'Military Report on The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company's (South Iranian) Oilfield Area' [‎14r] (36/150)

15
facilities at Ahwaz, and of commissioning and preparing river
craft for military use.
A temporary cessation of A. I. 0. C.’s own construction
or transportation will not affect the delivery of oil from well to
tanker, although protracted diversion of a large part of the
A. I. 0. C.’s resources from their proper duties will affect their
own maintenance or new works and hence affect the oil output
in time.
When the demands of a defence force are small, there is no
objection from the point of view of the oil output, to the A. I.
0. C. assisting the Army to its full extent in the first couple of
weeks and afterwards acting as carrying agents for the supplies
of the force, even if that force is expanded up to a division later.
There may be a few minor exceptions to the above, but it re
presents a fair general principle on which to base the maintenance
project.
ruT^F *- 7 -
tha-A— 1 „ (1 f maintain-a Binall Hoot of airoroft-for thci£* *-
own ,tram»poTt--pui (nisr.*. A list of aerodromes and landing
grounds is given in Appendix XVIII.
iS'ec. 3. FHK KARl 1 y, RI\ER. {a) Abadan or Alohamtne.-
rah ( Khorramshahr) to Ahwaz.—The navigation of the Karun
river is very simple compared with that of the Tigris, as its
channel is more permanent and less subject to variations in the
positions of sand banks. It is, however, liable to more violent
and irregular changes of level than the Iraqi rivers. Low water
is generally from August to the end of November. The navig
able draft at dead low water for steamers should not exceed 3 '
or for barges 2' 9". In December and January there are usually
considerable rises, which, however, vary greatly in extent from
vear to year. Towards the end of January or beginning of
February the river usually sinks, to rise against with the spring
floods, which begin at the end of February or the beginning of
March. At this period and as late as April very violent and
sudden rises may occur and in the second half of April there
is the greatest mean volume of wateu in the river, which sinks
steadily through May and continues to decline through June
and July. The difference between high and low wate/may be
taken on the average as 12—14 feet.
to the commencement of the rapids 1 1
miles below Ahwaz, the Karun is in most parts and in ordinary
seasons navigable by a vessel of 5 or even 6 feet draught. Ves
sels of 12 feet draught can reach Sulamania bend, 14 miles above
Mohammerah.