Coll 30/110(4) 'Trucial Coast Oil Concession: Muscat Oil Concession. Hinterland Exploration & Survey.' [289r] (579/675)
The record is made up of 1 file (336 folios). It was created in 18 Jan 1945-22 Mar 1948. 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. .
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Chief Geologist, London
So. TFw/a/ssa
iotos on Trucial Const
XO i *
in Bccordence with your telegraphed Ins truction I a?*do r, i vS durin,: my
> r ^ Cent visit to Gharjeh regarding the prospects of eterting geop:/y jloel work
,«i.oag the rruoiftl Coeat this autuan, Suami?rising, I consider that although
me political situetioa has improved beyond recognition duriiL- this winter, *he
jjroblaa of suppiiee and ©silled help are atiil extremely difficult, and 1 sx^tild
* 'f 0 * 11 ebout sanding e geophysical party this year, olthou ( *h « annU
>o/;icf 4 l party of aay two men could probably Btan^ge.
|g-/P^it,ic6l situation Tnis sinter the Beni Chittab have at long last deigned
W .. v attend ^etings with the Political authorities end
wita th© cosstal sheikha. Their sheikh iiohaiaaed ^11 al Luwaidin has visited the
rteeidency Agent in Cfearjafe, although it eaaaot yet be said that he is on cordial
terms wita the Jheikh there. Ue also attended a perty nenr Lnaid, at which the
r'oUticttl tt*©ideal, the ' oiltleal A^ant, and ell the ceeetal Bheiahs east from
i»ubAi to n«s al Khairna were present. I syaelf visited Ifcaid with the local
political Gffieer to inspect the water channel there, which was bein- repair**
(vide GK.77. Page 1). 1 waa then invited to cccoapaiiy him to n loeslity called
liamdas, socae IE ailca south of Lhnid, i-ad ©bout 4 mtloa from JabRl yaiyah, where
we act *QhammeG Ali end had coffee end a snack with him. I wra introduced as
the wster expert who was working for the itAJT, end who had com# to inspect the
work et Lhfiid, no raeation boiug made of course to my connection with an oil
company. It m$ noteworthy that two Indian members of the anti-locust commission
dressed in felt hats ©ad gents' lounge suits, were collecting two guards, who,
tae old ma assured them would suffice as protection anywhere north and east of
Jabel Feiyah. To the west end ^uth, he insisted, however that they should
hev * ai * me,i * Although this iadicetes a very marked ehen^* of attitude from
that * iopted in 19i58, it should not b« helled with exceseive optimism, as a
sign that Lotapaay men Cf’ii more in »t once. It should be remembered that the
shaikha and their people are at present all dependant on the British Government
for such staple articles of their diet as tea, sugar, coffee, flour, etc., and
ns the locust men ere apparently harmless people whom it pleases the Government -
to send in hunting locusts, they also rrs toler*t«d. Nevertheless they are
::u>viag about in cars, with no attempt at dressing up as Arabs, and they are
neouctoain : the inhabitants to these novelties. Thqy have also cleared tracks
in certain parts. One example iu the motor track which tUynn Jones and X
followed from Bharjah to Dhaid, and thence south to the foot of Xabal nodhs,
(vide map 08.77-1). ?hi« is now passable through the Oman mountains by way
of the fcadi nl uor to Aalbe. These locust hunters have also driven from
Jh&rjah to the Has© province of Saudi Arabia via Abu Dhabi and oabkhet Hstti.
The Political people suggest that it i« perhaps rather early to begin tying up
the *.seni whitish with formidable documents such as concessions. They suggest
th«t the Sheikh of Lharjah be given the chance *p make some financial agreemont
with them, so as to includo thoir territory in Sharjah concession. Then
as it seems most unlikely that afcarjsh will be persuaded to disburse enough
aoney for this, we could than go direct to the Beni Jhitteb and say that we
want to run e survey over the whole of the Truci&i Goast from the mountains to
Abu Dhabi irrespective of whose territory we pass through. *s can then offer ^
them « lump ©u® to allow us to include their lend whatever may be Its limits, ^
in this ©urvey. Later, when iohameaed Ali has handled some of our money a
couaensioa agree^ut eta be introduced as a means of letting him have some more.
