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Coll 30/87(2) Part II 'Qatar: Oil Concession - P.C.L.'s Operations.' [‎273r] (556/603)

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The record is made up of 1 file (296 folios). It was created in 6 Jan 1945-13 Apr 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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RLE COF*
Received under ‘Bahrain Printed Letter No. C/963
dated 4th October, 1946, |
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^gJa^ein, 23rd September, 1 45
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His Excellency Shaikh Abdulla bin Qasim al lyrani, _ , A
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Ruler of Qatar, D QHAH .
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Excellency, U ^ ^ <-***'
We have the honour to acknowledge receipt of
your letter dated 23rd Ramadhan 1364 (31st .August, 1945)
2. Your Excellency will remember that in the
Political Agent’s letter No. C/924 of 1942 of 28th June 1942
you were informed that "as a result of the war His Majesty's
Government have found it necessary to direct the Oil Company
to suspend its operations in your territory." The conditions
of the suspension were the subject of an agreement between
Your Excellency and 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. dated 28th Dul
Qadah 1362 (26th November 1943) . - L he reason neighbouring
Companies were permitted to continue their work was that
at the outbreak of war they already were producing petrol
and kerosene ready for use for war purposes. Your Excellency
will understand that the Com.any having spent very large
sums of money in Qatar so far without any return for t is
expenditure, is just as anxious as Your Excellency to produce
oil and thus get money. The Company could not resume
operations without the agreement of the Government.
3» Two days ago we received a letter from our
Managing Director, London, instructing us to inform Your
Excellency that the Company has been authorised to reopen
Qatar operations. The first stage, commencing early in
1946, will be the preparation of the Dukhan Camp for the
drilling programme. Mr Dickson and our Assistant Manager,
Haifa, have already visited Dukhan to ascertain what is

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Content

The file concerns the operations of Petroleum Concessions Limited (PCL) (and its subsidiary Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited) in Qatar. Of particular importance in the file is the issue of the division of the sea bed for drilling operations between PCL's concession, and that of the Bahrain Petroleum Company Limited (BAPCO) in Bahrain.

The file contains discussion of the issue by 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 Foreign Office, the Ministry of Fuel and Power, 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. , and 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 papers cover: the resumption of drilling operations in Qatar after their suspension during the Second World War; payment of royalties; the Hawar Islands; the granting of permission to use wireless sets; the response of British officials to a United States Government request to PCL for information on petroleum resources in Qatar and the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. , October-November 1946; aerial surveys of the Bahrain-Qatar Unallotted Area; the application of US President Harry S Truman's continental shelf doctrine to the issue (e.g. folios 141, 110); maps of the area; Admiralty comments on the need for all parties to be aware that the sea bed only was concerned, and that the waters above, and free navigation, were in no way affected (folio 46); correspondence from the oil companies involved; and the reactions of local rulers to the negotiations.

The file also contains five maps.

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 (296 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 (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the last folio with 296; 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. Foliation anomaly: 268a.

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English in Latin script
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Coll 30/87(2) Part II 'Qatar: Oil Concession - P.C.L.'s Operations.' [‎273r] (556/603), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/12/3806B, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100056534851.0x00009e> [accessed 7 June 2026]

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