Page 151 - The Origins of the United Arab Emirates_Neat

The Preliminary Oil Concessions: "7

his former champion Shaykh Sa‘id of Dubai, reported the existence
of intrigues by and involving Williamson.41 I hese reports made
Williamson persona non grata on the Coast: after that, he retired
from the service of the AlOC and reverted to his life as a bedouin.
Fowle would have approved of the theory that the conditioning
of policies with regard to oil was based on a fundamental difference
between American and British companies: that, whereas the Amcri-
cans solvc their own problems, the British rely on government
support to liquidate theirs.42 The Resident was impatient of the
excuses made by the company for its lack of progress, and was
generally suspicious of Holmes’s motives for not doing his utmost
to speed the negotiations.43 He dismissed as ‘rubbish’ Holmes’s
theory that the rulers were playing for time because they were
afraid of the implications of the political agreement,44 and concluded
that Petroleum Concessions was not seriously aiming for concessions,
but merely trying to extend the options.45 Fowle’s irritation with
the company persisted after Holmes’s dismissal from it in the latter
part of 1937, when he was replaced by Basil Lermitte, and after
the company had been granted concessions by most of the rulers.
In 1939, Fowle reported that there was an impression in Bahrain,
shared by the Political Agent there, that the company, having
obtained the concessions, was not out to work them. He compared
the activities of Petroleum Concessions with those of its more active
American competitors. ‘Invidious comparisons arc drawn between
what they do or rather not do, and what the Americans actually
carry out.’46 He admitted the unfairness of comparison with the
American company, but felt that Petroleum Concessions should
be ‘kept up to the mark’, especially since its concessions on the
Trucial Coast had been obtained with the help of the British
Government.

IMPLEMENTATION OF 1922 AGREEMENTS: ULTIMATUM
OF 1937

Seeing that Petroleum Concessions was unable to obtain any more
concessions after Dubai, Fowle took matters into his own hands
and formulated a successful plan. He proposed to tell all the rulers
that, with reference to the 1922 agreements, His Majesty’s Govern­
ment approved of Petroleum Concessions and would not approve
of any other company; this had been decided when Dubai had
granted its concession, thereby setting a standard that was fair
to all.47 The proposal was approved by the India Office, which
suggested that Fowle make it clear that the Government wanted