'الملف 10/3 IV الامتياز النفطي بقطر' [و‎‎٢‎٧] (٥٣٤/٧٨)

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to the Company and niight have diastrous results on
British interests elsewhere, tie thought that H.M.G^s
real safeguard lay in the existence of the British
groups in the I.P.G. Sir Louis Kershavj enquired
whether the same difficulties were not to be feared
from the clause in the Kovieit Agreement, hut Mr, Hearn
hoped that since only two Companies were interested
in this the clause would not become widely known.
Mr. Starling said that H.M .G. were at present
negotiating with various foreign countries and trying to
get them to agree that they should impose no conditions
on British Oil Companies which were not imposed on
other Oil Companies. Having in mind these negotiations
he felt inclined to agree generally with what Mr.Agnew
had said. Mr. Seal said that the Admiralty were
somewhat perturbed at the very small number of
refineries in British territory in view of the
difficulties which might arise in time of war in
obtaining oil for the Navy from neutral countries. The
Admiralty particularly desired that there should be
more refineries in British territory in Asia. He said
that it was a well established British policy to
ensure if possible that oil should be refined in
British territory and he suggested, and Mr, Starling
agreed that this policy was well known abroad.
Sir Louis Kershaw also doubted whether the omission
of a refining clause from the present agreement would
really make it much easier for British Companies
vis-a-vis, for example, South American Republics who
might produce earlier documents which contained
conditions regarding refining. There was, for example,
the/