Without an agree?aent he would ondoubteiily try to extort more money out of us
in the first season, but as all the other sheikhs seem to do this even with
them, it would not appear to be very different. X ayself feel that this might
be the best means of approach. it is virtually what I had to do with .^alkh
at Jiratal in 195b. Despite all the payments made by Muscat to him,
presumably to cover our survey, ho would not bu^e or allow ue to do any work
until X paid up* while I fully realise* th„t A>*re is o desire in «^oudon to
have the boundaries clearly triced on t. map,dad the signed and witnessed
egrosments ©11 filed, I venture to state that so-ae elasticity must be allowed
when dec ling with the Gheikho of the interior. They themselves are guite
Illiterate and are much lese aecuatofned to western weys of dealing than the
oLfeikhs on the coast. They are therefore moat suspicious of any document
whioa tney cannot understand, end are quite liable to give n categoris "no"
retire to the mountains if any attempt is made tc coerce them into signin f a
any hard and fast sgrsement. (»Vc once had e drilling superintendent in the ° ^
Company who had the seme suspicion). Cue more point U cortf in. As X fere 7
About this item
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The file concerns geological and geophysical surveys for oil and other minerals in the hinterland of Muscat and Oman (especially Dhofar Province, also referred to as Dhufar) and the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. (especially Sharjah) undertaken by the substantially British-owned Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC) and its subsidiaries Petroleum Concessions Limited, Petroleum Development ( Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ) Limited, and Petroleum Development (Oman and Dhofar) Limited. The British Government were keen to assist IPC to resume exploration, which had been discontinued during the Second World War, in view of the political, strategic and economic importance of the Company's oil concessions in the area (folio 275).
The papers include: the extent to which certain tribal areas were under the control of local rulers; the need for demarcation of the boundaries of the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. states; list of concession and political agreements in force in 1945 in the various Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. states (folios 267-268); interest on the part of the Shaikh of Fujairah in entering into treaty relations with the British Government (folio 210); minutes of meetings at 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. between British Government officials and oil company representatives; permission from the British Government to employ American personnel in survey work (folios 186-193); papers concerning a report by Sir Cyril Sankey Fox, formerly Director of the Geological Survey of India, for the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman entitled 'The Geology and Mineral and Other Resources of Dhufar Province and Other Parts of the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, South-East Arabia', March-May 1947 (folios 64-100), including correspondence from the author of the report; sketch map provided 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. , Muscat (Major Andrew Charles Stewart), which is said by him to have been marked by the Sultan of Muscat [Sa‘īd ibn Taymūr] to show the western boundary of Dhofar (folio 68); a request by Petroleum Development ( Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ) Limited that geological factors be taken into account in determining the boundary between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with sketch map (folios 57-58); Petroleum Concessions Limited 'Instructions to Field Party for Geological Reconnaissance of Southeastern Hadhramaut, the Mahra, and Dhofar' (folios 49-53); and minutes of Foreign Office meeting to discuss the south-eastern frontiers of Saudi Arabia, July 1947.
The file includes a divider, which gives a list of correspondence references contained in the file by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.
- Extent and format
- 1 file (336 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the file.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside the front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 336; these numbers are written in pencil 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. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 327-335; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and have been crossed out. Finally, the second folio is listed as ‘1A’ rather than ‘2.’
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Coll 30/110(4) 'Trucial Coast Oil Concession: Muscat Oil Concession. Hinterland Exploration & Survey.' [289r] (579/675), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3838, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100046633456.0x0000b6> [accessed 8 September 2024]
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- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/12/3838
- Title
- Coll 30/110(4) 'Trucial Coast Oil Concession: Muscat Oil Concession. Hinterland Exploration & Survey.'
- Pages
- 289r:291v
- Author
- Williamson, Thomas Fulton
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