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1. '11/5 Negotiations with Ibn Saud regarding Boundaries of Saudi Arabia'
- Description:
- Abstract: The file comprises correspondence, memoranda, maps, and other papers relating to questions over the position of Saudi Arabia’s south-eastern frontier adjoining Qatar and the Trucial Coast shaikhdoms, notably Abu Dhabi. Negotiations over the frontier had long been deferred by British Government officials, as a result of the Ruler of Saudi Arabia ‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd’s [Ibn Saud] firm stance in negotiations before the Second World War. However, the need for a resolution became increasingly apparent as a result of ongoing oil exploration in Saudi Arabia by the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco), and exploration in Qatar and Abu Dhabi by Petroleum Concessions Limited (PCL). The principal correspondents in the file include: representatives of the India Office, Foreign Office, Ministry of Fuel and Power; the British Legation at Jedda; the Political Agent at Bahrain; and the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf.The file includes:correspondence, dating from 1944 and 1945, between British Government officials in the Persian Gulf, India Office and Foreign Office, discussing the previous difficulties encountered in negotiating Saudi Arabia’s south-eastern frontiers with Ibn Saud, and the agreement that further negotiations be left until after the event of Ibn Saud’s death (ff 2-29);correspondence from late 1945 through 1947, between Government officials on the possible establishment of a neutral zone between Aramco’s concession area in Saudi Arabia, and PCL’s concession area in Qatar. Also, there is some discussion of Aramco’s proposals to begin seabed exploration off the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia (ff 36-59);PCL’s request for permission to conduct seismic surveys at the southernmost limit of their concession area in Qatar (ff 76-95);reports of Aramco survey parties making incursions into PCL’s concession areas in Qatar and Abu Dhabi (ff 104-127);Government criticism of PCL’s delay in exploiting its concession areas in Qatar and Abu Dhabi (f 133);preparations in August 1949 for the reopening of frontier negotiations with the Saudi Government in Jedda. Papers include: a copy of a confidential memorandum with map, dated 2 February 1948, on the south-eastern frontier of Saudi Arabia, prepared by J E Cable of the Eastern Department of the Foreign Office (ff 164-169; copy also at ff 87-91); three further confidential memoranda with maps, prepared by the Eastern Department in 1940, outlining past and present negotiations on the position of the south-eastern frontiers of Saudi Arabia (ff 170-180, ff 181-185, ff 186-188); proposals to send representatives from Qatar and Abu Dhabi to the Jedda negotiations (ff 190-203).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. This file has the following foliation anomaly: 111A. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 4-203; 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.
2. '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.
3. 'File 5/17 Dr Mann'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file contains copies of correspondence between the Clive Kirkpatrick Daly, British Political Agent at Bahrain; Arthur Prescott Trevor, British Political Resident in the Persian Gulf at Bushire; James Carmichael More, British Political Agent at Kuwait; Denys de Saumarez Bray, Secretary of the Foreign Department of the Government of India; ‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd (Ibn Sa‘ūd); and Sir Percy Cox, High Commissioner for Iraq at Baghdad.These correspondence concern the personality and activities of Dr Alex Mann, a temporary medical officer in the Iraq Government. Within these correspondence are details concerning how he established himself as Ibn Sa‘ūd's London Agent and worked with Major Frank Holmes to secure an oil concession with Ibn Sa‘ūd, and later in Persia as a representative of the Phoenix Oil and Transport Company to acquire oil rights around Dāmghān and Sāmān.Physical description: Foliation: There is one incomplete foliation sequence and one complete foliation sequence. The complete foliation sequence is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of each folio. It begins on the front cover, on number 1, and runs through to 33, ending on the inside of the back cover.
4. 'File 82/35 (F 92) APOC Hasa'
- Description:
- Abstract: The volume contains correspondence between the Political Resident at Bushire and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) in regard to APOC's interest on the Hasa oil concession.Physical description: The foliation is written in pencil, circled, and can be found in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The numbering commences part-way through the volume with 1 and 1A and terminates at the last folio with 8. This file is bound after IOR/R/15/1/634 in the same volume; each file has its own foliation sequence.
