مجموعة ٦ / ٦٧ (٦) "حدود جنوب شرق الجزيرة العربية وقطر: امتيازات النفط في الساحل المتصالح" [و‎‎٥] (٤٠٢/١٦)

(s 1875/606/81)
lAL .
let of Q JHI31
pie bouridar^r between BrntAt Arabia and the various nritirah
protected Arab ahelkdoM and Sultanate© ©tretching alon^ the
South Eastern ooaat of Arabia fran i.atar on tlia Persian Oulf to
m never bSn doffed
(m$ ^,t>re®3HBttt between Hi© Majesty 1 © Oovcrnroftnt and the
Oovarn^t of Saudi Arabia. mna
1 issue .
4 F**H ^ oun ^ OJ ^ ol«i«#d by the Oov^nment of Saudi Arabia
i© mnrkad in red on the rough ©ketch attached. Hia Majesty’s
^ovorjia^at originally claitaad th# boundary marked in blue* but
°£ intermittent and inconalualve negotiations
between 1934 and 1938 f offered one concession after aiiothtir. of
whiua the la: eat, the so-called. ff Riyadh Line% was proposed in
1956 ©aad slightly enhanced in 1937. This la th© line miru* in
biac^v on the attached ©ketch* The distance betweeaa the Riyadh
hin© f and th© Maud! Line la about 120 miles at their point of
greatest divergence. Th® importance of th© aieputcd territory i©
derived froia the petrclciaa deposits which. It is believed, may
b© contained therein. Concession ary right© in th© British
protected areas ar© held by three subsidiary companies of th®
Iraq ' -tPoletn Company, while those in Saudi Arabia are held by
the California Arabia standard Oil Company (now known m apmboo) •
As /.rametr a extend to th© ©©stern and southern
boundaries of Saudi Arabia, th© dividing line between their
conceasims and those of the Iraq Petroleum Company's subsidiaries
Is undefined* Additional motive® promoting th© Saudi Arabian
claim arc to be found in I bn Baud' & desire to regain territory
alleged to have been ruled by hi© ancestors and in the
potentialities of th© Khor-el-Odeld aa an outlet for an oil pip©
line to eery* the oil fields in the Hess province of Saudi Arable.
His Majesty* s Government, for their part, have also bean
Influenced by their obligations towards th© various Arsb rulers
eancarned and by their desire to maintain British prestige among
thene mi©r».
The couth-©astern boundary of Saudi Arabia was orlgit;@lly
regarded as identical with the boundary of tha Ottoman JiSmpirs
as defined by th© Anglo-Turklsh Conventions of 1913 arid 1914 (th©
blue line on th© attached sketch) and this assumption wm not
directly challenged by th© D©v©rmcnt of Saudi Arabia until 1934.
Then, as a result of mi enquiry by the United States Kmfoasay in
Anksrs* His Majesty* a Oovarnment iriformsd the Governments of both
th® Uni tod u tstes and Saudi Arabia that the srsa south mid epot of
that bomidoty must be regarded as © British sphere of influence*
reply Itm Baud declined to accept the validity of these
Convent 1 but expressed hi® willingness to negotiate,
negotiations were undertaken accordingly and lasted with Intervals,
until the mid of 193 b, sine© when the question has regain©f in
abeyance. During thee* negotiation© Hi® Majesty* s Oovernrient
V- r-a,t iMfl SS<jd» Ml r«pM^itla c,: . ■
concession, but nohe of which were acceptable to Ibn Baud. The
principal obstacl© preventli^ &i*T9wmnt waa th© Saudi Arabian
claim to Jebel Heksh end Khor-ei^deid which, in th® opinion of
Hi® Majesty 9 ® Government, belong to th© Sheik of aster and the
Sheik of Abu Dhabi respectively« Th© Jebel Hsksh, ehese position
ia/