Oil affairs in Sharjah

This file concerns the settlement of the dispute between Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain with regards to oil revenues collected from a joint oil concession between Sharjah and Iran for the oil fields off Abu Musa Island. It contains correspondence, memoranda and newspaper clippings concerning:

• Articles predicting oil outputs in excess of 100,000 barrels per day at the Abu Musa field
• The legal dispute between the concessionaire for Sharjah, Buttes Oil and Gas Company and the concessionaire for Umm Al Quwain, Occidental Petroleum
• Rumours concerning secret payments made by Iran to both Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain to discourage a settlement between the two emirates
• The offer by the Ruler of Sharjah Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi to The Ruler of Umm Al Quwain Sheikh Ahmad Bin Rashid Al Mu’alla for a 30% share of Sharjah’s oil revenues, subsequently rescinded after the intervention of Sheikh Sultan’s lawyer Northcutt Ely
• Rumours of a personal nature about Sheikh Ahmad spread by Sheikh Sultan
• The possibility of amending the Abu Musa agreement between Sharjah and Iran to include Umm Al Quwain
• The personal efforts of Sir W H T Luce to help resolve the dispute, and his concern that his actions be in contradiction to his efforts to secure an agreement in 1971
• The question of a settlement between Umm Al Quwain and Iran, and Iran’s offers of aid to Sheikh Ahmad
• The visit of Sheikh Sultan of Sharjah to Iran
• The settlement of the dispute under the auspices of UAE President Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Vice-President Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, assuring 30% of Sharjah’s oil revenues for Umm Al Quwain
• Whether Sheikh Rashid Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi of Ajman would also be receiving oil revenues from Sharjah
• The commencement of oil production from the Abu Musa concession

This file also contains correspondence relating to miscellaneous oil affairs, concerning:

• The purchase of Sharjah oil by Japan Line Limited
• The sale by Buttes of 10% of their holdings in Crescent Petroleum
• Proposals for the construction of a power station in Sharjah
• Luce’s interest in working on an agricultural project in Iran
• The oil concessions granted by Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman and Fujairah
• The calculation of oil production figures and revenues for the Sharjah government
• The establishment of an investment fund by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries
• The granting of an oil concession in Dubai previously held by Continental Oil Company Limited to Texas Pacific Coal and Oil Company
• Planned development projects in Sharjah