1. 'D.142 CONFIDENTIAL. 86/13-i. P.C.L. KUWAIT.'

Description:

Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence between the India Office (John P Gibson, Maurice Clauson, Roland T Peel, John C Walton); the Foreign Office (George Rendel, Lacy Bagallay); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard C Fowle); the Political Agent at Kuwait (Gerald S de Gaury); His Majesty’s Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan, Sir Reader Bullard); Secretary of State for India (Lawrence Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland); the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Anthony Eden); and Petroleum Concessions Limited (John Skliros, Stephen H Longrigg, Frank Holmes) regarding the Kuwait Neutral Zone and Petroleum Concessions Limited’s interest in attempting to secure an option or concession from the Shaikh of Kuwait and the Government of Saudi Arabia for their shares in the zone.The volume consists of general correspondence regarding Petroleum Concessions Limited’s interest in and work towards various concessions in the Persian Gulf and various possibilities for approaching the Saudi Arabian Government regarding their share of the Neutral Zone concession. Also discussed are attempts to ascertain the exact nature and extent of the Standard Oil Company of California’s preference rights for both the zone and the remainder of the territory of Saudi Arabia.Further discussion surrounds His Majesty’s Government’s concerns over the financial situation in Saudi Arabia and their desire where possible to provide assistance and support, along with the challenges of balancing this desire with their own policies and interests in the Persian Gulf.The main focus of the discussion in the volume centres on the possibility of a buy-out clause relating to the neutral zone concession existing in the Standard Oil Company of California (SOCAL)’s option agreement with the Saudi Arabian Government and the subsequent discovery that SOCAL’s preference rights were much more extensive. The exact nature of the preference rights are identified by the Foreign Office being supplied copies of the relevant concession articles by Mahmood Riyad Zada of the Royal Legation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in London.The correspondence concludes with PCL deciding to make an offer to the Saudi Arabian Government, via their representation in London, for a concession covering central and western Saudi Arabia and the Kuwait Neutral Zone to be worked by Petroleum Development (Western Arabia) Limited. Separate correspondence documents discussion between Hamilton Ballantyne of the Standard Oil Company of California and the India Office about SOCAL's potential interest in the neutral zone concession now that oil has been discovered in Hasa and Kuwait.Also included in the volume is the memorandum prepared in the Petroleum Department, June 1938, looking at areas where petroleum concessions were mostly likely to be, or had been already been obtained, on the Arabian Peninsula.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 224-230.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 235; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 24-223; 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.

2. 'File 9/12 Gray, Mackenzie & Co Ltd: affairs and activities in Bahrain'

Description:

Abstract: The file contains correspondence sent and received by the Political Agent at Bahrain concerning the activities of Gray Mackenzie & Co.Gray Mackenzie & Co requests from the Government of Bahrain a renewal of the licence to act as landing company for loading and discharging goods in the Bahrain ports; the company also requests to undertake the lightering work and to increase the landing charges. The file contains a copy of the landing agreement, forwarded by the Advisor to the Government of Bahrain. Gray Mackenzie & Co also submits to the Government of Bahrain a request to supply British liquors to the California Arabian Company, which is not granted.There is correspondence on the discontent between the Bahraini merchants for the slowness of the lightering process and the pilferage of the cargo, leading them to put a proposal to create a local landing company.The file contains papers removed from file 10/19.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1 and terminates at the back cover with 161; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-159; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.

