IOR/L/PS/12/2975

Correspondence pertaining to the commercial oil concession agreement between the Sultan of Muscat, Said bin Taimur [Sa‘īd ibn Taymūr Āl Bū Sa‘īd], and Petroleum Development (Oman and Dhofar) Limited, signed in June 1937. The correspondence is principally between the two involved parties, the Iraq Petroleum Company Limited and Petroleum Concessions Limited (parent and sister companies of Petroleum Development (Oman and Dhofar), respectively), Burma Oil Company, the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, the Political Agent in Muscat, the India Office, the Foreign Office, the Admiralty, the External Affairs Department of the Government of India, and the Petroleum Department of the Ministry of Fuel and Power.

The papers deal with the possibilities of finding oil in the Sultanate of Muscat and which companies to invite to investigate, the negotiations, drafting and signing of the eventual agreements, and the extension of the options period in January 1942. Copies of the final agreements are included in the file (folios 166-80 (Muscat) and 181-96 (Dhofar)).

The file also contains the following:

• correspondence concerning the question of how to deal with the Sultan's contact with Standard Oil without the consent of the British government
• correspondence concerning the political agreement between the company and the British government that accompanied such concession agreements (the final agreement and the exchange of notes regarding it can be found in file IOR/L/PS/12/2976)
• correspondence concerning the effort by Iraq Petroleum Company to extend their concession agreements in Ajman and Qatar due to time lost during the Second World War
• correspondence concerning the Sultan's complaints about the terms of the concession agreement and his desire to invite another company to carry out serious operations in his territory.