IOR/L/PS/12/2131

This file relates to boundaries in eastern Arabia (specifically Saudi Arabia and Qatar). It concerns British policy regarding what is referred to as the 'blue line' (the frontier which marked the Ottoman Government's renunciation of its claims to Bahrain and Qatar, as laid down in the non-ratified Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913 and redefined and adopted in the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of the following year).

Much of the correspondence relates to a request for a copy of the 1913 Anglo-Ottoman Convention, which was submitted by the United States Embassy in Angora [Ankara] to its British counterpart (reportedly on behalf of the United States' State Department), as well as to the wider significance of this request in relation to the United States' oil interests in the region.

The correspondence also discusses Foreign Office concerns that aerial survey work carried out by the California Arabian Standard Oil Company (Casoc) in relation to its Hasa oil concession might extend beyond the blue line (subsequent correspondence relays reports of Casoc's aeroplane having crossed the blue line).

Although the date range of the file is 1913-1934 most of the material dates from 1934. In addition to correspondence from 1934, the file includes two letters between officials of the Foreign Office and the India Office dating from 1924, and printed copies of the Anglo-Ottoman Conventions of 1913 and 1914 (in English and French), both of which contain enclosed maps (with text in English and Arabic). Also included with the Conventions are printed copies of agreements and treaties between Britain and various Gulf rulers, covering 1820-1904, and printed copies of Anglo-Ottoman protocols, covering 1903-1905.

Notable correspondents include the following: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle); the British Ambassador in Angora (Percy Loraine); Hugh Millard, United States Embassy, London; officials of the Foreign Office and the India Office.

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 (folio 2).