3. 'File 38/15 Oil concessions in Arabia and the Gulf (Muscat)'

Description:

Abstract: The file contains correspondence relating to the oil concession in Muscat, Oman, and Dhofar. The principal correspondents are: the Political Resident at Bushire (later Bahrain) [Persian Gulf Political Residency]; the Political Agent at Bahrain; the Political Agent at Kuwait; the Political Agent at Muscat; the India Office; the Foreign Office, Sultan Said bin Taimur [Sa‘īd ibn Taymūr Āl Sa‘īd], the ruler of Muscat and Oman; and representatives of Petroleum Concessions Limited and its subsidiary, Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Limited.Matters covered by the file include: the ambition of Petroleum Development Concessions for the concession over Rub al-Khali, the desert region that spans the territories of Oman and Saudi Arabia;Standard Oil's interest in the Muscat concession;Lermitte's visit to Muscat in the summer of 1937 to discuss the agreement with the Sultan;the suspension of oil operations during the Second World War;the company's attempts to extend the period within which they have the option to drill by 2-5 years;company plans to begin exploration in Oman during the winter of 1947/48;and Richard Bird's dealings with the Al Bu Shamis tribe in Buraimi in March 1948.Folios 3-7 is a memorandum produced by the Petroleum Department (of the British Government) giving an overview of the current situation regarding oil concessions in Arabia and the Persian Gulf.Folios 9-19 is the record of a meeting between representatives from the Colonial Office, Foreign Office, India Office, Admiralty, Petroleum Department, and Indian Political Service, held at the Colonial Office on 3 May 1933. The meeting covers similar topics to that of the memorandum above.Folios 107-111 are internal office notes.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 2-91; 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.

4. 'Confidential 86/7-v B.41 PETROLEUM CONCESSIONS LTD., TRUCIAL COAST'

Description:

