ANGLO-PERSIAN OIL

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 69, 14 December 1932, Page 9

ANGLO-PERSIAN OIL

Terms of Concession COMPANY’S PAYMENTS Home Government’s Holdings (Received Dec. 13, 5.5 p.m.) Official Wireless. Rugby, Dec. 12. Further particulars regarding the Anglo-Persian Oil Company’s D’Arcy concession were given in response to a question in the House of Commons to-day by the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Captain R. A. Eden. He said that the concession was granted by the Persian Government for 60 years from May, 1901, and contained no provision which would now allow cancellation by either side. The only power of cancellation in the concession was a provision that if within two years the concessionaire should not have formed the first company to operate it, the concession should become null and void. That clause never came into operation, since the first exploitation company was duly formed within the prescribed period. The concession provided for an annual payment to the Persian Government of 16 per cent, of the annual net profits of any companies formed to operate the concession. The total sum paid to the Persian Government in royalties up to December 31. 1931, amounted to £11,265,000. The present holdings of the United Kingdom Government in the AngloFersian Company were 7J million £1 shares, 1000 £1 preference shares and £99,000 in 5 per cent, debentures. The total amount received by the United Kingdom Government from the company in dividends and interest up to the present time was £9,977,344. WELLS IN PERSIA Reported Damage by Mob THREATS TO OFFICE STAFF London, Dec. 12. A Jerusalem newspaper reports that a mob surrounded the Anglo-Persian Oil Company’s offices at Abadan and threatened the staff, necessitating troops being called out for their protection. The oil wells at Masjad Sule Imann, which arc the company’s main source of supply, were invaded and damaged after the workers had gone home.

The company’s London offices have no confirmation of the reported disturbances.