'File 82/1 [I] (F 52) A.P.O.C. and Oil Concessions Arab Coast'

IOR/R/15/1/618

'File 82/1 [I] (F 52) A.P.O.C. and Oil Concessions Arab Coast'

30 Jun 1921-30 Apr 1923

The file contains correspondence and telegrams between the Political Department and the Under Secretary of State at the India Office in London, Sir Winston Churchill (Secretary of State for the Colonies at the time), the Political Resident at Bushire, the Political Agent at Kuwait, the Vice-Consul at Mohammerah [Khorramshahr, Iran] and Anglo Persian Oil Company (APOC) representatives regarding contacts with local rulers about oil concessions in Bahrain and Kuwait. The file also contains:. copy of a letter from the Political Resident to the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India, dated 8 September 1921, on oil explorations in the various Persian Gulf states, and on APOC's desire to exclusive prospective rights in Oman (folios 11-13); draft agreement between the rulers of Bahrain and Kuwait and D'Arcy Exploration Company Limited for oil explorations (1921 ca.) (folios 22-27, 102-107 and 257-260); notes concerning meetings of Major Frank Holmes with Ibn Saud re oil exploration in Arabia [Saudi Arabia] (folio 80). ; letter from the Political Agent at Muscat to the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf regarding oil in Muscat (folios 96-97). ; The file is incomplete. Some letters, mainly containing pledges signed by Trucial Coast rulers not to grant any oil concession to anyone except with the permission of the British Government, were removed from the original file and forwarded to the Foreign Office in 1953. In these instances the former numbering sequence presents gaps, and these letters are replaced by folios indicating page numbers, sender, receiver, date and subject of the letter removed. These letters are now in FO 371/7723 and FO 371/104408.

The documents in the file are mostly arranged in chronological order.

FO 371/7723; FO 371/104408

Public Record(s)

English

1 file (151 folios)

Unrestricted

The main foliation is in pencil in encircled numbers in top right corner of the recto of each folio. The numbering starts on the front cover with 1 and carries on until 153, which is the last number given on the back cover of the file. A former sequence runs from the first to the last folio of writing, pencil numbers (not circled) in top right recto of each folio, not crossed through - the numbering runs 1-260 missing numerous numbers out. The reason is that some letters were removed from the original file to be forwarded to the Foreign Office in 1953, whereas the former numbering sequence presents gaps.