Abstract: The volume contains correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven Fowle, Percy Gordon Loch), the India Office (Maurice Clauson), the Foreign Office (John Cecil Sterndale Bennett), the Colonial Office (Owen Gwyn Revell Williams), representatives of Petroleum Concessions Limited (Frank Holmes, Stephen Hemsley Longrigg, John Skliros, Ernest Vincent Packer), the Political Agent at Bahrain (Percy Gordon Loch, Tom Hickinbotham), and the Residency Agent at Sharjah (Khan Sahib 'Abd al-Razzaq) regarding the conclusion of negotiations with Shaikh Sa’id bin Maktum Al Maktum [Saʻīd bin Maktūm Āl Maktūm], Ruler of Dubai for an oil concession for his territory and the signing of the concession agreement on 22 May 1937.Correspondence includes discussions around the conclusion of a Political Agreement (folios 192-193) and Refinery Agreement (folios 194-195) between the British Government and Petroleum Concessions Limited (PCL); the approval of drafts of an exchange of notes (folios 9-10) to be held with the Shaikh of Dubai once the agreements had been signed; and the final negotiations over the wording and clauses of the Commercial Agreement between the Shaikh of Dubai and Petroleum Concessions Limited.Also discussed are concerns by the representatives of the British Government about the movements of representatives of the California Arabian Standard Oil Company who were alleged to be attempting to persuade the Trucial Coast Shaikh’s to not sign concession agreements with PCL and to wait until the end of their option clauses to negotiate better terms with them; and attempts by the Shaikh’s of Sharjah (Sulṭān bin Saqr Āl Qasimī) and Ras al Khaimah [Ra's al Khaymah] (Shaikh Sulṭān bin Sālim Āl Qasimī) to convince the Shaikh of Dubai to join with them in undertaking such an action.Also discussed in the volume is the reluctance by the Shaikh’s of Sharjah, Ras al Khaimah and Ajman (Rāshid Bin Ḥumaid Al-Nu`aimī) to accept the security undertaking owing to the inclusion of an unlimited amount of compensation liability; the proposal by the British Government to amend the undertaking so that compensation requirements would be subject to Shara’ [Sharia] Law which the Shaikh’s of Sharjah, Ras al Khaimah and Ajman ultimately agreed to, and including formal acknowledgements in Arabic and English of this undertaking.Other items of interest within the volume include:a report from Thomas Fulton Williamson and David Glynn Jones, geologists for Petroleum Concessions Limited on their survey of Ras al Khaimah, Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and their cursory investigations in Ajman; also included is correspondence regarding the area of Jibal Fayah in Sharjah which the geologists were prevented from entering by the ruling Bani Kitab [Beni Qitab] tribe;meeting between the Shaikh’s of Abu Dhabi and Dubai at which Ahmad bin Khalif bin ‘Utaibah [Shaikh Aḥmad bin khalīf bin ‘Utaybah] and Shaikh Ahmad bin Hilal [Shaikh Aḥmad bin Hilāl], Ruler of Dhawahir [ Z̧awāhir] had served as mediator’s in order to settle the question of where the boundary between Abu Dhabi and Dubai should be;correspondence with Shaikh Saqar bin Sultan Al Hamid [Shaikh Saqr bin Sulṭān Āl Ḥamīd], Chief of Braimi [Al Buraymī] regarding a rumour that the Residency Agent at Sharjah was intending to visit Braimi in order to negotiate an oil concession and response from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf that they wished the Residency Agent to visit Braimi to establish personal contacts with local notables there;query from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf regarding the need for PCL to appoint a Chief Local Representative; and noting that Ernest Vincent Packer had been appointed as General Manager and whether they intended this to be the same as a Chief Local Representative or not;a request by PCL to employ Robert Sutherland Cooke as a negotiator in the Middle East and whether Cooke’s past employment difficulties in Iraq might hinder this request;the appointment of Basil Henry le Riolet Lermitte as Assistant Manager for PCL in Bahrain;a request for Mrs (Dorothy) Holmes to visit Sharjah with her husband which was initially rejected by the Political Resident over fears of setting a precedent for oil Company and Superintendent’s wives in the future but was ultimately approved as 'Um Rashid' (mother of the Shaikh of Dubai?) wished her to visit;correspondence between Major Frank Holmes and the Political Agent at Bahrain regarding his intention to commence negotiations for concessions with Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah as soon as the Dubai concession was signed;correspondence regarding the Shaikh of Umm al Qaiwain’s [Umm al Qaywayn] interest in opening negotiations with Petroleum Concessions Limited; and the possibility of opening negotiations with the Shaikh of Kalba [Kalbā] as it was now a Trucial Shaikhdom;correspondence regarding the alleged intrigues of Haji ‘Abdullah Williamson who was believed to be involving himself in local politics in the Trucial Shaikhdom’s and working for the California Arabian Standard Oil Company, whilst visiting there as an interpreter for Petroleum Concessions Limited;table detailing the amount of money being paid to each Trucial Shaikh under their Anglo-Iranian Oil Company options, including how often the payments are being made and which AIOC agent was handling the payments. The table also includes notes on instances where existing or future payments differed from the norm (ff 184-185).Correspondence with the Trucial Shaikhs and copies of agreements are in both Arabic and Engliash; letters written by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company have a Persian and English letterhead.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 288-300.Physical description: The main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 5-287; these numbers are also written in pencil, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence, but they are not circled. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.

5. 'Confidential 86/12-i A. 70 Petroleum Concessions Limited. MUSCAT'

Description:

