Anglo-Persian Oil Company

Anglo-Persian Oil Company
IndustryPetroleum
Founded14 April 1909
Founders
Defunct16 December 1954; 69 years ago (1954-12-16)
FateBecame "The British Petroleum Company", assets nationalised by the Iranian government
SuccessorNational Iranian Oil Company
The British Petroleum Company Limited
Headquarters,
Area served
Iran
ProductsGasoline, motor oils
OwnerHM Government (51%)

The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC; Persian: شرکت نفت ایران و انگلیس) was a British company founded in 1909 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Persia (Iran). The British government purchased 51% of the company in 1914,[1] gaining a controlling number of shares, effectively nationalizing the company. It was the first company to extract petroleum from Iran. In 1935 APOC was renamed the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC) when Reza Shah formally asked foreign countries to refer to Persia by its endonym Iran.

In 1954, it was renamed again to The British Petroleum Company, one of the antecedents of the modern BP public limited company. The government of Mohammad Mosaddegh nationalized the company's local infrastructure assets and gave the new company the name National Iranian Oil Company.

  1. ^ Kuiken, Jonathan (2014). "Caught in Transition: Britain's Oil Policy in the Face of Impending Crisis, 1967–1973". Historical Social Research / Historische Sozialforschung. 39 (4): 272–290. JSTOR 24145537.