![Coll 6/48 'Oil: Concessions in Saudi Arabia. (Hasa)' [‎8r] (15/1153)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000555.0x00028d/IOR_L_PS_12_2115_0018.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "Coll 6/48 'Oil: Concessions in Saudi Arabia. (Hasa)' [‎8r] (15/1153)")
Coll 6/48 'Oil: Concessions in Saudi Arabia. (Hasa)' [8r] (15/1153)
The record is made up of 1 file (574 folios). It was created in 8 Dec 1923-11 Jul 1945. It was written in English. The original is part of the 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. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
3
Article 9.
Within ninety days after the commencement of drilling, the Company shall
relinquish to the Government such portions of the exclusive area as the Company
at that time may decide not to explore further, or to use otherwise in connexion
with this enterprise. Similarly, from time to time during the life of this contract,
v the Company shall relinquish to the Government such further portions of the
exclusive area as the Company may then decide not to explore or prospect further,
or to use otherwise in connexion with the enterprise. The portions so relinquished
shall thereupon be released from the terms and conditions of this contract,
excepting only that during the life of this contract the Company shall continue
to enjoy the right to use the portions so relinquished for transportation and
communication facilities, which, however, shall interfere as little as practicable
with any other use to which the relinquished portions may he put.
Article 10.
The Company shall commence operations connected with drilling as soon as
a suitable structure has been found, and in any event if the Company does not
commence such operations within three years from the end of September 1933
(subject to the provisions of article 27 hereof), the Government may terminate
this contract. Once commenced, these operations shall be continued diligently
until oil in commercial quantities has been discovered, or until this agreement is
terminated. If the Company should fail to declare so sooner, the date of discovery
of oil in commercial quantities shall be the date upon which the Company has
completed and tested a well or wells capable of producing, in accordance with
first-class oilfield practice, at least 2,000 tons of oil per day for a period
of thirty consecutive days.
Operations connected with drilling include the ordering and shipping of
materials and equipment to Saudi Arabia, the construction of roads, camps,
buildings, structures, communication facilities, &c., and the installation and
operation of the machinery, equipment and facilities for drilling wells.
Article 11.
Upon the discovery of oil in commercial quantities, the Company shall
advance to the Government the sum of £50,000 gold, or its equivalent, and
one year later the further sum of £50,000 gold, or its equivalent. The due
date of the first advance shall be the date of discovery of oil in commercial
quantities, as provided in article 10 hereof, and the due date of the second advance
shall be one year later. In each case the Company shall have sixty days following
the due date within which to make the advance. Both of these advances are on
account of royalties which may be due the Government and consequently the
Company shall have the right to recover the amount of these advances by way of
deductions from one-half of the royalties due the Government.
Article 12.
Since it has been agreed that the annual rental of £5,000 gold, or its
equivalent, is payable to the date of the discovery of oil in commercial quantities,
and since it has been agreed also that this annual rental is to be payable in
advance, it may happen that the last annual rental paid prior to the date of
discovery of oil in commercial quantities will cover a period beyond the date
of such discovery. In case that this period should be equal to or greater than
one-fifth of a year, the proportionate amount of the £5,000 pounds gold, or its
equivalent, corresponding to such period shall be treated as an advance on account
of royalties due the Government, and consequently it shall be recoverable by the
Company by way of deductions from one-half of the royalties due the Government.
Article 13.
As soon as practicable (i.e.. allowing a reasonable time for ordering and
shipping further materials and equipment to Saudi Arabia and commencing
further work) after the date of discovery of oil in commercial quantities, the
Company shall continue operations connected with drilling by using at least two
strings of tools. These operations shall be continued diligently until the proven
area has been drilled up in accordance with first-class oilfield practice, or until
the contract is terminated.
[49—48] b 2
About this item
- Content
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 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 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 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. ; 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. , Bahrain; 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. , 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 department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , 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 The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. (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 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. '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 A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. .
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).
- Extent and format
- 1 file (574 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.
- Physical characteristics
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 The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. A previous foliation sequence, which is also circled, has been superseded and therefore crossed out.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
Coll 6/48 'Oil: Concessions in Saudi Arabia. (Hasa)' [8r] (15/1153), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/2115, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100040749880.0x000012> [accessed 4 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100040749880.0x000012
Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.
<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100040749880.0x000012">Coll 6/48 'Oil: Concessions in Saudi Arabia. (Hasa)' [‎8r] (15/1153)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100040749880.0x000012"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000555.0x00028d/IOR_L_PS_12_2115_0018.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100000000555.0x00028d/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/2115
- Title
- Coll 6/48 'Oil: Concessions in Saudi Arabia. (Hasa)'
- Pages
- 7r:11r, 11v:14v, 61v:64v, 97v:101v, 148r:149v, 235r:243v, 250r:251v, 423r:439v, 458v:462v
- Author
- Unknown
- Usage terms
- The copyright status is unknown. Please contact [email protected] with any information you have regarding this item.