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'11/5 Negotiations with Ibn Saud regarding Boundaries of Saudi Arabia' [‎40r] (79/430)

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The record is made up of 1 file (212 folios). It was created in Mar 1944-4 Sep 1949. 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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whether the present is a suitable _^ r ne to nake a move to cone to
>one agreement with Ibn Saud on the question *
Received under 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. Complimentary Slip dated
26th March 1^46.
Ext. 1214/46
SECRET.
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.
WHITEHALL,
S. vV. 1.
1st March, 1946.
Dear Stock,
I am not sure how f f ar the Ministry of Fuel &
Power are aware of the comolicated^Question of the South-
Eastern frontiers of Saudi Arabia. The question is dealt
with at length in a Foreign Office Memorandum, No.E.2203/
2203/25 dated June 30th, 1940f Very briefly the nositlon
is that in 1935 H.M.G. offered the so called' ''Riyadh Line"
to ibn Saud, which offer was rejected mainly (or ostensibly)
on account of the Saudi Government's reluctance to give up'
their claims to the Jebel Nakhsh, on the western side of the
base of the Qatar peninsula, and the Khor el Odeid, an
inlet opposite the ^ebel Nakhsh on the eastern side. H.M.G.
subsequently considered whether they could meet Ibn Saud by
accepting his claims
both had to be ruled
within the A.I.O.C's
and
4 *
to one or other of these places but they
out - the Jebel Nakhsh because it is
(present Petroleum Concessions Ltd's)
Qatar concession and Lord Cadman was strongly opposed to any
concession on the noint; and the Khor el Odeid because of a
promise in 1906 to the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi that H.M.G.
regarded it as within his territory.
2* There has recently been some correspondence between
the Legation at Jedda, the Foreign Office, the Political
Resident, the Government of India and ourselves on the question
-of the South-Eastern frontiers, The general ooinion has
beenthat the present is not a sutiable opportunity for re
opening this question. One important aspect, however, about
which we have been somewhat in the dark is the intentions of
the Oil Companies, both C.A.S.O.C. in Saudi Arabia and P.C.L.
in Qatar, the Trucial Shaikhdoms and Muscat. There is the
possibility - perhaps the probability - to consider that the
question of the frontiers will sooner or later be brought un
in an acute form by the operations of the two Oil Comnani.es
converging in an area regarded by both as being within the
limits of* their own concession. This is perhaps most likely
to happen on the Qatar /Saud-i frontier region where we gather Pi
that P.C.L. are now going ahead in the Jebel Dukhan area, which
contains an established oilfield and from which they may
possibly wish to extend their operations to the Jebel Nakhsh
.Ve should, therefore be glad of any information
you can let us have as to the plans of the respective Oil
Companies. ^ P.C.L. were, I think, recently told by the
Foreign Office in answer to ^ encuiry by them that it was not
possible to give./anyodefInite information about thb-location
o" Couth Eastern frontiers of Eaudi Arabia, and they
may very possibly know nothing about the disoute about the
frontier in the Qatar area since/d.iscussions with Lord Cadman
m 1933 were private and confidential. It would therefore not I
be desirable for you to say anything to the Company at the
moment to suggest that there is any.possibility'of a frontier
adjustment with Ibn Saud being negotiated. As regards the
Americans it would be ^ven Ifcss desirable to say anything
to then in resent circumstances, si ce if it were nut into yi
their minds that we were ready to negotiate with Ibn Saud they
would no doubt use their influence to nersuade him to assert
the most extensive claims he could.
^should also be glad to know whether you have
K.I..Stock Esq., 7 anything ‘ 1
Ministry of Fuel & Power,
7, Mi 1 1hr nk•
S.wCL.
them
Z the
* • j
<J|

About this item

Content

The file comprises correspondence, memoranda, maps, and other papers relating to questions over the position of Saudi Arabia’s south-eastern frontier adjoining Qatar and the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. shaikhdoms, notably Abu Dhabi. Negotiations over the frontier had long been deferred by British Government officials, as a result of the Ruler of Saudi Arabia ‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd’s [Ibn Saud] firm stance in negotiations before the Second World War. However, the need for a resolution became increasingly apparent as a result of ongoing oil exploration in Saudi Arabia by the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco), and exploration in Qatar and Abu Dhabi by Petroleum Concessions Limited (PCL). The principal correspondents in the file include: representatives of 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. , Foreign Office, Ministry of Fuel and Power; the British Legation at Jedda; 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; and 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. .

The file includes:

  • correspondence, dating from 1944 and 1945, between British Government officials in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , 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 Foreign Office, discussing the previous difficulties encountered in negotiating Saudi Arabia’s south-eastern frontiers with Ibn Saud, and the agreement that further negotiations be left until after the event of Ibn Saud’s death (ff 2-29);
  • correspondence from late 1945 through 1947, between Government officials on the possible establishment of a neutral zone between Aramco’s concession area in Saudi Arabia, and PCL’s concession area in Qatar. Also, there is some discussion of Aramco’s proposals to begin seabed exploration off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia (ff 36-59);
  • PCL’s request for permission to conduct seismic surveys at the southernmost limit of their concession area in Qatar (ff 76-95);
  • reports of Aramco survey parties making incursions into PCL’s concession areas in Qatar and Abu Dhabi (ff 104-127);
  • Government criticism of PCL’s delay in exploiting its concession areas in Qatar and Abu Dhabi (f 133);
  • preparations in August 1949 for the reopening of frontier negotiations with the Saudi Government in Jedda. Papers include: a copy of a confidential memorandum with map, dated 2 February 1948, on the south-eastern frontier of Saudi Arabia, prepared by J E Cable of the Eastern Department of the Foreign Office (ff 164-169; copy also at ff 87-91); three further confidential memoranda with maps, prepared by the Eastern Department in 1940, outlining past and present negotiations on the position of the south-eastern frontiers of Saudi Arabia (ff 170-180, ff 181-185, ff 186-188); proposals to send representatives from Qatar and Abu Dhabi to the Jedda negotiations (ff 190-203).
Extent and format
1 file (212 folios)
Arrangement

The file’s contents are arranged in approximate chronological order, from the earliest item at the front to the latest at the end. The file notes at the end of the file (ff 204-212) mirror the chronological arrangement.

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. This file has the following foliation anomaly: 111A. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 4-203; these numbers are also written in pencil, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence, but they are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

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English in Latin script
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'11/5 Negotiations with Ibn Saud regarding Boundaries of Saudi Arabia' [‎40r] (79/430), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/465, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100028545187.0x000050> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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