مجموعة ١٧٠/٣٠ "مسألة ملكية جزيرتي البيّنة." [و‎‎٢‎٧] (٢٥٩/٥٦)

the aor&nee In shoal exploration by the two oil companies,
i.e* California Arabian Standard Oil Company and the Bahrain
Petroleum Company, and suggests that spheres in the shallow
waters in which the two companies could operate should be
marked out, possibly on the lines suggested by the Saudi
Minister for Foreign Affairs, by drawing a line midway
between the two territories*
He suggests that this line might run through these
two islands from some distance south and be projected due
north, thus dividing Saudi and Bahrain "spheres", please
see his demi-official letter Mo. C/355 dated £^th May 1339
to Sir Trenchard.
He also suggests (a) that Bain As Saghir be regarded
as & Bahrain possession and Bain Al Kabir as belonging to
Saudi Arabia and (b) that the owners of these islands agree
to forego any claims to territorial waters within a radius
of 3 miles of them*
5* The last action in this connection was that a Saudi
Arabian representative was to be sent to examine the matter
on the spot with the Political Agent in February 1940, vide
telegram Mo. 15 dated,5th Dece mber 1939 to you. But nothing
has come of it.
6. in the meantime the Bahrain Petroleum Company are
pressing for our approval to their 'te ^uests to be allowed
to drill in these reefs, the assent of His Highness having
cJLready been obtained. If the line suggested by height man
is eventually agreed to, the four banks l.e. Adala, Jarim,
Ashira and Abu Saafa will all come within the Bahrain
sphere. The Bahrain right to Adala and Jarim could not be
disputed, I think, and in any case the Company have alread y
drilled on the latter. Permission to drill on these two
might therefore be given at once.
Ashira /-