Abstract: The volume contains correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven Fowle), the Political Agent at Bahrain (Percy Gordon Loch), the Political Agent at Muscat (Ralph Ponsonby Watts), the India Office (Maurice Clauson), Petroleum Concessions Limited (Major Frank Holmes, John Skliros, Stephen Hemsley Longrigg) and the Standard Oil Company of California (Hamilton R Ballantyne) regarding Petroleum Concessions Limited’s interest in an oil concession in Muscat and their intention of opening negotiations with the Sultan of Muscat and Oman (Sayyid Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd) which were delayed owing to the Sultan extending his stay in the interior of his country near Dhofar [Zufār].Included in the file are copies in Arabic and English of the proposed concession agreement for Muscat and Oman, including correspondence regarding possible amendments to the agreement and copies of the various drafts which can be found at folios 5-20, 28-40, 109-124, 136-139, 144-159 and 195-210.Also discussed is correspondence between the Sultan of Muscat and the Standard Oil Company of California, including samples of oil seepages found near Dhofar which were sent to the company for assessment but were not found to contain crude oil.Also discussed are the concerns of British authorities at Standard Oil’s attempts to acquire concessions in the Persian Gulf and conversations between the Company’s representative in London and the India Office at which the Company were made aware that Petroleum Concessions Limited had been given first right of negotiation in that area.Other matters of interest within the file include:concerns over possible reactions by the Bani Bu Ali [Banī Bū ‘Alī] tribe to any negotiations for, or grant of, an oil concession in Muscat, which would cover the Sur district where they held power;discussion regarding the difficulty of defining the boundaries for the Imamate of Oman;a visit paid by Major Holmes to Cairo and the British authorities in the Persian Gulf interest in knowing who he had met and what he had discussed whilst there;correspondence regarding Count Byron de Prorok and his wife Alice who had travelled from Aden to Muscat and Bahrain with the intention of searching for antiquities and archaeological sites in the region, and Tullio Pastori who was visiting Muscat and Bandar Abbas [Bandar-e ʻAbbās] to recruit labour for an Italian road construction project in Eritrea; and British officials suspicions that their visits to the area were on behalf of an Italian Oil concern, which were concluded to be unfounded.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 227-236.Physical description: Foliation: The main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 21-226; 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.

6. 'CONFIDENTIAL 86/12-ii A.75. P.C.L. MUSCAT'

Description:

Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven Fowle, Olaf Caroe), the Political Agent at Muscat (Ralph Ponsonby Watts), the India Office (Maurice Clauson, John Charles Walton), the Secretary of State for India (Lawrence Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland), Petroleum Concessions Limited (Frank Holmes, Stephen Hemsley Lonrgigg, Frederick Lewisohn) and the Sultan of Muscat (Said bin Taimur Al Bu Said) regarding negotiations for the granting of two oil concessions for Dhofar and Muscat territory, which were concluded by Basil Henry Lermitte of Petroleum Concessions Limited, with the concession agreements being signed on 24 June 1937.Also discussed in the volume are arrangements for a meeting between Stephen Hemsley Longrigg of Petroleum Concessions Limited and the Sultan of Muscat, which was to take place in India, in order to discuss how they might go about exploring the South East Muscat Coast and also how to gain access to the hinterland under the control of the Imam of Muscat. Also included is a request by the Sultan of Muscat for the Political Agent at Muscat, Ralph Ponsonby Watts, to be present not only at the meeting with Longrigg but also at later meetings in Delhi where the British treaty with Muscat was likely to be discussed.Further discussion relating to exploration is included between the India Office and Petroleum Concessions Limited regarding the Company’s interest in exploring the South East Coast of Muscat and parts of the interior controlled by the Imam of Muscat and the difficulties they would be likely to encounter in attempting to do so; along with the area west of the Oman Mountain Range which Petroleum Concessions Limited were interested in ascertaining any known boundaries for, and otherwise how best to approach exploration there.Another matter of discussion within the volume is Count Byron de Prorok and his wife who had travelled to Muscat to undertake archaeological exploration, but had been refused permission to explore the interior of the country by the Sultan of Muscat. The correspondence goes on to discuss allegations made by a number of individuals and organisations that the he was not entitled to hold the rank of Count; that he had been discredited in the scientific community and could not be considered to be an archaeologist; and that a number of institutions he claimed to have the support and backing of for his explorations had issued statements refuting any involvement with him. Later correspondence discusses an application made by him for permission to travel into the Rub-el-Khali in an attempt to discover an ancient city believed to be there and the India Office’s intention of declining the request. Also included with this correspondence is discussion of a visit made by an Italian, Tullio Pastori, to Muscat and Bandar Abbas and giving Mr Pastori’s background and intentions in visiting the region to recruit labourers to construct roads in Eritrea.Other matters of interest in the volume include:discussion surrounding ongoing communication between the Sultan of Muscat and the California Arabian Standard Oil Company, who wished to undertake examinations in Muscat territory for the potential development of Petroleum resources there, and regarding such correspondence being in opposition to conditions imposed in the Sultan’s treaty with the British Government.correspondence regarding proposed amendments to the Political Agreement to be signed by Petroleum Concessions Limited and the India Office in relation to the Muscat concession.the proposed itinerary for a tour to be undertaken by the Sultan of Muscat in 1937 to India, Singapore, Japan, USA, Britain, France and Italy.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 175-184.Physical description: Foliation: The main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 3-174; these numbers are also written in pencil, are 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.

