Ibn Saud signed the first oil concession for territory under his control. The concession went to Major Frank Holmes, a New Zealander, who represented the Eastern and General Syndicate Limited, a London-based company which sought to sign up oil concessions which it could then sell at a profit to one of the major oil companies.
The concession which Frank Holmes negotiated gave Eastern and General exclusive oil and other mineral rights in an area of more than 30,000 square miles in the al-Hasa region for a period of up to 70 years. The fee for this concession was set at £2,000 per annum.
