Moments Of History: Reza Khan Visit To South Oil Facilities

In the January 1925 issue of Naft Magazine, a report was presented from a book by a French researcher who had visited Iran and Mesopotamia. Let’s review parts of this report:

In a recent book of travel in the East by Monsieur R. Laurent-Vibert, “Ce que j’ai vu en Orient” there is an interesting description of Abadan. It is a vivid piece of writing which will, no doubt, appeal to readers of this magazine, though naturally the author has somewhat heightened his colours for literary effect. The following is a translation:

“Another justification for the presence of the English in Mesopotamia lies in the importance of their installations on the Shatt-el-Arab for refining the crude oil of Persia. Wells and factories all lie in Persian territory, but the outlet is on the banks of the river. Across it lies the land of Iraq. I have not visited the wells, which are some 250 kilometers from the river and connected with it by pipe-lines 250 kilometers long, but only the refinery at Abadan, where the precious oil is treated. From the face of the desert rises abruptly, in the midst of a cloud of heavy smoke and a pervasive and pungent odour, the great refinery, with its hundred chimneys and its enormous tanks, each painted a different colour, according to the product it contains: petrol for cars, lamp oil, fuel oil for ships, lubricants.

(Naft Magazine (APOC), January 1925)