7. 'CONFIDENTIAL 86/13-II VOL. D.177. KUWAIT NEUTRAL ZONE'

Description:

Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard C Fowle, Charles G Prior); the Political Agent at Kuwait (Gerald S de Gaury, Arnold C Galloway, Tom Hickinbotham); the India Office (John P Gibson, Roland T Peel); the Foreign Office (Lacy Baggallay, Charles W Baxter); His Majesty’s Minister in Jedda [Jiddah] (Sir Reader Bullard); Petroleum Concessions Limited (John Skliros, Stephen Hemsley Longrigg, Frank Holmes); the Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) and the Arabian Americian Oil Company (ARAMCO, formerly the Standard Oil Company of California (SOCAL) and the Californian American Standard Oil Company (CASOC)).The correspondence centres on interest in a possible oil concession for the Kuwait-Saudi neutral zone and in particular the Shaikh of Kuwait’s share of the concession, which had yet to be awarded, and the Saudi Government’s share which was taken up by ARAMCO in July 1939.The early correspondence relates to World War II during which both the Eastern Gulf Oil Company and Petroleum Concessions Limited (PCL) express interest in the Shaikh of Kuwait’s share, but to which the Shaikh consistently responds that he is not interested in discussing the question as he hopes that he may be able to regain control of the whole of the zone should the King of Saudi Arabia, Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd], pass away. This situation continues until 1946 when the Shaikh decides to begin considering offers for a neutral zone concession and invites various companies including Petroleum Concessions Limited, the Eastern Gulf Oil Company, ARAMCO and the Burmah Oil Company to compete for the concession.Other matters discussed in the volume include:a proposed visit by Harold and Violet Dickson to Ibn Saud December 1938 which was eventually cancelled;a report from His Majesty’s Minister at Jedda regarding discussions held between Stephen Hemsley Longrigg of Petroleum Concessions Limited and the Minister of Finance to the Saudi Arabian Government regarding concessions for the unalloted areas of Saudi Arabia, after which PCL concluded they were not prepared to bid for owing to the preference rights given by the Government to the Californian Arabian Standard Oil Company;a visit paid by Shaikh Yusuf Yasin [Yūsuf Yāsīn] of the Saudi Arabian Government to Sir Reader Bullard, His Majesty’s Minister at Jedda regarding a possible oil concession for the Kuwait-Saudi neutral zone in which the Saudi Arabian Government’s growing need for money was noted along with concerns that the Saudi Government seemed to think British and American Oil interests were conspiring against them to keep offers low.confirmation that the Californian Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC) had taken up their right to a concession for all unalloted areas of Saudi Arabia, including the Saudi Arabian share of the neutral zone. The concession agreement was ratified in July 1939 and published in the Umm-al-Qura newspaper.a report of a visit made by Colonel Harold Richard Patrick Dickson of the Kuwait Oil Company to Abraq al Kabrit [Abraq al Kibrīt] to see CASOC’s drilling operations and obtain water samples.Correspondence between Major Frank Holmes, Adviser to the Shaikh of Kuwait on Oil Matters and the Shaikh of Kuwait in which oil in the neutral zone is discussed along with possible arrangements for transit oil from Basra to pass through Kuwait and the likely financial benefits to the Shaikh of such an arrangement.discussion between the Political Agent at Bahrain and the Political Resident regarding the outstanding Saudi Arabia boundary questions and the appropriate time to address the issues. The boundary questions being discussed included the Kuwait Neutral Zone; Jebel Naksh [Nakhsh] and Khor-el-Odeid [Khawr al ‘Udayd] which Saudi Arabia had made claims to but which the British Government considered to belong to Qatar and Abu Dhabi respecitively; and the boundaries between Trucial Coast States, Muscat and Saudi Arabia and how best to draw boundary lines between them, including Saudi Arabian claims to the Baraimi [Al Buraymī] Oasis, and the British Government’s opinion that any boundary settlement needed to ensure the Baraimi Oasis remained part of Abu Dhabi territory.rumours of an intended meeting between Ibn Saud and the Shaikh of Kuwait at Gaisun [Al Qayşūmah]; and further reports that the Shaikh of Kuwait, Shaikh Abdullah bin Isa Al Khalifah [ʻAbd Allāh bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah] [(brother of the Shaikh of Bahrain) and Mohammad Tabriz bin Abdul Aziz bin Saud [Muḥammad bin ʻAbd al-ʻAzīz Āl Sa‘ūd] (a son of Ibn Saud) had all been in the Gaisun area and had corresponded but that Ibn Saud had not travelled there.a request by the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) to undertake a hydrographic survey of the coast of the neutral zone in order to locate a harbour site suitable for unloading heavy equipment for the trans-Arabian pipeline, and the granting of permission by both the Saudi Arabian Government and the Shaikh of Kuwait for the work to be undertaken.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 244-263.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 267; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 3-243; 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.

