Abstract: The file comprises two items of correspondence concerning the termination of the concession held by Petroleum Development (Oman and Dhofar) Limited for oil exploration in Dhofar. The correspondence is between Basil Henry le Riolet Lermitte and the Sultan of Muscat and Oman [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd].The file also includes a letter from Lermitte to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (William Rupert Hay) informing that the Sultan had approved the arrangements in which the separate concession for Dhofar was renounced.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 6; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file contains a copy of correspondence dated February 1950 between the British Residency, Bahrain and the Eastern Department, Foreign Office (G W Furlong), copied to the Political Agent, Muscat (Major F C L Chauncy), concerning the abandonment of the Dhofar oil concession. It also contains a letter from the British Residency, Bahrain, to Chauncy with information on the termination of Dhufar concession by Petroleum Concessions Ltd.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 5; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file contains correspondence in the form of letters and telegrams related to the construction of a Royal Air Force landing ground and petrol store at Shuwaimiyah, south-east Oman. The correspondence in the file covers the following: the urgency to establish operational airfield at Shuwaimiyah to help combat the submarine menace; the availability of water supplies at Shuwaimiyah; the possibility of troubles arising from the local tribes and the security arrangements there; the Muscat Government appointing local representatives at Shuwaimiyah; the Secretary to the Sultan of Muscat and Oman, Ali Muhammad Al-Jamali providing statements showing the due rent of the landing ground and the receipts when the rent was paid; the supply of labourers and their fees as well as details related to the
dhowsand labourers arriving at Masirah and Shuwaimiyah.The file includes copies of draft agreements between the Political Agency, Muscat, the Muscat and Oman Government, and Muhammad bin Sullaiyim, Shaikh of Batahrah tribe, at Shuwaimiyah in connection with the development of the landing ground there.The main correspondents in the file are: Headquarters British Forces, Iraq; Headquarters British Forces, Aden; Royal Air Force, Masirah; the Political Agency, Muscat; the Persian Gulf Residency, Bahrain; and the Government of Muscat and Oman.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 157; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 1-155; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Abstract: The file comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes, relating to the search for and potential development of mineral deposits in the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman.Correspondence in the file includes the discussion of the following issues:The availability of reports from 1901 on the coal seams of Sur (ff 2-4)Specimens of minerals for identification sent in the 1940s by the Political Agent, Muscat to the Director, Geological Survey of India, CalcuttaAssessments of the potential economic value of their deposits and arrangements for further surveysActivities and interest of American geologistsMinerals discussed include coal, silver, quartz, lead sulphide, calcium carbonateCorrespondence relating to the survey of Dhofar and subsequent report 'The geology and mineral resources of Dhufar' province, Muscat and Oman', by the geologist, Sir Cyril Sankey Fox, late Director, Geological Survey of India.The file features the following principal correspondents: the Director, Geological Survey of India; the Political Agent, Muscat (Captain Richard Ernest Bird); the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Geoffrey Prior); Political Agent, Bahrain (Major Tom Hickinbotham); and officials of the Government of India.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 204; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
Abstract: This file relates to the agricultural and industrial development of the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman. The first half of the file concerns a report on the land resources of the province of Dhofar (also spelled as Dhufar), produced by Brian Joseph Hartley, Director of Agriculture, Aden. A copy of the report, dated 20 March 1948 and entitled 'A Preliminary Survey of the Land Resources of the Dhufar Province, Sultanate of Muscat and Oman', is included in the file, along with a series of photographs depicting water supplies, examples of irrigation farming, palm and olive groves, and cattle (ff 37-60).The second half of the file primarily concerns a visit to Dhofar by consulting geologist Sir Cyril Sankey Fox, to examine lead ore deposits, after being granted a mineral prospecting licence by the Sultan of Muscat and Oman [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd].The file's principal correspondents are the following: the Political Agent and Consul, Muscat; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Foreign Office; the Sultan of Muscat and Oman [Sa‘īd bin Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd]; Sir Cyril Sankey Fox.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 61; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: This file contains papers relating to the mineral resources and geological formations of Dhofar province in Oman. The file's contents revolve around the publication of a report compiled by Sir Cyril Sankey Fox in 1947 called 'The Geology and Mineral Resources of Dhufar Province, Muscat and Oman', which was published on behalf of the Sultan of Muscat and Oman. The contents of the report relied on a mineral audit compiled by the Geological Survey of India.Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 56; these numbers are written in pencil and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.
Abstract: The file concerns geological and geophysical surveys for oil and other minerals in the hinterland of Muscat and Oman (especially Dhofar Province, also referred to as Dhufar) and the Trucial Coast (especially Sharjah) undertaken by the substantially British-owned Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC) and its subsidiaries Petroleum Concessions Limited, Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Limited, and Petroleum Development (Oman and Dhofar) Limited. The British Government were keen to assist IPC to resume exploration, which had been discontinued during the Second World War, in view of the political, strategic and economic importance of the Company's oil concessions in the area (folio 275).The papers include: the extent to which certain tribal areas were under the control of local rulers; the need for demarcation of the boundaries of the Trucial Coast states; list of concession and political agreements in force in 1945 in the various Trucial Coast states (folios 267-268); interest on the part of the Shaikh of Fujairah in entering into treaty relations with the British Government (folio 210); minutes of meetings at the India Office between British Government officials and oil company representatives; permission from the British Government to employ American personnel in survey work (folios 186-193); papers concerning a report by Sir Cyril Sankey Fox, formerly Director of the Geological Survey of India, for the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman entitled 'The Geology and Mineral and Other Resources of Dhufar Province and Other Parts of the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, South-East Arabia', March-May 1947 (folios 64-100), including correspondence from the author of the report; sketch map provided by the Political Agent, Muscat (Major Andrew Charles Stewart), which is said by him to have been marked by the Sultan of Muscat [Sa‘īd ibn Taymūr] to show the western boundary of Dhofar (folio 68); a request by Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Limited that geological factors be taken into account in determining the boundary between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with sketch map (folios 57-58); Petroleum Concessions Limited 'Instructions to Field Party for Geological Reconnaissance of Southeastern Hadhramaut, the Mahra, and Dhofar' (folios 49-53); and minutes of Foreign Office meeting to discuss the south-eastern frontiers of Saudi Arabia, July 1947.The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.Physical description: Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside the front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 336; these numbers are written in pencil 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 327-335; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and have been crossed out. Finally, the second folio is listed as ‘1A’ rather than ‘2.’