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Coll 30/87(2) Part II 'Qatar: Oil Concession - P.C.L.'s Operations.' [‎181r] (364/603)

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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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page 3. "ftv
As reported by iiiiu to me verbally* the facts are as follows*
On both shoals there is a cairn and an artesian well bored
by the Bahrain Petroleum Company on behalf of the Bahrain
Government through a contractor* Dibal consists of a coral
reef which is completely submerged at high water except for
the cairn built by the Bahrain Government* the base of which
is submerged and a small square of wall built to protect the
head of the well which is damaged and out of action. There
is no rock above high water level as stated by Mr. Belgrave
vide paragraph 26 of the Political Agents letter. Jarada h
is a sand-bank and when 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. visited at a
neap high tide* he found an area of about thirty yards by
ten yards above the water level. This was dry and bore the
tracks of birds and appeared not to have been recently sub
merged. 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. reports that he has always seen
some land exposed whenever he has passed the shoal. The
base of the cairn and the artesian well which is sealed are
both below high water level*
7 . With regard to the ownership of these two places
1 reluctantly agree with 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. that if it is
possible for any body to establish a claim over shoals of
the kind described* they must be regarded as belonging to
Bahrain. They have been treated by the Bahrain Government
as their property and beacons have been erected and wells
bored without any kind of protest by the Shaikh of Qatar.
In fact, as 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. points out, the Shaikh of
Qatar is a late arrival on the scene. He only consolidated
his position on the mainland as recently as 1937 and has not
taken steps to establish his position over neighbouring
islands and shoals. Halul, for instance* which would seem
naturally to fall to Qatar* we recognise as belonging to
Abu Dhabi vide "D" of 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. paper N o. dated
the2 7th August* 1928 . Further His Majesty* s Government and
its officers
....

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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.' [‎181r] (364/603), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3806B, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100056534850.0x0000a6> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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