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Coll 30/87(2) Part I 'Qatar: Oil Concession.' [‎492v] (1001/1310)

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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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Article 3.—In consideration of the rights granted by th ®
hv thk Ao-reement and of the assistance and protection which the bticikn neieu>
undertakes to afford by all means in his power to the Company and its opejauo^
employees and property the Company shall pay to the bhaikh tlie toiio g
sums:—
(a) Within thirty (30) days after signature of phis Agreement Rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. tour
hundred and seventy five thousand (Rs. 475,000).
(5) On each anniversary of the date of signature until the Company declares tl at
petroleum has been found in commercial quantities: Ell HER Royalty of
Rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. Three (Rs. 3) for every English ton (^,*240 lbs.) of Kuwait
petroleum won and saved by the Company in Kuwait during the year
ending three months prior to the anniversary of the date of signature
OR Rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. Ninety live thousand (Rs. 95,000) whichever shall be the
greater sum. n i i i
(c) On each anniversary of the date of signature after the Company has declared.
that petroleum has been found in commercial quantities : Either Royalty
as defined above, or Rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. Two hundred and fifty thousand (Rs. 250,000)
whichever shall be the greater sum.
(d) For the purpose of this Agreement and to define the exact product to which
the Royalty stated above refers, it is agreed that the Royalty is payable on
each English ton of 2,240 lbs. of nett crude petroleum won and saved
by the Company from within the State of Kuwait—that is after deducting
water sand and other foreign substances and the oil required for the
customary operations of the Company’s installations in the Shaikh’s
territories—.
Article 4.—On each anniversary of the date of signature of this Agreement the
Company shall deliver to the Shaikh a return of petroleum if any on which royalty
is payable for the year ended three (3) months prior to such anniversary and a
statement of the amount of royalty if any due to the Shaikh for such year, and a
report of its operations under this Agreement during such year. The Shaikh or his
Representative shall have the right to check such returns and statements which, as
well as any reports, shall be treated as confidential by the Shaikh with the exception
of such figures therein as he may be required by law to publish.
Article 5.—(A) For the purposes of its operations hereunder the Company shall
have the right without hindrance to construct and to operate power stations,
refineries, pipelines and storage tanks, facilities for water supply including boring
for water, telegraph, telephone and wireless installations, roads, railways, tramways,
buildings, ports, harbours, harbour works, wharves and jetties, oil and coaling
stations, with such lighting as may be requisite and any other facilities or works
which the Company may consider necessary and for such purposes to use free of
all payments to the Shaikh any stone, sand, gravel, gypsum, clay or water which
may be available and may be required for its operations hereunder, provided
always that the inhabitants of the State of Kuwait are not prevented from taking
their usual requirements of these materials and that the water supply of the local
inhabitants and nomad population who may be dependent on the same is not
endangered. The Company at its discretion but in consultation with the Shaikh
may select the position of any such works. The Company may likewise utilise
without hindrance all such means of transportation by land, air and water
communication or operation as may be necessary for the effective conduct of its
operations hereunder.
But nothing in this Article (5 a) shall confer on the Companv the right to
dispose of stone, sand, gravel, gypsum, clay or water by sale, export or otherwise
to any other company or person within or without the State of Kuwait.
(B) ihe Company, shall under normal conditions accept and transmit free of
charge on its wireless and telegraph installations such of the Shaikh’s messages
as will not interfere with the Company’s business, and in times of national
emergency the Shaikh sha have the full use free of charge of the Company’s
wneless and telegraph installation and railways for governmental purposes
(0) The Shaikh’s ships shall have the right to use harbours utilised or
constructed by the Company provided that such use in no way hampers the

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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.' [‎492v] (1001/1310), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3806A, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100047810669.0x000002> [accessed 24 April 2024]

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