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Coll 30/83 'QATAR OIL CONCESSION, POLICY AND PROTECTION.' [‎481r] (972/1018)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (505 folios). It was created in 29 Dec 1933-12 Jul 1935. 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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■>
9.
specific understandings, e.g. that the Company would in
its dealings with the Sheikh or the local inhabitants be
guided oy our advice. (The terras of any reply would, of
course, turn on whether or not H.M.G. had intimated their
readiness to agree to an American or other non-British
company obtaining and operating an oil concession and on
the terms of any such agreement).
8. Mr.Rendel said that he appreciated the force of
the above arguments, and that while the whole Question of
policy would, of course, have to be considered on the
widest grounds and the points at issue would have to be
submitted to higher authorities, his personal first
impression was that it should be possible to make a strong
case for insisting, as regards Qatar, on conditions
regarding British exploitation and local management on the
lines suggested. All this would, however, take time,
and meanwhile it seemed to him extremely important that
nothing should be done to delay the conclusion of an
agreement between the A.P.O.C. and the Sheikh, since any
such dela.y might well result in a purely American interest
(e.g.the Standard Oil cf California which already holds
the Hasa Coast concession) coming in as a serious
competitor, and possibly acquiring the concession; in
which case H.M.G. would be in a far more difficult position
than if* they had to deal with the A.P.O.C. or even the
I.P. C.
9. Mr. Rend el explained that in his view there were
two types of questions involved, i.e. those between the
Company and the Sheikh, which would have to be dealt with
in the concession no?/ under negotiation, and uhose between
the Company and H.M.G. , which might involve difficult
questions/

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Content

The volume concerns British Government policy towards Qatar in the light of the bid by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) to obtain a concession from the Shaikh of Qatar (Abdullah bin Qasim al Thani [‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thānī]) to produce oil in the country. The British Government were keen that the concession should be obtained by a British company (APOC) and not by the Americans (Standard Oil Company of California). The oil concession was granted to APOC in 1935.

The papers include: discussion of policy by various British Government departments and officials (notably 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. , Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Trenchard Craven William Fowle; the Government of India, Foreign and Political Department; and the Foreign Office); the security of Qatar against raids from the Arabian interior; relations between Qatar and Ibn Saud [Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, King of Saudi Arabia]; the decision of the British Government to offer military protection to Qatar in exchange for the granting of the oil concession to APOC (including discussions by the Committee of Imperial Defence, and its Standing Official Sub-committee for Questions concerning the Middle East); the development of air facilities in Qatar as a means of protecting the state, including correspondence from the Air Ministry; discussion of the Qatar boundary; note of a conversation between 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 Haji Williamson (folios 147-148); the surrender to the British Government of jurisdiction over British subjects, British-protected persons, and non-Muslim foreigners in Qatar; the recognition of Shaikh Hamad as successor to the Shaikh of Qatar; British opposition to a request by the Shaikh of Qatar for machine guns and armoured cars, because of the provocative effect this would have on Ibn Saud (folios 33-35); agreement that the 1916 treaty between the British Government and the Shaikh of Qatar should be binding on his heirs and successors; and the terms on which military protection was to be afforded by the British Government (folios 12-14).

The papers also include correspondence between the Shaikh of Qatar 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 papers include one item of an earlier date than the main date range: a copy of the 1916 treaty between the British Government and the Shaikh of Qatar (folios 451-452).

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 (505 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 commences at the first folio with 1 and terminates at the last folio with 501; 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. The foliation sequence does not include the front and back covers, nor does it include the two leading and ending flyleaves. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 30/83 'QATAR OIL CONCESSION, POLICY AND PROTECTION.' [‎481r] (972/1018), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3800, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100057526960.0x0000ad> [accessed 20 April 2024]

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