8. 'CONFIDENTIAL 86/30 - II VOL. C.91. WIRELESS COMMUNICATION BETWEEN BAHRAIN AND SAUDI ARABIA'

Description:

Abstract: The volume comprises correspondence between the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Charles Geoffrey Prior), the Political Agent at Bahrain (Edward Birkbeck Wakefield, Tom Hickinbotham, Cornelius James Pelly, Arnold Crawshaw Galloway), the India office (Roland Tennyson Peel, Francis Anthony Kitchener Harrison), the Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO) (Ward P Anderson, Hamilton R Ballantyne), and the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC), later the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) (Floyd Ohliger, Charles E Davis) regarding permission for direct radio-telephony communication between Bahrain and Dhahran [Aẓ-Ẓahrān] which could be used to oversee launches and barges moving oil between the two places.The correspondence includes discussions on the frequencies at which this service could operate, the wartime restrictions that were imposed on conversations, and the need for local authorities in Bahrain to be able to use the service for emergency communications to Dhahran. Later adjustments to the service included the right for the Resident Manager of CASOC at Dhahran to be able to send emergency messages too, the extension of conversations to include matters relating to the new pipeline being constructed, and the introduction of new modern equipment to improve the reliability of the service.The volume concludes with a request by BAPCO to extend the remit of their direct communication service to cover all business matters and an agreement reached with Cable and Wireless Limited to permit them to do so. Also included are copies of the orders issued by both companies regulating the use of the radio-telephone service between Awali [ʻAwālī] and Dhahran.Also included in the volume are copies of the notifications issued by the Political Agent at Bahrain to the India Office each time a request for an emergency transmission is made through the Bahrain to Dhahran radio-telephony service. These emergency transmissions related primarily to forced landings of RAF planes, searches for missing planes, and medical results for employees of CASOC at Dhahran suspected of having Typhoid or other contagious illnesses.Other matters discussed include:discussion regarding Cable and Wireless rights in relation to Bahrain, which were determined not to be exclusive rights, and a request by Sir Edward Wilshaw, Chairman of Cable and Wireless to negotiate concessions with the rulers of Bahrain and Kuwait, which was postponed until the conclusion of the war;negotiations between BAPCO, CASOC and Cable and Wireless regarding payment of a nominal annual fee to Cable and Wireless in acknowledgement of their permission for the oil companies to operate their direct communication service;a letter intercepted in wartime censorship which alluded to the continuation by CASOC of the practice of sending sea-going vessels out beyond territorial waters to transmit messages directly to the USA and considered what might be done to prevent such a practice from continuing;the possibility of direct communication with CASOC in Dhahran being established and operated by the Air Liaison Officer in Bahrain to reduce the amount of emergency requests having to be sent through BAPCO;list of rates charged by the Indo-European Telegraph Department, Persian Gulf Section for cables sent to various towns and cities in the United States of America.A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 197-209.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 213; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 5-194; 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.

