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Coll 30/87(2) Part II 'Qatar: Oil Concession - P.C.L.'s Operations.' [‎193r] (388/603)

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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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1.
21. At point ttie sea deepens and the shoal
structure alters, it gives no further guide so the
line must either be drawn to Pasht Adham (BAPCO 109)
or continued arbitrarily in a northerly aL ection.
The Pasht Adham is a well known mariners* mark with
a small peak dry at all tides and it definitely belongs
to Bahrain. It is, however, not centrally situated and
to adopt it would add a further complication* I suggest
therefore, that from B3S the line should be drawn in a
northerly direction approximately dividing the area into
two equal parts as far as point *f*, vide chart BB 486
a copy of which was enclosed with my Express Letter
dateE Una '-?3rd of 1946.
22. From t F 1 the line should follow the 3 fatnom curve
round Jar ad eh arid Deeb&l on the ©astern side as far as
BaPCO mark 10? on the north shore of Deebal. Prom tilere
it should be drawn in a north-westerly direction to the
North ultra Buoy*
»
23. . ehis means that the pashts Jaradeh and deebal are
included in the Bahrain area, arid my reasons for consider
ing the fashts Bahrain, territory have already been conveyed
to you in my Express Letter referred to earlier. In order
to present a composite picture it has been repeated in this
letter with modifications to conform with the views expressed
in 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. Express Letter Mo*Rxt.4952/46 dated the 2nd
foil lUx-ib/ of Au gust, 1046 ,. and also to correct certain statements
I ' which after further examination of the papers and the area
itself became necessary.
Before considering the claims to ownership it would
be appropriate to explain my reason for selecting the
3 fathom curve as the delimiting line of the Jaradeh and
Deebal feature.
24. The deepest fathom curve of the fasht is til® 6 fathom
curve which is not within the modified continental shelf
principle of 10 fathoms, cf. paragraph 8 of the Foreign
Office Memorandum referred to earlier. The principle
cannot be further modified to follow the 6 fathom curve
because then Bahrain, ^atar and the Fasht would be on one
and the same shelf, to follow that curve, therefore, would
be reductio ad absurdum . Hie territorial water line - leaving
a s id© any"con sid era tion as to whether an uninhabited shoal
or sand-bank does h&v© territorial waters - cannot be used
since the extent of the shoal in which Oil Companies are
interested lie beyond these limits. A fathom curve lias,
therefore, to be used and as the 3 fathom curve readily
suggests Itself as being natural and equitable and also
because it includes points , F’ and «!•, see map BB 486,
I have selected it as the delimiting line.
25. Unlike the Rawer group where the ownership was known
and where it was only necessary to delimit its extent, in
the case of Jaradeh and Deebal both ownership and limits
are unknown. They have to be decided and j, therefor©,
asked both the shaikhs of Bahrain and Qatar if they claimed
ownership over the shoal, and if so to give me their reasons.
26. Bahrain*s claims arej-
/'♦ In the year

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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.' [‎193r] (388/603), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3806B, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100056534850.0x0000be> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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