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'CONFIDENTIAL 86/31 VOL. B.64 OIL IN ITS RELATION TO THE MIDDLE EAST' [‎214r] (432/578)

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The record is made up of 1 volume (285 folios). It was created in 11 Oct 1940-22 Aug 1945. 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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(EN CLAIR)
q) mi
SPECIAL (OIL POLICY )
MOM WASHINGTON TO FOREIGN OPPTfTff
Earl of Halifax
No» 3^9 Saving
9th December, 1944.
9 th December 1944*
R* 4*10 p*m* 16th December 1944
'ment)f gram N0 ‘ 6569 ° f 9th (Revision of oil
of the American Petroleum Institute.
2 . (a)
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the Petroleum Industry War Council in its desire to
aid the Petroleum Administrator for War and the Department of State
m ascertaining as far as possible the present views of the
Petroleum^Industry War Council with respect to its objections to
the ratification of the Anglo-American Oil Treaty, now pending before
the Senate of the United States, and the suggested revisions thereof
or additions thereto as presently deemed by the Petroleum Industry
War Council to be effective in the removal of such objections; and
WHEREAS, both the Petroleum Administrator and the Department
of State have today informed the members of the Petroleum Industry
Yfar Council of the important advantages to be derived from an
expression at this meeting of the Council, of the judgement and
opinion of the members of Council with respect to the report of the
National Oil Policy Committee this day presented to the numbers; and
WHEREAS, said letter transmitting the report of the Committee
on National Oil Policy recites that;
"it is assumed that the submission of this report does not
foreclose or impede expression of views by individual members
of the Committee or by others and that the recommendations
are not binding as future ccmmit^ents on members of the
Committee or of the Petroleum Industry War Council, nor will
it operate to prevent any member of the National Oil Policy
Committee or the Petroleum Industry War Council from asking
such individual or joint recommendations as they might desire".
and
V/HEREAS, any member of the Council (whether a member of such
Committee or not) is considered to be free to present to the Petroleum
Administrator or the Department of State any such objections, revisions
or additions to such pending treaty deemed by such member as having
been insufficiently or inappropriately dealt with, after fuller
consideration of such report of the National Oil Policy Committee and
after submission thereof to such members’ Legal Counsel, with the
assurance that same shall have the due consideration of the
Petroleum Administrator and the State Department as a part of the
advice solicited from the Council;
THEREFORE, BE IT PJ2S0LVED, that the Petroleum Industry Y/ar
Council does hereby recommend to the Petroleum Administrator for
War that "the suggested revision of the Oil Agreement" presented
/to

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Content

The volume comprises correspondence and discussions regarding the economic and political situation in relation to oil in the Middle East during and immediately after the Second World War. At the centre of the discussions are talks which took place in Washington DC between US and UK government officials looking at the global importance of oil, which focused particularly on oil in the Middle East.

The talks concluded with the production of a memorandum of understanding which was published 8 August 1944 as the Agreement on Petroleum between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, otherwise known as the Anglo-American Oil Agreement (1945).

Also included in the volume is correspondence 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. (Charles Geoffrey Prior), the Secretary to the Government of India, External Affairs Department (Olaf Kirkpatrick Caroe), 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. , and His Majesty’s Minister at Jeddah (Stanley Jordan) regarding two proposed pipelines. The first being the ‘trans-arabian pipeline’ which it was proposed would link the Middle East to the Mediterranean. The proposal was initially postponed owing to heavy criticism of it in the United States press but was later taken up by the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO). The second proposal from the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) and the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC, later renamed ARAMCO) was for a pipeline to take crude oil from Dhahran [Aẓ-Ẓahrān], Saudi Arabia to the BAPCO refinery at Bahrain.

Also included is correspondence between the Chief Local Representative for BAPCO (Milton H Lipp, Ward P Anderson) and the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Charles Dalrymple Belgrave) regarding possible sites for the pipeline and the reservation of required land. Further discussion centred on the question of the eastern frontier of Saudi Arabia, which was in dispute, and whether His Majesty’s Government should look to tackle the matter at that time with the Saudi Arab Government or wait until the progress of the oil companies required its resolution. Jabal Naksh and Khor-al-Odaid [Khawr al ‘Udayd], which were claimed by Qatar and Abu Dhabi respectively, and whose claims were supported by His Majesty’s Government but contested by Saudi Arabia were discussed as being key areas in the frontier dispute.

Another matter discussed in the volume was a visit paid by the Mission of the Petroleum Reserves Corporation to the Middle East. The Mission’s purpose was to review resources of petroleum in the Middle East and its itinerary included visits to Kuwait, Dhahran, and Bahrain. The mission was headed by Everette Lee Degoyler and also included the eminent geologists and petroleum experts Dr George Martin Lees, William Embry Wrather, and John Herhold Murrell.

Other matters touched on in the volume include a request by ARAMCO to undertake a hydrographic survey of the coast line of the Kuwait Neutral Zone; the possibility of resuming oil field production in Qatar and Kuwait provided the necessary equipment could be obtained from the USA; articles published in American journals and newspapers regarding the global oil situation and oil in the Middle East; and a visit paid by Major Frank Holmes to Kuwait in 1944.

Also included in the volume are a number of notes and memorandums relating to oil in the Middle East:

A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 272-283.

Extent and format
1 volume (285 folios)
Arrangement

The volume contains a table of contents on folio 5 comprising of subject headings and page references. The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the file.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 287; 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 7-270; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence. 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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'CONFIDENTIAL 86/31 VOL. B.64 OIL IN ITS RELATION TO THE MIDDLE EAST' [‎214r] (432/578), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/700, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100086676321.0x000021> [accessed 19 April 2024]

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