Author
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
Publication Date
17 Jan 1936-17 Oct 1938 (CE, Gregorian)
Subject
1
Type
Document
Language
English
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Pages Count
233
Library
Qatar Digital Library
Library Asset ID
IOR/R/15/1/685
Record ID
vdc_100000000193.0x000293
Library Location
British Library:
India Office
The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors.
Records and
Private Papers
Documents collected in a private capacity.
Date
17 Jan 1936-17 Oct 1938 (CE, Gregorian)
Notes
The volume comprises correspondence between the
India Office
The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors.
(John P Gibson, Maurice Clauson, Roland T Peel, John C Walton); the Foreign Office (George Rendel, Lacy Bagallay); the
Political Resident
A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency.
in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
(Trenchard C Fowle); the
Political Agent
A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency.
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
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
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 historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
.
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
The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors.
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.