9. 'CONFIDENTIAL 86/31 VOL. B.64 OIL IN ITS RELATION TO THE MIDDLE EAST'

Description:

Abstract: 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 in the Persian Gulf (Charles Geoffrey Prior), the Secretary to the Government of India, External Affairs Department (Olaf Kirkpatrick Caroe), the India Office, 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:notes produced at an oil conference in Cairo in 1944 which described oil production in Bahrain and Kuwait, they contained a number of inaccuracies and were re-written by the Political Agents for Bahrain and Kuwait with assistance from the Chief Local Representatives of the Bahrain Petroleum Company and the Kuwait Oil Company;The future of oil in its relation to the Middle East; memorandum produced by Arthur Charles Hearn, Admiralty, 11 October 1940 (ff 9-21);Note on present oil position in Persian Gulfby Commodore John Montagu Howson, Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf (ff 103-104 );Memorandum on the oil concessions in the Arab Sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf,by the External Department, India Office, 13 Mar 1944 (ff 126-134);A survey of the oil resources in the Middle East(With map and graph), Research Department, Foreign Office, 28 Feb 1945 (ff 239-250);Iraq Oil(ff 257-267).A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 272-283.Physical description: 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 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.

10. 'Confidential D 107 86/5-I Eastern and General Syndicate Ltd. - Saudi Arabia'

Description:

Abstract: The volume contains correspondence to and from the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Trenchard Craven Fowle, Percy Gordon Loch), Political Agent at Bahrain (Percy Gordon Loch), and Political Agent at Kuwait (Harold Richard Patrick Dickson) regarding matters in Saudi Arabia and their affect, particularly on Kuwait and Bahrain. The main topic of discussion being a concession in Hasa, Saudi Arabia which was contested by the Standard Oil Company of California and the Iraq Petroleum Company, and was awarded to Standard Oil in July 1933.The correspondence, primarily between HM's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan) and the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Sir John Simon) includes details of the negotiations and translations of the concession agreement which was published in Umm-al-Qurain July 1933. Also discussed are attempts to obtain information about the special agreement between Standard Oil and the Sa'udi Arab Government which was not published and which contained details of the exact values of the concession, the area covered by it, and a clause relating to the Kuwait-Najd neutral zone concession. Later correspondence also discusses the progress being made by Standard Oil in developing their concession.Other matters discussed in the file include:correspondence from the Political Agent at Kuwait regarding rumours that the Shaikh of Kuwait (Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ) travelled to Najd to meet with Ibn Saud (‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd), King of Saudi Arabia, or one of his close advisers to discuss matters including a potential alleviation of the blockade on Kuwait and their joining forces in regards to the oil concession agreement in the neutral zone (ff 6-17);a memorandum written by the Petroleum Department about Petroleum in Arabia which covers the topics: Petroleum prospects in Arabia, interested or potentially interested companies, past concessions affecting Saudi Arabia, the present position. The memorandum includes brief summaries of all the key oil companies and interested parties in oil concessions in Arabia (ff 90-91);correspondence regarding the prohibition on private planes flying to Bahrain and a request by the Standard Oil Company of California to use Bahrain as their base of operations during their survey of Hasa which was denied, and the eventual decision to allow Standard Oil's aeroplane to land at Bahrain should there be a serious medical emergency involving either their staff or those of the Mesopotamia-Persia corporation (ff 112, 131-133, 155-156, 173-175);a record of an interview which Frederick Charles Starling of the Mines Department had with Edmund William Janson of the Eastern and General Syndicate Limited in which Eastern and General's interest in a possible concession in Asir was discussed along with their activities in regard to previous concessions (ff 147-149).A series of file notes which were maintained as a record of the correspondence in the volume can be found at folios 179-187.Physical description: Foliation: The main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover, and terminates at the inside back cover; these numbers arewritten in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 6-192; these numbers are also written in pencil, and can be found in the same position as the main sequence, but they are not circled.

