Learning on ScreenAnglo-Iranian Oil Company ("AIOC")
Profile
- Born
- 1909
- Dates
- 1951-1953
- Role
- Sponsor
- Newsreels / Cinemagazines
- Oil Review
- Search
- Search for all stories where Anglo-Iranian Oil Company is credited
Career
The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) was founded in 1909, as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC), following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Iran. William Knox D’Arcy had negotiated a 60 year oil concession with the Shah of Persia in 1901 but within a few years was almost bankrupted by the cost of exploration. He sold his interest to the Burmah Oil Company Ltd. who created APOC as a subsidiary, and also sold shares to the public.
Volume production of Persian oil products eventually started in 1913 from a refinery built at Abadan. The British government, at the impetus of Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, partly nationalised the company in 1913 in order to secure British-controlled oil supplies for its ships. In 1912, APOC took a 50% share in a new Turkish Petroleum Company organised to explore and develop oil resources in the Ottoman Empire. After a hiatus caused by World War One it reformed in Iraq in 1927, renaming itself the Iraq Petroleum Company.
The Anglo-Persian Oil Company changed its name to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in 1935. By 1950 Abadan had become the world’s largest refinery, however, relations with the Iranian government were strained. The Anglo-Iranian Oil Dispute culminated in the nationalization of the industry by the Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh in 1951, which led to the Abadan Crisis. Foreign countries refused to take Iranian oil and Abadan refinery was closed. AIOC withdrew from Iran and traded off its other reserves until military intervention restored its ownership in 1954, although it lost its monopoly. It was forced to operate as one member of a consortium of Iranian Oil Participants.
In the same year AIOC changed its name to The British Petroleum Company (now BP).
At the height of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company’s success in Iran, the company sponsored a cinemagazine, Oil Review, to promote its business. Stories include, ‘PROVENCAL OIL REFINERY’ in Oil Review No.3 of 1951 349288, ‘LONDON’S TIME’ in Oil Review No.10 of 1951 and ‘LIFEBOATMEN’ in Oil Review No.18 of 1953.
Volume production of Persian oil products eventually started in 1913 from a refinery built at Abadan. The British government, at the impetus of Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, partly nationalised the company in 1913 in order to secure British-controlled oil supplies for its ships. In 1912, APOC took a 50% share in a new Turkish Petroleum Company organised to explore and develop oil resources in the Ottoman Empire. After a hiatus caused by World War One it reformed in Iraq in 1927, renaming itself the Iraq Petroleum Company.
The Anglo-Persian Oil Company changed its name to the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in 1935. By 1950 Abadan had become the world’s largest refinery, however, relations with the Iranian government were strained. The Anglo-Iranian Oil Dispute culminated in the nationalization of the industry by the Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh in 1951, which led to the Abadan Crisis. Foreign countries refused to take Iranian oil and Abadan refinery was closed. AIOC withdrew from Iran and traded off its other reserves until military intervention restored its ownership in 1954, although it lost its monopoly. It was forced to operate as one member of a consortium of Iranian Oil Participants.
In the same year AIOC changed its name to The British Petroleum Company (now BP).
At the height of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company’s success in Iran, the company sponsored a cinemagazine, Oil Review, to promote its business. Stories include, ‘PROVENCAL OIL REFINERY’ in Oil Review No.3 of 1951 349288, ‘LONDON’S TIME’ in Oil Review No.10 of 1951 and ‘LIFEBOATMEN’ in Oil Review No.18 of 1953.
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Iranian_Oil_Company; Accessed 15/5/2006: NoS Number 349288; Oil Review Number 3; Date released 1951: NoS Number 349304; Oil Review Number 10; Date released 1951: NoS Number 349321; Oil Review Number 18; Date released 1953.
Record Stats
This record has been viewed 536 times.
