Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, The Near and Middle East, Volume IX, Part 2

780.022/5–2454: Telegram

No. 1564
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Aldrich) to the Department of State¹

secret
priority

London, May 24, 1954—7 p.m.

5314. Butterworth took Hoover with him to see Permanent Under Secretary Kirkpatrick and represented the considerations contained Department 6277² as amended by pertinent part of Deptel 6285.³ There ensued a discussion which lasted for more than an hour during which Kirkpatrick reviewed the history of the Buraimi dispute emphasizing particularly that Saudi Arabia had continuously extended its territorial claims and that the 1949 line was only put forward after Aramco had obtained information of the likely discovery of oil by the British companies which had been operating since 1936 although suspended during the war. Kirkpatrick vehemently rejected suggestion that IPC should suspend operations on the grounds that the territory was not technically in dispute. He drew the distinction that the territory was merely claimed by Saudi Arabia and was strictly speaking not a disputed area at all. He made it quite clear that if only for reasons of prestige the British had no intention of withdrawing. It was quite evident that the British had discovered oil in the area north of the Saudi 1949 claim and intend to bring in wells.

Kirkpatrick maintained that Aramco has no real justification for sending a party into the area for oil exploration purposes and implied that British had reason to believe that sole purpose of the exercise was to bribe the neighboring tribes.

Kirkpatrick emphasized again that if the Aramco party came into what the British regard as Abu Dhabi territory they would be put out. Butterworth strongly expressed the hope that any such action would not be taken without the most careful consideration and that in any case instructions would be issued not to shoot first and talk later. Kirkpatrick indicated that that would be the case but that after talking politely if the party attempted to persist and were contumacious, then force would be used.

Embassy will speak to Saudi Ambassador along lines Deptel 6277 as soon as possible.⁴ Department may be interested to know that according to Kirkpatrick Saudi Ambassador has taken much the same line with Foreign Office as indicated our telegram 5270.⁵

Aldrich

1. Repeated to Jidda and Dhahran.
2. Supra.
3. Not printed, but see footnote 5, supra.
4. Telegram 5333 from London, May 25, reported an Embassy officer had conveyed the substance of the first three paragraphs of telegram 6277 to the Saudi Ambassador, who personally favored proceeding with arbitration as soon as possible. At the request of the Foreign Office, Sheikh Wahba had cabled his government the information that the British were unwilling to suspend the operations of their oil companies, and urging them not to send Aramco into the area. (780.022/5–2554)
5. Not printed, but see footnote 2, supra.