Page 329 - Records of Bahrain (5) (i)_Neat

Interest of oil companies in Hawar Island 317

Confidential. Political Agency,
No. C/224-10/12. Bahrain, tho 9 th May, 19(56,

Prom
Captain T. Hiclcinbotham,
Officiating Political Agent,
Bahrain.
To
The Honourable the Political Resident
in the Persian Gulf,
Buehire.

Petroleum Concessions Limited.
Sir,
I nave ■cne honour to refer to Colonel Loch's letter
No.C/217-10/12 doted the 6th May 1936.
Mo dor P. Holmes conic and saw me this morning and the
following is a report of the conversation, Prior to the
interesting part of the conversation Major Holmes asked if

his remarks would be passed on to the Bahrain Government
and I said that only if the Political Resident considered
it desirable. He also stated that he was diffident in
bringing forward this particular question.
2. You will see from the enclosures to this letter that

the Bahrain Government hove asked that Article 1 of the
Concession Agreement shall specify the islands belonging to
the Bahrain group and Major Holmes has replied by asking them
to name them. The point is that the ownership of the Hawar
Group is of great importance because it is directly in what
Major Holmes called the oil "line".
3. Major Holmes stated that if the Bahrain Government
claimed Hawar then the Qatar concessionaires Y/ould probably

maintain that it was included under the Qatar Concession and
protest against the Shaikh of Bahrain's claim, A claim to
the Islands by the Shaikh would probably bring The Bahrain
Petroleum Company Limited into the field in competition with
Petroleum Concessions Limited for the concession at present

being/