Subsequent to granting concession of extraction and exploitation of oil of entire Iran, except for five northern provinces, to the British William Knox D’Arcy, by Mozaffar-al-Din Shah Qajar, the Middle East experienced the first rotations of drilling rigs and in this way Iran’s name was recorded as the first origin of the Middle East petroleum industry in world history. Now, more than a whole century has passed from that date and Iran’s petroleum industry is preparing itself for beginning the second century of its life.

During this one-hundred-years period, as a technical and industrial phenomena, the petroleum industry has, on the one hand, opened the gates of modern science to Iranians and, on the other hand, in connection with the motivations of foreigners, has become the origin and axis of political, economic and social events of the country, exploring each requires exact and deep reexamination of the history of developments of the previous one hundred years.