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Coll 30/91(2) 'Koweit Oil Concession: Agreement between the Shaikh of Kuwait and the Kuwait Oil Coy.' [‎95r] (194/788)

The record is made up of 1 volume (390 folios). It was created in 19 Nov 1934-11 Oct 1935. 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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THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT
i -521 I January 10, 1935.
! . .. ;
Section 1.
EASTERN (Arabia).
CONFIDENTIAL.
v
[E 59/19/91]
No. 1.
Sir John Simon to Sir A. Ryan (Jedda).
(No. 10.) * V '
Sir, Foreign Office, January 10, 1935.
BY correspondence ending with that enclosed in my despatch No. 6 of the
3rd January you have been kept informed of the general course of events with
regard to the negotiation of the Koweit Oil Concession. It may, nevertheless, be
convenient if in this despatch I recapitulate briefly the recent history of this
question.
2. In February 1934 the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and the Gulf Oil
Corporation of California, who had previously been competing against one
another for an oil concession in Koweit, combined to form the joint Koweit Oil
Company with a view to prosecuting negotiations for such a concession together.
On the 5th March a political agreement was concluded between the Koweit Oil
Company and His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom by which the
latter were assured of their essential requirements should a concession be granted.
The company, for their part, were given to understand that, if they succeeded in
negotiating a concession agreement with the sheikh on generally satisfactory
lines, the approval of His Majesty’s Government would not be withheld. His
Majesty’s Government also examined and approved the draft concession
agreement which formed the basis of the negotiations.
3. Negotiations between the Koweit Oil Company and his Excellency the
Sheikh, for which permission had been given before the end of February, were
begun without delay. Considerable progress was made, but at the beginning of
June the negotiations were suspended, at the sheikh’s request, for three months
in order that the company’s negotiators might consult with their principals in
London. According to the company, the sheikh undertook that during this period
of three months he would not receive or consider applications for the concessions
from other parties. The company understood this period to end on the
14th September, but the sheikh, as afterwards became apparent, considered
himself bound until the 30th August only.
4. The negotiations were, in fact, resumed early in October and made good
progress. Agreement had been reached on all but one or two minor points when,
on the 19th November, His Majesty’s Government learnt circuitously from a
private source that the sheikh had granted the concession, subject to the
approval of His Majesty’s Government,” to a new British group named Traders
Limited. The principal member of this concern was stated to be Mr. P. LI.
Hunting, a director of the British Oil Development Company (now known as
Mosul Oil-fields Limited). Although it was understood that that company itself
was not involved, various other directors of it were said to be associated with
Mr. Hunting. . .
5. Information was immediately sought from the political authonties in
the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. with a view to establishing the accuracy of this lepoit. The
exact position was, however, still unknown when, on the 28th November, His
Majesty’s Government, who on the 26th November had been informed that the
negotiations between the sheikh and the Koweit Oil Company had now been
concluded save for one or two final points, were officially informed by Traders
Limited of the agreement which had been reached with the sheikh and were
requested to approve it. Traders Limited at the same time communicate to
His Majesty’s Government the texts of the draft concession which they stated
that they had negotiated with the sheikh, and of a letter which they stated the
Sheikh of Koweit had written on the 2nd September to Mr. Gabriel, the sheikh s
Basra lawyer, who was acting as their local representative. From this letter, a
copv of which is enclosed, you will observe that Traders Limited were asked to
seek the approval of His Majesty’s Government for the draft concession which
the sheikh (subject to certain minor points) was ready to sign, and were to ask
His Majesty’s Government to telegraph their decision to Koweit.
[306 k—1]

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Content

The file concerns the negotiations concerning the signing of the commercial agreement between the Shaikh of Koweit [Kuwait], Shaikh Ahmed al-Jabir as-Subah [Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ] and the Kuwait Oil Company in 1934. The Kuwait Oil Company was 50-50 owned by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) and the Gulf Oil Company of Pennsylvania. The Shaikh of Kuwait was precluded from signing an agreement without the permission of the His Majesty's Government ( HMG Her or His Majesty’s Government in London. ).

The file consists of minutes and correspondence from 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 other main correspondents are the Foreign Office; Traders Limited; the Kuwait Oil Company; 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. , Kuwait (Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Richard Patrick Dickson).

The file covers: negotiations over an oil concession between the Shaikh of Kuwait and Traders Limited; the involvement of Lord Lloyd [George Ambrose Lloyd, 1st Baron Lloyd]: in particular, Lloyd's contention that the concession should go to a wholly British-owned company, without any American involvement; enquiries into the composition of Traders Limited (e.g. folios 281-283, 273-276); company information about the concession supplied to 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. by Sir Henry Strakosch, including Strakosch's view that Traders Limited were not likely to prove as desirable a concessionaire as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company and the Gulf Oil Company of Pennsylvania (folios 197-207); 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. approval of the awarding of the concession to the Kuwait Oil Company, and correspondence with both companies; correspondence between British Government officials and the Shaikh of Kuwait, expressing the British Government's disapproval of the Shaikh's dealings with Traders Limited (especially folios 137-154); the signing of the commercial agreement on 23 December 1934; minutes of discussions 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. between British Government officials and representatives of the Kuwait Oil Company, and Traders Limited; copies of the political and commercial agreements (folios 111-118); the suspicions of 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. , Kuwait that the Anglo-Persian Oil Company were the 'hidden hand' behind Traders Limited (folios 62-69); copy of the Kuwait oil concession document supplied to 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. by the Kuwait Oil Company, including two maps (folios 57-58) that accompanied the concession, with related correspondence (folios 38-58); discussion of what the British Government's attitude to the Shaikh of Kuwait should be in future, in view of the Shaikh's 'disregard' of his treaty obligations toward the British (e.g. folio 23); and the threat of legal action by Traders Limited against the decision to award the concession to the Kuwait Oil Company (folios 14-17).

The file also contains one document of a slightly earlier date than the stated date range: a copy of the political agreement between the British Government and the Kuwait Oil Company dated 5 March 1934 (folios 324-325).

The Arabic language content of the file consists of Arabic equivalents of place names in English on the map of Kuwait on folio 58.

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 volume (390 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 for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 392; 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 30/91(2) 'Koweit Oil Concession: Agreement between the Shaikh of Kuwait and the Kuwait Oil Coy.' [‎95r] (194/788), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3812, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100056562823.0x0000c3> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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