Page 227 - The Persian Gulf Historical Summaries (1907-1953) Vol III

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No. 14

Political Agreement between His Majesty’s Government and Petroleum Conces­
sions Ltd., relating to the Ajman Oil Concession Agreement (No. 13) above,
dated July 17, 1951

_r, Tids Agreement dated the seventeenth day of July One thousand nine hundred
ana lilty-one is made between His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom
01 vS? r r.ltain and Northern Ireland (hereinafter called “ His Majesty's Govern­
ment ) of the one part and Petroleum Concessions Limited (hereinafter called “ the
Company which expression shall where the context so admits be deemed to
include its successors and/or assignees and shall also be deemed to include any
subsidiary company) of the other part.
Whereas upon the company concluding with the Shaikh of Ajman (hereinafter
called the Shaikh ”) an oil agreement (hereinafter referred to as “ the concession ”)
certain responsibilities devolve on His Majesty’s Government, the company has
agreed with His Majesty’s Government as follows, notwithstanding anything con­
tained in the concession: —
1. The Company, any transferee Company or Companies and any subsidiary
Company or Companies that may be created in connexion with the Company’s
operations under the concession shall, except with the prior consent in writing of
His Majesty’s Government, be and remain a British Company registered in Great
Britain and having its principal place of business in Great Britain and its Chairman
shall at all times be a British subject.
2. The obligations and benefits of the concession shall not be transferred to
any other Company without the prior consent in writing of His Majesty’s Govern­
ment.
3. The employees of the Company in Ajman shall at all times be British
subjects or subjects of the Shaikh; provided that, with the consent of His Majesty’s
Government, persons of other nationalities may be employed if in the opinion of the
Company they are required for the efficient carrying on of the undertaking and the
importation of foreign labour not of United States or European origin shall be
subject to the approval of the Political Resident, Persian Gulf.
4. The Company in all except unimportant or routine matters shall deal with
the Ajman authorities through a Chief Representative and a Local Representative
in the Persian Gulf, who shall be British subjects. The approval of His Majesty’s
Government shall be required for the persons so designated. The Chief Repre­
sentative will be ordinarily resident in Bahrain, and the Local Representative will
be ordinarily resident in Ajman or elsewhere in the Trucial States. They will be
responsible for the Company's local relations with the Ajman authorities, which
shall, except in routine or unimportant matters be conducted through the political
representatives of His Majesty’s Government in the Persian Gulf.
5. Subject to the terms of the concession the Company undertakes at all
times to pay due deference to the wishes of the Shaikh and to the advice of the
Political Resident, Persian Gulf, and of the Political Officers subordinate to him.
The Company also undertakes to recognise the jurisdiction exercised in the Trucial
States under the Trucial States Order in Council.
6. The right given to the Company by the concession to utilise means of
transportation by air shall be subject to any regulations regarding civil aviation in
force in Ajman and to any instructions which may be issued by the Political
Resident, Persian Gulf.
7. The Company shall not construct any landing-ground without the prior
consent of His Majesty’s Government and the Shaikh, and except in accordance
with the terms and conditions of such consent and any landing-ground so con­
structed shall be used only in accordance with such terms and conditions as may
be laid down by His Majesty’s Government and the Shaikh.
8 The Company shall not have the right to use or occupy, and shall not
include in the areas selected for the purposes of its operations, any sites which may
have been selected by or on behalf of the Shaikh or His Majesty’s Government
for defence purposes, for airfields, aircraft bases or for wireless and telegraph
installations or in connexion with the development of harbours, provided that
wifh the consent of His Majesty’s Government which shall not be unreasonably
withheld the Company shall have the right to use for the purposes of its operations