Anglo-Persian Oil Company’den British Petroleum’a (BP): ngiltere’nin ran’daki Petrol Maceras /// From Anglo-Persian Oil Company to British Petroleum (BP): Britain’s Oil Adventure in Iran

This article examines the oil exploration activities of Anglo-Persian Oil Company in Iran and the reflections of this enterprise on regional politics. From the second half of the 19th century to the present, oil politics has dominated world politics. After the establishment of the first oil refinery in Scotland in 1840, the Western powers realized that oil could be used in many areas; therefore they turned their attention to oil resources in various parts of the world. For this reason, the Middle East, which owned around 80 per cent of the world's readily-accessible reserves, became a battleground of the great powers. Britain was the leading country in this struggle. In 1901, William Knox D'Arcy, an English millionaire, got a concession for oil exploration in Iran for 60 years. According to the agreement the Iranian government was to receive only 16 per cent of the oil company's annual profits while the D’Arcy Group collected the remaining 84 per cent. Iran's share reached to 20 per cent in 1933. The treaty between Iran and D'Arcy launched Britain’s grip on Iran's oil which lasted approximately 70 years. The first oil reserve in Iran was found in Masjid-i-Suleiman in 1908. Subsequently, Anglo-Persian Oil Company was established. In 1955 the name was changed to The British Petroleum Company.