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Coll 30/87(2) Part I 'Qatar: Oil Concession.' [‎377r] (772/1310)

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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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deliver all oil or products of oil purchased by the Government under their said
right of pre-emption in the quantities at the time and in the manner required
by the Government at a convenient place of shipment, or at a place of storage in
Qatar to be determined by His Majesty’s Government. In the event of a vessel
employed to carry any such oil or products thereof on behalf of His Majesty being-
detained on demurrage at the port of loading, the Company shall pay the amount
due for demurrage according to the terms of the charter party and/or the rates
of loading previously agreed with the Company, unless the delay is due to causes
beyond the control of the Company. Any dispute which may arise as to whether
the delay is due to causes beyond the control of the Company shall be settled by
agreement between His Majesty’s Government and the Company, and, in default
of such agreement, the question shall be referred to two arbitrators, one to be
chosen by His Majesty’s Government (or 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. ) and the other
by the Company, with power to appoint an umpire in case of disagreement, such
arbitration to be held in England and to be deemed a reference to arbitration
under the provisions of the Arbitration Acts 1889 to 1934 (52 and 53 Viet., c. 49;
24 and 25 Geo. V, c. 14) of the Imperial Parliament, or any statutory modification
or re-enactment thereof for the time being in force.
(4) The price to be paid for all oil or products of the refining or treatment
of oil taken in pre-emption by His Majesty’s Government shall be either {a) as
specified in a separate agreement, or (b) if no such agreement shall have been
entered into, a fair price for the time being at the point of delivery as the same
shall be settled by agreement between His Majesty’s Government and the
Company, or in default of such agreement by arbitration in the manner provided
by the last preceding sub-clause.
To assist in arriving at a fair price at the point of delivery the Company
shall furnish for the confidential information of His Majesty’s Government, if so
required, particulars of the quantities, descriptions and prices of Qatar oil or
products sold to other customers, and of charters or contracts entered into for
carriage, and shall exhibit to His Majesty’s Government original or authenticated
copies of contracts or charter parties entered into for the sale and/or carriage of
such oil or products.
(5) His Majesty’s Government shall be at liberty to take control of the works,
plant and premises of the Company in Qatar, and in such event the Company shall
conform to and obey all directions issued by or on behalf of His Majesty’s
Government. Compensation shall be paid to the Company for any loss or damage
that may be proved to have been sustained by the Company by reason of the
exercise by His Majesty’s Government of the powers conferred by this sub-clause.
Any such compensation shall be settled by agreement between His Majesty’s
Government and the Company, or, in default of agreement, by arbitration in the
manner provided by sub-clause (3).
L. D. WAKELY.
Signed, sealed and delivered by the said Leonard Day
Wakely, C.B., on behalf of His Majesty’s Government in
the presence of John Charles Walton/ 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. , Civil
Servant.
The common seal of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company
(Limited) was hereunto affixed in the presence of
W. Fraser (Director), Jno. Clark (Secretary).
4. Exchange of Notes between 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. and
the Rider of Qatar.
(1) From 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. .
H.M.S. Bideford, at Dohah,
(After compliments.) June 5, 1935.
His Majesty’s Government have been furnished with a copy of the agreement
signed by you on the 17th May, 1935, granting to the Anglo-Persian Oil Company
an oil concession in respect of Qatar territory on the understanding that the
agreement is subject to the approval of His Majesty’s Government.
[12473]
c

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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.' [‎377r] (772/1310), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3806A, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100047810667.0x0000ad> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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