5. Coll 6/67(5) 'Boundaries of South Eastern Arabia and Qatar (Khor al Odeid)'
- Description:
- Abstract: This volume primarily concerns British policy regarding the eastern and south-eastern boundaries of Saudi Arabia, specifically those bordering Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Muscat (i.e. the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman). Much of the correspondence relates to British concerns that oil companies operating in the region may begin prospecting in disputed territory.References are made to various existing and proposed lines, including the 'blue line' (laid down in the non-ratified Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913 and redefined and adopted in the Anglo-Ottoman convention of the following year). Reference is also made to a 'final offer' proposed by the British to the Saudi Government in November 1935, since which time no conclusion has been reached.Matters discussed in the correspondence include:The reported activity of the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (Casoc) near Qasr-es-Salwa [Salwá, Saudi Arabia] (located east of the blue line), and whether this activity necessitates a renewed effort by the British to reach a settlement with Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd] regarding the Qatar-Saudi boundary.Ibn Saud's claim to Jebel Nakhsh [Khashm an Nakhsh, Qatar], which lies in territory included in the Qatar oil concession.Whether the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi should be persuaded to cede Khor-el-Odeid [Khawr al ‘Udayd] to Ibn Saud.The impact of Britain's Palestine policy on Anglo-Saudi relations.The Foreign Office's suggestion that the Khor-el-Odeid question should be submitted to arbitration.In addition to correspondence dating from 1937-39, the volume contains copies of correspondence dating from April 1904 (including translations of two letters from the Shaikh of Abu Dhabi), which discusses Abu Dhabi's claim to Khor-el-Odeid.Correspondents include the following: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle); the Political Agent, Bahrain (Captain Tom Hickinbotham); His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Reader William Bullard); the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, Viscount Halifax); the Secretary of State for India and Burma (Lawrence John Lumley Dundas, 2nd Marquess of Zetland); the Viceroy of India (Victor Alexander John Hope, Lord Linlithgow); the Minister for Saudi Foreign Affairs [Fayṣal bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd]; officials of the Foreign Office, the India Office, and the Government of India's External Affairs Department.Also included are the following: copies of the minutes of meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence's Standing Official Sub-Committee for Questions Concerning the Middle East, dated 8 November 1937 and 8 February 1938; a sketch map depicting the various possible boundary lines of south-eastern Saudi Arabia.The volume includes a divider which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the volume by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence (folio 2).Physical description: Foliation: this file consists of two physical volumes. The foliation sequence commences at the front cover of volume one (ff 1-188) and terminates at the inside back cover of volume two (ff 189-395); 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 2-394; these numbers are printed, and are not circled.A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
6. Coll 6/48 'Oil: Concessions in Saudi Arabia. (Hasa)'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file relates to oil concessions in Saudi Arabia, particularly the Hasa [Al Hasa] concession between the Government of Saudi Arabia and the Standard Oil Company of California (SoCal). It includes discussion of the following:Oil negotiations in Saudi Arabia during March and April 1933, and the reported involvement of Major Frank Holmes in negotiations relating to the Kuwait (also spelled Koweit in the file) [Saudi-Kuwaiti] neutral zone.Details of an agreement for the oil concession relating to the Hasa region of Saudi Arabia, made between the Government of Saudi Arabia and SoCal (signed on 27 May 1933), and assigned by SoCal to its subsidiary, the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (Casoc).British concerns regarding a request made by Casoc via the United States Embassy for its aeroplane to be permitted to fly over Kuwait and Bahrain, as part of a survey of the region relating to its oil concession.Reports that Casoc may be interested in exhanging the southern half of its Hasa concession for land further west, and the effect that this might have on Britain's negotiations with Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd].Reports of the discovery of oil in Hasa in 1935, and the discovery of commercial quantities of oil there in March 1938.Reports that Casoc is considering the possibility of laying a pipeline from Hasa to Bahrain.Casoc's oil rights in the Kuwait neutral zone.The progress of operations carried out in Hasa by Casoc, including the status of its wells at Dhahran.An account of a visit made by the Political Agent at Bahrain (Hugh Weightman) to Casoc's site at Dhahran as well as to other areas in the region, in May 1939.Details of a loan from Casoc to the Government of Saudi Arabia.Reports of Casoc having taken the decision to construct a refinery at Ras Tanura.The file features the following principal correspondents: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Political Agent, Bahrain; the Political Agent, Kuwait; the Secretary of State for the Colonies; His Majesty's Chargé d’Affaires, Jedda; the His Majesty's Minister at Jedda; officials of the Foreign Office, the India Office, the War Office, the Air Ministry, and the Petroleum Department; representatives of Casoc.In addition to correspondence the file includes the following:Copies of the oil agreement and a supplementary agreement between the Government of Saudi Arabia and the Standard Oil Company of California, dated 1933 and 1939 respectively.Extracts from Bahrain and Kuwait intelligence reports.The minutes of an interdepartmental meeting held at the Colonial Office on 26 April 1933, concerning British interests in oil in the Persian Gulf (notably Kuwait, Bahrain, Hasa in Saudi Arabia, and the Kuwaiti neutral zone).Draft and final copies of a War Office report entitled 'Brief Summary of the Oil Situation in the Middle East, November 1934'.The date range of the volume is 1923-1945 but only a handful of items date from before 1933. These include copies of the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf's correspondence with the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India respectively, which date from 1923 to 1926 and concern the possibility of oil development both in Qatar and on the Trucial Coast.The file includes three dividers which give a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. These are placed at the back of the correspondence (folios 2-4).Physical description: Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 575; 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.
7. Coll 6/60 'Saudi Arabia: Oil Concessions in Asir and the Farsan Islands.'
- Description:
- Abstract: This file concerns prospective Saudi oil concessions for Asir and the Farsan Islands.In a telegram to the Foreign Office, dated 4 June 1933, His Majesty's Minister at Jedda (Sir Andrew Ryan) reports that the recent Hasa concession, which was granted by the Saudi Government to the California Arabian Standard Oil Company, has stimulated interest in the possibility of further oil concessions for other parts of Saudi Arabia, notably Asir and the Farsan Islands. Ryan's telegram also reports that King Ibn Saud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd], who has been approached by Italian oil companies, wishes to know whether any British oil companies would be interested.The remaining correspondence reports on communications between the British Government's Petroleum Department and various British oil companies (including the Iraq Petroleum Company, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, the Shell Group, and the Eastern and General Syndicate) regarding those companies' interest (or lack thereof) in pursuing a concession for either location.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 foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 21; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.