"ملف ٥/٢ VI المنطقة المُحايدة في الكويت" [و‎‎١‎٨‎٧] (٧٠٢/٣٧٣)

*Q.U//1J (5/2)
Sir,
THE POLITICAL AGENCY,
KUWAIT,
4 August, 1949.
I understand that before you left for Kuwait the
Foreign Office were shewn an amended draft concession for
the Kuwait sea-bed area, incorporating amendments sugges
ted by them, and also a draft concession covering the
islands of KUBR, QART7 and U!flM AL UARADIM similar in form
to the draft for the sea-bed area.
2 . I am now to inform you that the draft concessions
have again been examined by the Foreign Office and there
seems to be no objection to their terms, apart from a few
minor changes of wording and arrangement* Copies of the
drafts showing the minor amendments suggested were despat
ched to Kuwait on A ugust the 12th but have not yet arrived
3# When the question was first discussed of whether
the American Independent Oil Company could be permitted to
seek a concession for the three Islands, it was decided
to recommend to the Sheikh the inclusion of a clause safe
guarding prior rights and warning him against any possible
counter-claims should he gecide to grant a concession to
the A merican Independent Oil Company. The Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs is advised that there would be
advantage from the Sheikh's point of view in prefering
to the safeguards incorporated in Article 1 of the drafts
prepared by you the draft indemnity clause enclosed with
this letter, subject to the deletion of the words "or
otherwise disposes of in the second paragraph.
4. Mr. Palmer, representative of the American Indepen
dent Oil Company in London, has referred this point to His
Majesty's Government asking whether they could agree to
dispense with an indemnity clause in respect of any loss
incurred by Sheikh as a result of the establishment of
prior claims by another company. His company thought
His Majesty's Government might have changed their view
on this point if it was the esse that they had not insisted
upon a clause being included In the concession granted
for the sea-bed at Qatar. The company also wished to
know whether His Majesty's Government had any objection
to concessions being obtained for sea-bed areas permitting
operations to start pending decision of possible prior
claims. Mr. Palmer has been told that His Majesty's Govern
ment have never opposed the grant of such concessions
subject to reservations being made with regard to prior
claims. He was also told that in the case of the Qatar
sea-bed concessions there was no specific reference to an
indemnity, though the concessions differ in several res
pects from the draft concession which His Majesty's Govern
ment had previously discussed, and that the cases were not
strictly parallel. It was added that His Majesty's
Government would feel it necessary therefore to
explain fully to the Sheikh of Kuwait the possible
advantage from his point of view of including an indemnity
clause/...
H.T. Kemp, Esq.,
KUWAIT.