File 1421/1908 Pt 1 'Persia: oil; D'Arcy Oil Syndicate'

Content

Part 1 consists of correspondence relating to work connected to the Persian oil wells of the D'Arcy Syndicate, and Concessions Syndicate Ltd. The correspondence is between the Government of India, Foreign Office, 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. , and representatives of both oil companies. Included as enclosures are letters, telegrams, and memoranda from the following:

• British Minister to Persia;
• British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire;
• the Persian Prime Minister (Mushir-ed-Dowleh);
• 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 Turkish Arabia A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire. and Consul-General at Baghdad;
• Lieutenant-Colonel David Lockhart Robertson Lorimer, Vice-Consul in Arabistan, at Ahwaz;
• Percy Zachariah Cox, 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. , at Bushire;
• John Richard Preece, British Consul-General at Isfahan, acting on behalf of Concessions Syndicate Ltd;
• George B Reynolds, geologist for Concessions Syndicate Ltd;
• William Knox D'Arcy, representative of both oil companies;
• Thomas Jackson, Director of Imperial Bank of Persia.

Several matters are covered by the papers, including:

• Arthur Henry Hardinge's tour of D'Arcy's Persian oil wells in January 1904;
• status of oil production of the wells;
• the question of who is to receive the oil concessions;
• the companies' needs for financial and administrative assistance from the Indian and British governments;
• an agreement reached between the Syndicate and the leaders of the Bakhtiari tribes;
• the question of guarding the wells;
• the need for land for reservoirs and a refinery and the arrangements for the purchase of such on Abadan Island, Mohammerah [Khorramshahr];
• the question of expanding production into Pusht-i-Kuh;
• the need for telegraphic services in the region;
• proposals for a pipeline to the coast.

Folio 251 is a sketch plan of Abadan Island showing the location of the land required by the Syndicate.

Extent and format

1 item (109 folios)

It is part of

File 1421/1908 Pt 1-2 'Persia: Oil'

712 images

Ref: IOR/L/PS/10/143

Written in

English in Latin script

Type

Archival item

Access & Reference

Original held at

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.

Access conditions

Unrestricted

Archive reference

IOR/L/PS/10/143/1

Former external reference(s)

P 1421/1908 Pt 1

History of this record

Date(s)

Mar 1904-May 1909 (CE, Gregorian)

Subjects

Petroleum industry

People & organisations

Political Resident, Persian GulfImperial Bank of IranGovernment of Persia, Qajar dynastyHM Ambassador to the Ottoman EmpirePolitical Resident and Consul-General, Turkish ArabiaBritish Vice-Consul, AhwazHM Ambassador to IranWilliam Knox D'ArcyGeorge Bernard Reynolds

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File 1421/1908 Pt 1 'Persia: oil; D'Arcy Oil Syndicate', British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/143/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100028322646.0x000002> [accessed 25 April 2024]

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