File 3877/1912 Pt 3 ‘Turkey in Asia: oil concessions’ [‎259r] (283/372)

(Confidential.) F ° rei9n ° ffice t0
Sir,
I AM directed by Secretary Sir F f’™ * i Office, May 13, 1914.
of the 5th and 6th instant respecting the MshfeS Company ‘ ° f y ° Ur letterS
iJZ OilS™^'* Go r ,m ”‘ - 5 S. . coutrolliug
essential one, wonM be thTthe corf n T,C? 4 T d v ° n ; aQd t in his 0 P! nion a
from any connection with the Mesopotamian nr/ ' - e v< ^ lt I a T S ^ ar as P oss ible distinct
would be grave objections of for® “ irMalestv’s^ov, ° bSerV t ^
interested, through a company which thei-Yre t/riif 7 ' ( /. ovel ;“ meilt becoming
concessions. Such a consummation wonM 1 1 P 0114 ?; 01 ’, m the Mesopotamian oil
corresponding Russian Governmen contml if , lnevltab en4ai1 / demand for a
French Government Zontro™^ Arme “i a . a “d of
with indifference the nn^sihilifir ^ r • r^ ria ’ anc ^ 18 impossible to view
of S ™**<1 in
mamteuance of die integrity of dint Empire ’ 6 conse< f ,,ence3 "P 011 *e
negoLiSrSrE'Snl- ?«“r.n“lr 0 E"g“ T"*t“ “r
be Md upon the diedncdon'dr., ri,“TS^o?'^,?a^o,“^ i An•S?p'Si, , ;
K*.s£uf3rD^grp^ reMM4 - " j “
... f
the above agreement had been signed on behalf of His Majesty’s Government Thev
Ld twT 6 “ that J i ajeSty ’ S G^ernment liad' no such finaS interest
1 "to imhcXTe 6111 WaS Slgned ° n , behalf ° f His Ma j esty ’ s Government merelv in
oraer to indicate their concurrence in the terms of the agreement.
von/wi t0 e ^ press Slr E ‘ Grey’s earnest hope that the arrangements suggested in
view of },; Hiffi! Tr e sP eclaU y io Paragraphs 1, 2, and 9, may be reconsidered, in
Drovidini tl-, ft ! i eS whlch , wou1 ; 1 be involved in the Anglo-Persian Oil Company’s
board oM.T P i a pi p 0 P 0S f d > an ; m that company’s directors accepting seats on the
board ol the Turkish Petroleum Company unless they first resign from the board of
tne tormer company. This reservation applies more especially to Sir Hugh Barnes
Petrole 8 um°Company are ’ ^ beeU pr0I>0Sed for the P ost of chairman of the Turkish
In regard to paragraph 0 of your letter, Mr. Greenway repeatedly stated, in the
course of protracted negotiations which have taken place, that if satisfactory arrange
ments were made with the Admiralty on behalf of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company
i ■' J ulger w bich might otherwise be apprehended, owing to unfair competition from
tne Mesopotamian oilfields being in other hands, could be virtually disregarded • in
otner words, that the danger was principally due to the relatively weak financial
position oi the /Vnglo-I ersian Oil Company and its consequent inability to face
competition. Sir E. Grey now gathers that this view is not fully shared by the Lords
commissioners of the Admiralty, but he trusts nevertheless that it may be possible
to devise other means than those suggested for ensuring that the Turkish Petroleum
v-ompany shall remain, as regards at least 50 per cent, of its voting capital, British.
A proposal indeed has been tentatively and informally put before this Department by
the Board of Trade to the effect that the necessary capital should be furnished by the
, lu ’™ a Company. If satisfactory arrangements can be made for securing that
ne Burma Oil Company does not change its nationality, or that the control of its affairs
does not pass into ioreign hands, this proposal would seem to meet the requirements
dt the situation. It would not be objectionable from the point of view of foreign
Policy, as the Bjirma.Oil Company will no longer have a controlling interest in the
[2136 VD i
£2 MAY 1914