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The Preliminary Oil Concessions: 1 '9

Basrah.56 Longrigg saw no alternative but to instruct his representative
to withdraw from negotiations with Shaykh Sultan, and hoped
that ‘the passage of time (with continued absence of competitors)
and/or the intervention of His Majesty’s Government’ would solve
the difficulties.67
At an informal meeting at the India Office on 12 April, while
Fowlc was in London, a representative of Petroleum Concessions
suggested that Sultan’s last-minute refusal to sign might have been
connected with the requirements of the political agreement. Although
the India Office thought that the procedure accepted by the rulers
of Sharjah and Dubai had set a precedent, the question was examined.
After his return to Bushirc, and when he had had time to look
into the matter, Fowlc admitted that the political agreement was
viewed with suspicion by the rulers, but that it was also an excuse
for not coming to terms with Petroleum Concessions. The Resident
likewise thought that the company used the political agreement
as an excuse for not having obtained concessions. ‘If the political
agreement were out of the way neither Company nor Shaikhs
would have this excuse.’ He recommended that the political agree­
ment remain, but not the requirement of its cognisance by the
rulers. After much interdepartmental correspondence in London,
this was agreed.
But it did little to remove the opposition of Sultan bin Salim.
In December 1938 Longrigg visited Ras al-Khaimah in an attempt
to persuade him to grant a concession. Although Sultan gave a
number of reasons for refusing (such as that Petroleum Concessions
was planning to negotiate directly with the Bani Qitab tribe for
a visit to Jabal Fa’iyah in Sharjah territory),59 the Political Agent
in Bahrain said that what lay behind such objections was Sultan’s
wish ‘to avoid what is to him the repulsive prospect of having
to make up his mind finally’.60 Longrigg was, however, able to
procure an agreement (signed on 7 December 1938) granting Petro­
leum Concessions exclusive exploration rights over Ras al-Khaimah;
this was to last for two and a half years, with the option of
renewal for a further year.61 But it was not until 21 June 1945
that an agreement granting the company a concession in Ras al-Khai­
mah was at last signed.62
When Petroleum Concessions first became interested in the Trucial
Coast, it provisionally decided not to approach Kalba, then in
the process of establishing itself as an independent shaykhdom.
In 1937 lts ruler died, and, although he was nominally succeeded
by his seven-year-old son, the effective power in Kalba was wielded
by the regent, Khalid bin Ahmad, a former ruler of Sharjah.
The strength of Khalid’s personality impressed the company, which
turned with renewed interest to the shaykhdom—not, basically,