The discovery occurred in 1908 when oil was struck at Well No. 1 in
Masjed Soleyman, making it the first commercially successful oil discovery in
the Middle East. The event laid the foundation for the development of Iran’s oil
industry and helped transform the country’s economic and industrial landscape
over the following decades.
The discovery stemmed from exploration activities initiated under a
concession granted in 1901 to British investor William Knox D’Arcy. After several
years of exploration and drilling, a commercially viable reservoir was
identified in the Zagros region, leading to the emergence of Masjed Soleyman as
the center of Iran’s early petroleum operations.
The field subsequently became the first major oil-producing area in
the region, supporting the development of production facilities, pipelines,
power infrastructure, and industrial communities. Masjed Soleyman is widely
recognized as Iran’s first industrial city, with many modern urban and
industrial features introduced through the growth of the petroleum sector.
The discovery also led to the establishment of large-scale refining
infrastructure, including the development of the Abadan refinery, which became
one of the world’s largest refining complexes during the twentieth century. The
expansion of production, transportation, and refining networks positioned
southern Iran as a major energy hub.
Over time, additional oil fields were discovered across southwestern
Iran, including major producing areas in Ahvaz, Aghajari, Haftkel, Marun, and
other regions that continue to form the core of the country’s upstream oil
industry.
The sector has since evolved from one that relied heavily on foreign
expertise to one with substantial domestic engineering, manufacturing,
drilling, and field-development capabilities. Today, Iranian companies and
specialists play a significant role across exploration, production, refining,
and energy infrastructure projects.
More than a century after the first commercial discovery, the Masjed
Soleyman field remains a landmark in the history of global energy development
and a symbol of the origins of the Middle East’s modern oil industry. Iran
continues to rank among the world’s leading holders of oil and natural gas
reserves, with ongoing investment focused on production capacity, refining,
value-chain development, and energy-sector modernization.