IOR/L/PS/10/998

The file comprises telegrams, despatches, correspondence, memoranda, and notes relating to the precise terms of the oil concession in Bahrain and in particular issues regarding the translation of the lease from English to Arabic. Also included are some article cuttings (ff 51-62) from petroleum industry newspapers.

Included in the file is a copy (ff 226-241) of the Arabic translation of the Bahrain Mining Lease and a note from the Assistant Librarian (Arthur J Arberry), India Office, on the Arabic translation of the Bahrein Mining Lease and the English version (ff 242-244). The final lease with agency seal and supporting diagram is to be found on folios 365-392.

The discussion in the file relates to the wording and legal interpretation of the Bahrain Mining lease. The principal correspondents in the file are: the Political Agent, Bahrain; the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Under-Secretary of State, Colonial Office; the Petroleum Department (Frank Gregory Starling); the solicitor for the Bahrain Petroleum Company Limited (Hamilton R Ballantyne); the Ruler of Bahrain (Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah); the Adviser to the Government of Bahrain (Sir Charles Dalrymple Belgrave).

The file includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.