Coll 30/186 'Oil: Koweit Territorial Waters. Jurisdiction over the sub-soil beneath the sea. Off-Shore Oil in the Persian Gulf.' [‎117r] (234/737)

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Oil.
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6th lieeting - 26 th t:ovtt^bor«194fr«
nifrlLT,
tie ap»lioati
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on the
Sholf to other jjarta of the world in which British and Oil Corapanios
were interested. tOie problem had already arisen in the Behans?s and i • ♦ -’•
was oontemplating issuing an Order in Council A regulation issued by the sovereign of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Privy Council. giving the Colony jurisdiction
over the adjacent Continental Shelf• The problem also arose in the Arslan
Gulf whore B.A.P.C.O, had askod for permission to drill on certain shoals
lying between Bahrein tmd Qatar. The whole of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. was less than
100 fathoms deep airi did not contain any sharp drop in the sea bed which oould
be taken as a dividing line. It would, therefore, be necessary to decide
upon sons general policy for dealing with the problem of dividing up the sea
bed in this area. The alternatives appeared to be either tomake a general
announcement of our views on how the sea bed in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. should be
divided up or to tell the individual rulers what areas we thought Should bo
allocated to them and leave them to settle any disputes amongst thaaaelves; or
to deal with problems on an ad hoc basis as they arose.
As regards the particular problem arising in the area between Bahrein
and jatar the Political Besident had been asked to reoomtasnd a dividing line.
As both states were under our protection and their foreign relations were t ,
<*/>»**. yg carried on by it ms hoped that it would be possible for a settlement
to be agreed.
Lwt' £-
^ .
. said that the fact that the L. . -ontinentai Gh lf ended about
the 100 fatnom line was aceidental; this uuptb *waa not uentionod in the
Procla mation and it merely happened the pea bed dropped oharply at that
point. In his opinion it appeared preferable not to raisfc the tjuostion of the
l^ersian Gulf as a general issue; this would probably lead to political
difficulties and it might be preferable to handle the problem quietly on an
ad hoc basis.
ik. LQFTUS stated that resident Truman's Proclamation only claimed
jurisdiction and control of the sea bed of the Continental Bholf and didnot
claim ownership. The U.3. Government would probably determine the conditions
on which the sea bed oould be exploited but it was not certain that this claim
would entitle royalties to be charged by the State. This was a point that
might be borne in mind when drafting the Bahamas Order in Council A regulation issued by the sovereign of the United Kingdom on the advice of the Privy Council. .
As regards the I ersian Gulf he had no information that 0.3. Companies
were contemplating drilling there in the sea bed, although he had been informed
by Mr. Thornburg that this would become a practical question in the not distant
future. Any discussions between Coverximents on the dividing lino in the Persian
Gulf would presumably have to be supplemented by inter-Compony discussions;
the dividing lino mi$it cut across geological fields and then would raise dif-
ficult±* questions as regards offsetting.
As far as he is aware the U.S. had informally consulted contiguous American
tates before issuing the Continental Shelf roclajaation and this would suggest
a precedent for consultation in the i ersian Gulf before any Rulers claimed
the sea bod outside territorial waters.
■r, UiVX said that only the Bahrein and Basrah concessions were so worded
as to include any sea bed outside territorial waters which might mean that
elsewhere it would be possible for the ,:ulers to grant separate concessions
for the sea bed possibly to Companies different from those operating on land.
said that there wo/« already a lumber of disputed land frontiers
in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. area and also a number of islands whose ownership was
/uncertain
■MBB