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Coll 30/87(2) Part I 'Qatar: Oil Concession.' [‎373v] (765/1310)

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The record is made up of 4 volumes (639 folios). It was created in 14 Jan 1935-8 Nov 1944. It was written in English and Arabic. 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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2
Article 4.
In consideration of the rights granted by his Excellency the jjheikh to the
Excellency the Sheikh the following payments during the period
agreement, namely :—
(a) On signature: 4 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. . a , . „ . , _ .
(b) At the end of each year of the first five years from the date o signati e .
U lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees of rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. . , A ,, A ?
(c) At the end of the sixth year from the date of signature and at the end >
every year which follows it until the end of the concession : 3 lakhs One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees ot
(d) WhenAhe Company wins oil and saves it into storage it shall pay royalty
on the Substances, in accordance with the description of article 1 as
follows :—
( 1 ) On all the substances which it has won and saved into storage,
except asphalt, ozokerite and natural gas, per ton (2.240 English
pounds), at the rate of 3 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. .
(2) On asphalt and ozokerite won and saved into storage, per ton
(2,240 English pounds), at the rate of 1 rupee 8 annas.
(3) On natural gas produced and sold per 1,000 cubic feet, at the rate
of 2 annas.
But the Company shall not pay royalty on any of the Substances used within
the State of Qatar by the Company or its employees.
Article 5.
The Company will measure all liquid matters, at the time of their extraction
from wells, either by dipping reservoirs or by means of measuring instruments,
and measure solid substances by weighing; and it should supply the Sheikh with
a copy of the register if his Excellency so demand. Likewise, the Company shall
submit to his Excellency the Sheikh an account of the Substances extracted by
it for every six months, and the authorised agent of the Sheikh shall have the
right of inspection thereof at all reasonable times.
Article 6.
1 he Company may construct, maintain and operate roads and telegraph and
telephone installations and their lines, and wireless stations, railways, refineries,
and the ordinary ports situated at Dohah for importing its materials, and pipe
lines and pumping stations, workshops, houses and other things, and works which
are useful for it, as required for the purposes of its operations, and also the
accommodations required for its employees, but excepting the places occupied
by the enterprise of their owners, or those which it will be difficult for their
owners to part with; and these are exempted. And the Companv has the right
to choose the port which may be suitable for exporting its Substances; and it will
likewise have the right to use all the means of transport required for its opera
tions m accordance with this agreement, excepting aerial transport, which on
every occasion arising for it, the Company must obtain the Sheikh’s permission
and consent thereto. And his Excellency the Sheikh shall have the fuH right to
use those loads, the electric (telegraph) lines, the wireless installations telephones
and railways for his personal business and for governmental purposes in Le of
need, free of charge; and the Sheikh shall have the right, also to use all he nor?!
used and constructed by the Company, and the Companv undertake! t a
Excellency the Sheikh all facilities in this respect akes to afford hls
Article
v.
defined by the Sheikh h”mSf P Th® C^mpanv hTT ?w yan ' aS wil1 be
occupied by the enterprise of the owners thel-eof and also hoSs, placeTand lands

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Content

The file concerns the signing of the agreement between the British Government, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) (later the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company), and the Shaikh of Qatar, Abdullah bin Qasim al Thani [‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī] to award the company an exclusive oil concession in Qatar (also spelled Qatr and Katr). The file also concerns preliminary oil explorations in Qatar, and the subsequent suspension of operations on the orders of the British Government.

The papers cover: discussion, drafts and text of the commercial agreement between the Shaikh of Qatar and APOC (signed 17 May 1935); discussion, draft and text of the political agreement between HM Government and APOC (signed 5 June 1935); the use by the Shaikh of modern, Egyptian Arabic to make comments on the draft (folios 624-625); British support for the proposal that disputes between foreign employees of the company and inhabitants of Qatar should not be submitted to the Shara [Sharia] courts (folio 604); intelligence on the activities of the Standard Oil Company [California-Arabia Standard Oil Company] (e.g. folio 443); British emphasis that military protection would be afforded to the Shaikh of Qatar on condition that he awarded the oil concession to APOC, and the assumption by Britain of responsibility for the protection of Qatar (e.g. folios 400-403); the transfer of the concession from the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company to Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited (e.g. folios 335-357); the payment of salaries to the Shaikh's representatives (e.g. folios 294-295); water drilling operations by the company (e.g. folios 237-241); references to Qatar's disputed border with Saudi Arabia; reports of preliminary drilling results and first discoveries of oil (1939-41); employment of foreign personnel by Petroleum Concessions Limited in Qatar (folios 180-182); the suspension of drilling operations on the orders of HM Government in 1942 as a result of war conditions, including correspondence on the subject between British officials and the Shaikh of Qatar, 1942-43; note that the suspension had been ordered because the British military authorities were unable to spare sufficient personnel to ensure the destruction of the oil wells, should the military situation demand it (folio 41); correspondence dated 1944 concerning a proposed increase in world oil refining capacity; and further correspondence dated 1944 concerning the boundary between Qatar and Bahrain at Hawar Island.

The main correspondents are senior officials at 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. , representatives of the oil companies concerned, 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 Arabic language content of the file consists of approximately 30 folios of correspondence, largely between British officials and the Ruler of Qatar.

The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
4 volumes (639 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: this file consists of four physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover of volume one (ff 1-161) and terminates at the inside back cover of volume four (ff 486-647); 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. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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Coll 30/87(2) Part I 'Qatar: Oil Concession.' [‎373v] (765/1310), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3806A, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100047810667.0x0000a6> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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