As a result of the concession granted to William Knox D’Arcy by Mozaffaroldin-Shah – Persian king of the Ghajar Dynasty – in 1901 for the extraction and production of Oil in Iran – excluding the 5 northern provinces – drilling bits rotated the first time in the Middle East , registering Iran as the premier birthplace of Mid-east Oil industry , in the history of Oil operations of this resources-rich region of the world . It is now a full century from that date and the oil industry of Iran is preparing to enter into the second century of its life .
No doubt , the past 100 years have been tumultuous times for Iran’sOil industry , with many watershed events worth recapitulating for any a Person interested in the Middle East affairs in general & Iran in particular . As it’s challenges have closely been tied with this regions’ contemporary Geopolitics as well as social upheavals . The widespread ramifications of which have seldom ceased impacting the scene of international politics , due to the strategic importance of Oil in the global economy and the unique role of Iran in shaping Middle East developments .
Eruption of Oil from the first well drilled in Masjid-e-Soleiman in 1908,Construction of the Abadan oil refinery in 1913 , the unsuccessful revision of the D’Arcy Concession in 1933 , the victory of the oil industry nationalization movement in 1950 , the negotiation of a futile agreement with the consortium of oil companies in 1954 ,which brought the domination of foreigners over Iranian oil reservoirs – a symbolic approach to petrochemical and gas industries in 1961 , and finally , the wasteful utilization of the country’s petroleum assets , are some of the tragic events from which many worthwhile lessons may be learnt .
The victory of the Islamic Revolution caused the cancellation of all previous rules and regulations , and following the withdrawal of foreign employees from Iran’s oil industry , domestic expert manpower took full control of its affairs .
Although substantial damages were inflicted on the industry during the imposed war , massive reconstruction efforts were launched after the war to repair them . The oil industry opened a new chapter in the country’s economic growth and development process as the basis of all the other profound changes .
What follows is an illustrative narration of the history of the country’s oil industry in the past century , demonstrating early exploration , extraction , production , refining and development attempts , and while looking at marginal issues and relations , it briefly touches on the impacts of the imposed war on this vital sector of the nation’s economy .