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Coll 30/123(3) 'Bahrein (Unallotted Zone) Oil Concession: Negotiations with the Bahrain Petroleum Company.' [‎58v] (116/1108)

The record is made up of 1 file (547 folios). It was created in 9 Jan 1939-6 Jun 1947. 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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siid oi 6\0 .oil iBiinooxInoo ‘io x c i 0 *- :
[jfeooJ laixfO oxl^ of nis'iiiJiS fnagA Ixsoifxlo'i axtf tnoi’l £^€I
♦ r5*i>>3ff , •bt*I xnsqfnoO raLfQ.fo'if 9l nixsixla r diit ,av if sfrceaaiQs*
siif J^xiw woni jjo^ f 9l of oxa oa^aj© ^Xfnoooi uoY
lo foocraai rri f tis*iuiisvoO nxj 3 *i.xsa s^if axvja-axv saw noifisoii
L JL
- 2 -
R f hr.
by the Iraqi Government by special law, defining the period
of suspension as ’’two years after the signing of the
armistice between Great Britain, Germany, Italy or Japan,
whichever shall be the later.”
It can therefore be urged that the' loan was in fact
paid in consideration of a virtual extension of the concession
for a period longer than that during which force majeure
actually applied. Moreover, inasmuch as the British ,
Ambassador pressed the Iraqi Government to accept the-
Companies’ plea of force majeure in the case of the two
Companies in Iraq, I feel that we should do our best to
exercise equal pressure on the Sheikh of Bahrein in support
of the Bahrein Petroleum Company, even though in the former
case such pressure did not prove effective.
It could, I think, be explained to the Sheikh that the
Bahrein Petroleum Company are not asking that the moratorium
should cover so long a period as in the case of the Iraqi
Companies and that it was for this extension that the loan
was justified rather than for the moratorium itself. It
could also be added that if the Company are unwilling to make
an additional payment in respect of Bahrein, his only
recourse would be submit the matter to an arbitration
which would be costly and which he would almost certainly
lose.
Yours sincerely.

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Content

The file title has been amended from 'Petroleum Concessions Ltd' to read 'the Bahrain Petroleum Company'.

The file concerns negotiations between the Government of Bahrain and the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), which resulted in the Company receiving exclusive oil concession rights over the Bahrain Unallotted Area (consisting of the offshore waters around the main island of Bahrain and the Hawar Islands), negotiations over the drafting of the concession agreements, and the progress of operations in the area. The file contains a large amount of correspondence from representatives of BAPCO.

The papers include: British Government approval for the preferred option of the Ruler of Bahrain, Shaikh Sir Hamad bin Isa Alkhalifah [Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah], to give the whole of the Unallotted Area to BAPCO rather than dividing it between BAPCO and Petroleum Concessions Limited (PCL), 1939; drafts and signed copies of (1) the political agreement relating to the Bahrain oil concessions between HM Government and BAPCO, and (2) the agreement between the Ruler of Bahrain and BAPCO supplementing BAPCO's original lease, 1939-40; comments on the drafts of the agreements and the progress of negotiations by 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 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. ; comments on the drafts of the agreements by the Foreign Office, Petroleum Department, and the Admiralty (including the issue of territorial waters); correspondence and agreement concerning the temporary transfer of BAPCO geological plans and other records out of Bahrain as a result of wartime conditions, 1941; correspondence concerning an agreed moratorium on all operations by BAPCO in the Additional (previously Unallotted) Area as a result of wartime conditions, 1941-43; correspondence concerning the probable length of life of the Bahrain oilfield, 1946; and papers concerning the resumption of full operations by the Company, 1946-47, including a four-year extension to the BAPCO lease as a result of the moratorium.

The Arabic language content of the papers consists of drafts and signed copies of the oil agreement in both English and Arabic, and correspondence between British officials and the Ruler of Bahrain, with English translations.

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 (547 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 548; 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 30/123(3) 'Bahrein (Unallotted Zone) Oil Concession: Negotiations with the Bahrain Petroleum Company.' [‎58v] (116/1108), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3855, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100074498391.0x000077> [accessed 28 March 2024]

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