 The decline of pearling resulted in extreme economic hardship in the Trucial States.In 1922, the British government secured undertakings from the rulers of the Trucial States not to sign concessions with foreign companies without their consent.Aware of the potential for the development of natural resources such as oil, following finds in Persia (from 1908) and Mesopotamia (from 1927), a British-led oil company, the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), showed an interest in the region.