1939-2 Aug 1939. 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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-3-
both of which Bahrain Government marks exist at the moment,
i^iirdly no accurate survey has yet been made of the voters,
shoals and reefs on the east, south and west of Bahrain main
island. hile uheretore it would not be impossible to define
"the present dominions", by reference to the names of islands
(excluding the Hawar group and the Bainain) and "their terri
torial waters", no substantial advantage could accrue by so
doing cit the present stage, the wording now proposed provides
for the elasticity necessary for the conduct of negotiations
between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain both in respect of the substan
tive dispute existing in regard to the Bainain and also for the
definition of "spheres" in the manner suggested by me separately
in demi-official correspondence arising from that dispute. It
provides also, by its reference to "future dominions", for the
extension of the Bahrain dominions by acquisition of the sea
bed in shoal waters by effective occupation in the manner
adumbrated in foreign Office Minute of the*22rld April 1938, which
formed one of the enclosures to 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. letter Ho. P.z.
• (p'rf - p. f(pi .
2904/38 dated the 29th April 1938 to your address. I have
- tU-l
already indicated Separately the likelihood of intensive explo
ration of shoal waters in the next few years and it is clearly
desirable that the present lease should be so drafted that the
Bahrain State may not be deprived of the benefit of such explo
ration conducted by its client, the Bahrain Petroleum Company.
In short, since - as the result of last yearns negotiations -
^he ahrain Government are in treaty with a single company for
& lease covering the whole of the Bahrain dominions whatever
bney may be during the next 55 years, I suggest that the present
defi nition is adequate.
(d) Article 4 'P'
requires little comment. The wording of sub—paragraph
^) does, it is true, serve to extend the term of the original
Lease /■

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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. (Trenchard Craven Fowle), 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 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), the Secretary to the Government of India, External Affairs Department (Sir Aubrey Metcalfe), the Shaikh of Bahrain (Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah), Bahrain Petroleum Company (Hamilton R Ballantyne, Fred A Davies, Max W Thornburg), and Petroleum Concessions Limited (Frank Holmes, John Skliros) regarding the Shaikh of Bahrain’s proposal to grant a concession for the whole of the unallotted area, including the Hawar Islands, to the Bahrain Petroleum Company and His Majesty’s Government’s approval of the proposal.

Following on from the approval of the proposal to grant a concession to the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) the correspondence focuses on discussion around the proposed agreement, to take the form of a deed of modification to BAPCO’s 1934 lease and the political agreement which would accompany the concession. The main areas of discussion including the definition of the area the concession would cover, and the need to include a pre-emption clause in the political agreement. Copies, in Arabic and English, of the draft deed of modification (ff 146-161, 170-180, 218-227) and draft political agreement (ff 133-139) are included in the volume.

Also discussed in the volume is the conclusion of the sovereignty question relating to the Hawar Islands following the submission by the Shaikh of Qatar (Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī) of a response to the counter-claims made by the Shaikh of Bahrain. On reviewing both claims and supporting evidence His Majesty’s Government's final decision was that islands belonged to Bahrain and not Qatar.

Also included in the volume are copies of draft concession agreements put forward by Petroleum Concessions Limited including one for the Hawar Islands (ff 8-26) and one for the waters and islands of Bahrain, described as the shoal area (ff 44-65).

A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 242-248

Extent and format
1 volume (251 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 inside back cover with 253; 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 6-241; 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 and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'B. 56. Confidential 86/14 - v. BAHRAIN UNALLOTED AREA.' [‎164r] (332/510), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/692, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100028055900.0x000085> [accessed 20 April 2024]

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