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Coll 30/87(2) Part II 'Qatar: Oil Concession - P.C.L.'s Operations.' [‎54r] (108/603)

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The record is made up of 1 file (296 folios). It was created in 6 Jan 1945-13 Apr 1948. It was written in English. 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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Im o. G/1226 . ^ The 23rd December 1947.
To . .
His Highness Shaikh Sir Salman bin Hamad
Al Khalifah, K.C.I.E.,
Ruler of Bahrain.
After compliments:
I am instructed by the Hon*ble 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.
to inform Your Highness that His Majesty’s Government has,
for some time past, had under consideration the boundary
■which should delimit Your H ighness’s rights in the bed of the
sea lying between the territory of Your Highness and that of
His Excellency the Shaikh of Qatar* Apart from any other
considerations the operations of the Oil Companies in Your
Highness’s and His Excellency the Shaikh of Qatar’s territory
make such a delimitation necessary.
2. I am> therefore, to forward herewith for Your High
ness’s information a copy of a map showing the line (from
point ’M’ to the ’’Bahrain Light Vessel”) which, His Majesty’s
Government considers, divides in accordance with equitable
principles the sea-bed aforesaid. This is a median line
based generally on the configuration of the coast-line of the
Bahrain main island and the peninsula of Qatar.
r
3. vV’ith the exceptions noted below His Majesty’s Govern
ment will, in future, regard all the sea-bed lying to the west
of this line as being under the sovereignty of Your Hi^iness
and all the sea-bed lying to the east of it as being under the
sovereignty of His Excellency the Shaikh of Qatar. This
decision covers the sea-bed only and not the waters above it
and is without prejudice to existing navigation rights.
4. The exceptions referred to above are:-
Your Highness is recognised as having sovereign
rights in
(i) the areas of the Bibal and Jaradeh shoals which
are above the spring tide low-water level.
After a full examination of the position under
international law. His Majesty’s Government are
of opinion that these shoals should not be con
sidered to be islands having terrorial waters.
(ii) Hawar Island, the islands of the Hawar group and
the territorial waters pertaining thereto and
delimited again in accordance with the usual
principles of international law. These islands
and their territorial waters are shown on the
map enclosed by the line A, B, G, D, E, E, G, H,
I» J» K, and L. As this delimitation will,
however, leave a narrow tongue of water (formed by
the points M, J, and l) pertaining to Qatar it has
been decided to alter the line H, I, J / to H, P, Q,
thus exchanging an equal area P I 0 for 0 J Q.
It should be noted that Janan Island is not regarded
as being included in the islands of the Hawar group.
5. The points mentioned are defined as follows:-
Posi ti on
True Bearing Haut i cal Miles
A 015°
B 056-£-°
C 064°
Prom
3.00
3.20
2.06
M. point of Rabadh I.
H.l. corner of Ajaira I.
E. corner of Ho.3 Al

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Content

The file concerns the operations of Petroleum Concessions Limited (PCL) (and its subsidiary Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited) in Qatar. Of particular importance in the file is the issue of the division of the sea bed for drilling operations between PCL's concession, and that of the Bahrain Petroleum Company Limited (BAPCO) in Bahrain.

The file contains discussion of the issue by 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. , the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Fuel and Power, 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 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. , Bahrain.

The papers cover: the resumption of drilling operations in Qatar after their suspension during the Second World War; payment of royalties; the Hawar Islands; the granting of permission to use wireless sets; the response of British officials to a United States Government request to PCL for information on petroleum resources in Qatar and the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , October-November 1946; aerial surveys of the Bahrain-Qatar Unallotted Area; the application of US President Harry S Truman's continental shelf doctrine to the issue (e.g. folios 141, 110); maps of the area; Admiralty comments on the need for all parties to be aware that the sea bed only was concerned, and that the waters above, and free navigation, were in no way affected (folio 46); correspondence from the oil companies involved; and the reactions of local rulers to the negotiations.

The file also contains five maps.

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
1 file (296 folios)
Arrangement

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

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 296; 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. Foliation anomaly: 268a.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 30/87(2) Part II 'Qatar: Oil Concession - P.C.L.'s Operations.' [‎54r] (108/603), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3806B, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100056534849.0x00006e> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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