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'86/1 X Kuwait Oil (D 131)' [‎166r] (348/484)

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The record is made up of 1 file (240 folios). It was created in 24 Apr 1935-13 May 1937. It was written in English, Arabic and Persian. 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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uopy.
KHJ a IT OIL GOMPArfY, Limited,
KU v /AIT.
8th Noveraber 19 S 6.
No,6810•
H.M f s 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.
Sir,
Reference our conversation of yesterday* s date
(7.11.36)•
We write to confirm that we may find it necessary
in the near future to ask H # E. the Shaikh to allow us to
reserve for the Company 1 s landirg operations as well as
for those of the Geophysical Party now carrying out a
survey of Kuwait State, an irregular piece of ground at
Shuwaikh lying between the octagonal Goat Towar and the
small inlet immediately to the East of the Cement Pier
on the North side and the main Jahra-Kuwait road on the
South side (see rough sketch attached).
We should be glad to know if there is any
political objection to our asking His Excellency the Shaikh
to let us have this piece of land.
We have the honour to be,
Sir ,
Your obedient servants,
Sd.L.D.Scott,
for KUWAIT OIL COMPANY, LTD.

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Content

The file primarily contains correspondence between the Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ), 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. at Kuwait (Harold Dickson and Gerald Simpson DeGaury), 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. (Trenchard Craven Fowle and Percy Gordon Loch), 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. (John Charles Walton, Gilbert Laithwaite and Maurice Clausen) and the Kuwait Oil Company (abbreviated as KOC).

Correspondence discusses the commencement of oil drilling operations in Kuwait following the signing of the Kuwait Oil Concession, in particular the appointment of Harold Dickson as Chief Local Officer, the need for a Customs and Passport Post, and the decision to move drilling operations from Bahra to the South of Kuwait due to the former having insufficient quantities of oil for production.

Also discussed in the file is clause three of the political agreement between KOC and His Majesty's Government which relates to the appointment of non British or Kuwaiti personnel in Kuwait. Matters discussed include the process of applying for special permission for such individuals and applications for two specialist American personnel to be employed there. Further correspondence relates to the KOC's wish to send a team of sixteen American geophysical surveyors to Kuwait for six months to undertake Seismic, Magnetic and Gravimetric surveys.

The file also contains correspondence between HM's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan), Foreign Office (Sir John Simon, George Rendel), 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. (Gilbert Laithwaite) and the Arabian Development Syndicate (Rex Jansen, Mr Ydlibi) on the question of the Kuwait-Nejd neutral zone and the two companies vying for the Saudi Arabian share of it, the Standard Oil Company of California and the Arabian Development Syndicate.

Other correspondence of note in the file includes:

  • A request by Paul Heath Boots, head of the geophysical survey for the KOC, to undertake terrestrial magnetic observations in Kuwait, Bahrain and surrounding countries as the last observations in these areas were made in 1909-1910. The correspondence includes detailed descriptions of the observations to be taken, the instruments to be used and how they hope to re-observe the magnitude and direction of the earth's magnetic field in order to determine in what way and direction the magnetic field had varied since the last observations were completed (Folios 166-167, 202-203);
  • A letter from Traders Ltd to the Shaikh of Kuwait informing him that they are not willing to accept his decision to sign with the KOC and that they were referring the matter to their legal adviser;
  • A request from the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (later the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company) for special authorisation to land their planes at Kuwait and undertake aerial surveys there;
  • A request by the KOC to use part of the land at the Shuwaikh site, which had previously been earmarked by the RAF as a potential future airbase site, and the British Government's decision that the site was no longer required by them;
  • The lighting of the oil derrick at Bahra for night-time work and the need to inform Imperial Airways and the Port Director at Basra as the derrick was under the air route and near the sea;
  • Arrangements for accommodation of European women in Bahrain and Kuwait and reminders that no European women were permitted in Qatar or the Trucial coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ;
  • Assurances from the Shaikh of Kuwait to His Majesty's Government in regards to the granting of future oil concessions, following his dealings with Traders Ltd;
  • A discussion of the use of private wireless stations by the KOC, whether these contravened international conventions and whether they would impact future post office services in Kuwait. Further correspondence relates to the need to register the wireless stations and obtain Indian telegraph service call signs for them;
  • A request by the KOC to place temporary buoys in the Ras Khadama [Ra’s Kāz̧imah] channel and costs involved for the Port Director at Basra to arrange for the work to be done.

The correspondence from the Shaikh of Kuwait is in Arabic, with English translations, and the correspondence from the Anglo-Persian Oil Company includes letterheads in Persian and English.

Extent and format
1 file (240 folios)
Arrangement

There is an index to the volume at folio 2 which arranges the contents by topic discussed.

Folios 219-229 are notes recording each item of correspondence within the volume, and include page numbers in pencil in the margins which enable the notes to be used as a further index.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: The foliation sequence commences on the title page with 1 and terminated on the last folio with 232. The numbers used for this sequence are located in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio and are indicated by a pencil number enclosed in a circle. Folio 180 has been omitted from the sequence.

Foliation anomalies: 1A, 1B, 18A, 115A, 174A

The following folios need to be folded out to be read: 4, 6

A former referencing system, using red crayon numbers enclosed in a circle can also be found throughout the file.

Written in
English, Arabic and Persian in Latin and Arabic script
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'86/1 X Kuwait Oil (D 131)' [‎166r] (348/484), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/646, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100080764581.0x000095> [accessed 8 October 2024]

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