11. 'File 1/A/38 IV Negotiations with Bin Saud re: Eastern Boundary of Saudi Arabia.'

Description:

Abstract: The volume concerns negotiations between the British and Saudi Arabian governments over the settlement of the eastern and south-eastern frontiers of Saudi Arabia, the importance of which was enhanced by the presence of oil in the areas concerned.The principal correspondents are: HM Minister, Jedda [Jeddah] (Sir Andrew Ryan; Sir Reader William Bullard); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (principally Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle); the Political Agent, Bahrain (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch; Captain Tom Hickinbotham); and officials of the India Office, the Government of India, and the Foreign Office.The papers cover: reports of negotiations between HM Minister, Jeddah and the King of Saudi Arabia, Ibn Saud (also referred to as Bin Saud) [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd], through his representatives Fuad Bey Hamza [Fu’ād Bey Hamza] and Shaikh Yusuf Yasin [Yūsuf Yāsīn]; the boundary with Qatar; the boundary with Abu Dhabi; the status of Khor al Odeid [Khawr al ‘Udayd] and Jabal Naksh (including two photographs of Jabal Naksh, folios 135-136); the supposed existence of an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Qatar prior to 1916, which is described by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf as an 'entire fabrication' (folio 41); aerial reconnaissance in the area, including a survey of places in Qatar by George William Rendel of the Foreign Office; correspondence concerning the exact position of Sufuk (also referred to as Safq) wells in the territory of Abu Dhabi, February-April 1937 (folios 90-98, 138-143, 160-161); paper by HM Minister, Jeddah (Bullard) concerning 'Mr Philby's [Harry St John Bridger Philby] expedition to the south and question of southern frontier of Saudi Arabia'; February 1937 (folios 150-159); paper by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Fowle) concerning 'Ibn Saud and the Arab States of the Persian Gulf', May 1937 (folios 199-206); and papers concerning the activities of the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC) at Qasr as Salwa, October-November 1937 (folios 216-231).The Arabic language content of the file is limited to approximately five folios, mostly correspondence (with English translations) from the Political Agent, Bahrain, to the rulers of Qatar and Abu Dhabi.The file also contains copies of earlier correspondence concerning the occupation of Khor al Odeid by Abu Dhabi, dated 1904-06 (folios 104-109).Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 262; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 4-256; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in the same position as the main sequence.

12. 'File 10/15 Annex. Radio telephone communications between Bahrain and Dhahran'

Description:

Abstract: The file contains letters and telegrams by the Political Agent at Bahrain, authorising the use of radio telephonic communications between Bahrain and Dharhan, to communicate messages for California Arabian Standard Oil Company (CASOC) and Bahrain Petroleum Company Limited (BAPCO), and confirmation of communications by BAPCO.There is an index at the end of the volume (folios 78-80).The reference number 10/15 on the cover is crossed and the file was then renumbered as 10/19A.Physical description: The foliation is written in pencil in the top right corner. The numbering begins on the first page of writing, on number 1, and runs through to 81, ending on the inside of the back cover of the file.