Coll 30/5(3) 'Bahrein [sic] Residency Monthly Letter - Summary of Events' [‎4r] (7/253)

2
Relations wit h Saudi Ar abia„
The Saudi Arabian Government have erected a concrete
plinth on Farsi Island with inlaid brass plates announcing
"that the island belongs to His Majesty King Ibn Saud. It
will be remembered that at the end of 1948 the Persians erec
ted a notice on the island to the effect that it belonged to
them and that this notice was removed by one of H.M's ships t
Subsequently the Shaikh of Kuwait put up a notice that the
island belonged to him.
Ibn Saud has written to the Shaikh of Kuwait making sugges
tions for the future administration of the Neutral Zone. The
Shaikh has replied that he considers the time has not yet
come to take up the matter. 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. has been
asked to hold up this reply and it is not yet known whether
it has actually been sent or not.
Oil .
I The position in the Bu Sa’afah area remains much as it
was. The Shaikh of Bahrain has replied to the request that
! he should ask the Bahrain Petroleum Company to refrain from
\ further operations in the area for the time being by saying
^ i that he will do this if the Arabian American Oil Company are
I also restrained. The latter company have erected a survey
tower on Bu Athama and so far as is known the Bahrain Petroleum
Company are also still operating in the area. The question
of starting negotiations with the Saudi Arabian Government
for the delimitation of the sea-bed boundary between Bahrain
and the mainland is under consideration.
Under the Bahrain Petroleum Company’s concession the
royalty payable by them to the Shaikh is due for revision in
January 1950. The Bahrain Government have written to the
company demanding an increase in the royalty from Rs.3/8 to
Rs.10 per ton.
The Shaikh of Bahrain has given notice to Petroleum
Concessions Limited that they must cease to use their jetty
at Sitrah^for shipping to and from Qatar unless they assist him
in obtaining his so-called rights in Zubarah 18th-century town located 105 km from Doha. . He has given
some speciousness to this preposterous demand by complaining
that the use of the jetty by the company’s launches has led to
many evasions of the customs and passport regulations. 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. has taken up the matter with the Shaikh and
asked for suspension of his demand pending further considera
tion of the case.
The first tanker called at the new terminal of Petroleum
Development (Qatar) Limited at Umm Sa'id on the 29th December.
Eight tankers are expected to call in January and the termi
nal is to be formally opened on the 2nd February.
Petroleum Development ( Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ) Limited are pre
paring to drill near Has Sadr which is in Abu Dhabi territory
about halfway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi and are landing
equipment at^Khor Ghanadhah. It is hoped that the erection
of the rig will be completed by the middle of February. When
I visited Abu Dhabi I spoke to the Ruler about his unreaso
nable attitude towards Petroleum Development ( Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. )
Limited. He replied that as they were claiming the sea-bed
over^which they had no right and forcing him to go to arbi
tration, he was also making claims from them which did not
appear to be covered by the concession. He is actually hoping
to obtain a loan from the company to cover the expenses of
his dispute with them.
Awhile