Iran’s Global Petroleumscape: The Role of Oil in Shaping Khuzestan and Tehran

Abstract

Various constellations of oil actors-including corporations and nations-have shaped seemingly disconnected and geographically distant landscapes, cities, and buildings around the world over the last 150 years. Corporate, public, and popular media have publicized these cycles of spatializing oil. Together, construction and representation have created what is here collectively identified as a global palimpsestic petroleumscape. Based on archival research and a flourishing literature of secondary sources, this article applies the concept of the petroleumscape to two case studies in Iran and identifies two patterns of spatializing oil. First, in the southern region of Khuzestan, it tracks Iran's modern transformation under the influence of British Petroleum (BP) , when oil and governmental interests built a complete support landscape. Then, in the capital Tehran, it investigates how US players helped shape the petroleumscape between 1953 and 1979, in line with US styles of consumption, car use, and urban development.

Oil Spaces: The Global Petroleumscape in the Rotterdam/The Hague Area

“…With the shift from lighting oil as a household good for individuals to petroleumfueled cars, ships, and planes, governments at the turn of the twentieth century sought to ensure national access to petroleum sources, refining, and transportation. The construction of Abadan and other cities in Khuzestan province by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (which became British Petroleum [BP] in 1954) stands as an example 21 (Figure 8).…”

Analytical Study of Iran Nonrenewable Energy Resources Using Hubbert Theory

“…The Iran agreement incorporates a reduction of about 4–12% of the CO 2 emission by 2020. However, this agreement is only valid in a normal situation, when Iran is not sanctioned; otherwise, Iran has no commitment. , …”

“…However, this agreement is only valid in a normal situation, when Iran is not sanctioned; otherwise, Iran has no commitment. 22,23 Using crude oil in downstream industries and selling or using its products for the country's development could lead to achievements in economic growth. Iran's current trade policy focuses on selling gasoline instead of crude oil, which is a beneficial policy for downstream industry.…”

Megastructure Reloaded: A New Technocratic Approach to Housing Development in Ekbatan, Tehran

“…This so-called 'White Revolution' was also a medium to industrialise Iran and advocate the Shah's utopian vision. To finance his modernisation project, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi allowed global oil companies such as Exxon and Shell to expand their petroleum-related facilities, as well as oil extraction and export, thus multiplying the country's national income [25]. This tremendous increase in oil revenues attracted many international developers, construction companies and architectural firms to become involved in Iran [25].…”

“…To finance his modernisation project, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi allowed global oil companies such as Exxon and Shell to expand their petroleum-related facilities, as well as oil extraction and export, thus multiplying the country's national income [25]. This tremendous increase in oil revenues attracted many international developers, construction companies and architectural firms to become involved in Iran [25]. From the mid-1960s and throughout the 1970s, American enterprises and agencies such as the Ford Foundation, General Motors and the Starrett Housing Corporation actively collaborated with the Iranian government to develop new industrial and infrastructural projects [26].…”