'Sharjah Oil Concession and connected documents' [‎6r] (11/26)

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No. 1
PETROLEUM CONCESSIONS LIMITED.
Agreement made with the Shaikh of Sharjah on the 17th September 1937,
with Annexure.
In the Name of God the Merciful.
This is an Agreement made at Sharjah, Arabia, on the Seventeenth day of
September 1937, corresponding to the Eleventh day of Rajab 1356 between
His Excellency Shaikh Sultan Bin Sagar in the exercise of his powers as Ruler
of Sharjah, Arabia, on his own behalf and on behalf of and in the name of
his heirs and successors in whom is or shall be vested for the time being the
responsibility for the control and government of the State of Sharjah (hereinafter
called “ the Shaikh ”) of the one part and Petroleum Concessions, Limited, a
Company registered in Great Britain under the Companies Act, 1929, its successors
and assigns (hereinafter called “ the Company ”) of the second part.
Article 1.—(a) The area to which this Agreement applies is the State of Sharjah
including all islands and territorial waters appertaining thereto (hereinafter
referred to as “ the State ”) being all that territory included in the Shaikhdom of
Sharjah.
The Shaikh agrees that when the territorial limits of the State of Sharjah have
been determined the area covered by the Concession will be coterminous with the
limits so determined.
(6) The area within the State of Sharjah at present being used by Imperial
Airways, Limited, and the Royal Air Force as an aerodrome, the buildings thereon,
and all concerned with that, area is entirely excluded from and for the purposes of
this Agreement.
Article 2. The period of this Agreement shall be 75 calendar years from the
date of signature.
The expression year, month and day used in this Agreement shall mean what
is consistent with the English solar calendar and not any other. Further, the
weights mentioned in this Agreement shall be reckoned on the English ton of
2,240 lbs.
Article 3. The Shaikh hereby grants to the Company the exclusive right to
explore search for drill for produce and win natural gas asphalt ozokerite crude
petroleum and their products and cognate substances (hereinafter referred to as
“ the substances ”) within the State, the exclusive ownership of all the substances
so produced and won, the right to refine transport sell for use within and without
the State or for export and to export or otherwise deal with or dispose of the
substances, and the right to import export pump ship or otherwise transport
the substances across or to any country or place at the Company’s discretion and the
right to do all things necessary for the purpose of these operations.
Article 4. If hereafter any neutral zone is created adjacent to the territory of
the State, wherein the Shaikh shall have a co-equal and joint interest, the Shaikh
hereby agrees to grant to the Company an oil concession over such neutral zone on
terms to be agreed between the Shaikh, the Company and the joint ruler of such
neutral zone.
Article 5. In consideration of the rights granted by the Shaikh by this
Agreement the Company shall pay to the Shaikh—
(a) on signature of the agreement Rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. 60,000 (Sixty thousand).
(b) Rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. 200,000 (Two hundred thousand) within a period of Sixty (60)
days from the date upon which the Company declares in writing to the Shaikh
that substances have been discovered in commercial quantities. If the
Company should fail to declare so sooner, then the date of discovery of
substances in commercial quantities shall be that date upon which the Company
has completed and tested a well or wells capable of producing in accordance
with (irst-class oil practice not less than Two thousand (2,000; English tons of
clean substances per day for a period of Thirty (30) consecutive days.