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Machineries of Oil: An Infrastructural History of BP in Iran
The emergence of the international oil corporation as a political actor in the twentieth century, seen in BP's infrastructure and information arrangements in Iran.
In the early twentieth century, international oil corporations emerged as a new kind of political actor. The development of the world oil industry, argues Katayoun Shafiee, was one of the era's largest political projects of techno-economic development. In this book, Shafiee maps the machinery of oil operations in the Anglo-Iranian oil industry between 1901 and 1954, tracking the organizational work involved in moving oil through a variety of technical, legal, scientific, and administrative networks. She shows that, in a series of disagreements, the British-controlled Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC, which later became BP) relied on various forms of information management to transform political disputes into techno-economic calculation, guaranteeing the company complete control over profits, labor, and production regimes. She argues that the building of alliances and connections that constituted Anglo-Iranian oil's infrastructure reconfigured local politics of oil regions and examines how these arrangements in turn shaped the emergence of both nation-state and transnational oil corporation.
Drawing on her extensive archival and field research in Iran, Shafiee investigates the surprising ways in which nature, technology, and politics came together in battles over mineral rights; standardizing petroleum expertise; formulas for calculating profits, production rates, and labor; the “Persianization” of employees; nationalism and oil nationalization; and the long-distance machinery of an international corporation. Her account shows that the politics of oil cannot be understood in isolation from its technical dimensions.
The open access edition of this book was made possible by generous funding from Knowledge Unlatched.
In the early twentieth century, international oil corporations emerged as a new kind of political actor. The development of the world oil industry, argues Katayoun Shafiee, was one of the era's largest political projects of techno-economic development. In this book, Shafiee maps the machinery of oil operations in the Anglo-Iranian oil industry between 1901 and 1954, tracking the organizational work involved in moving oil through a variety of technical, legal, scientific, and administrative networks. She shows that, in a series of disagreements, the British-controlled Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC, which later became BP) relied on various forms of information management to transform political disputes into techno-economic calculation, guaranteeing the company complete control over profits, labor, and production regimes. She argues that the building of alliances and connections that constituted Anglo-Iranian oil's infrastructure reconfigured local politics of oil regions and examines how these arrangements in turn shaped the emergence of both nation-state and transnational oil corporation.
Drawing on her extensive archival and field research in Iran, Shafiee investigates the surprising ways in which nature, technology, and politics came together in battles over mineral rights; standardizing petroleum expertise; formulas for calculating profits, production rates, and labor; the “Persianization” of employees; nationalism and oil nationalization; and the long-distance machinery of an international corporation. Her account shows that the politics of oil cannot be understood in isolation from its technical dimensions.
The open access edition of this book was made possible by generous funding from Knowledge Unlatched.
358 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 30, 2022
A very detailed sociotechnical analysis of the oil industry in Iran from it's discovery till the 1950s.
The book presents the many devices that BP used in Iran to deter the threat of nationalization and in turn the cartel control of the Anglo-American oil majors of the global supply and distribution of oil.
Sociotechnical devices used were elaborared in the book on many fronts:
- The development of formulas that kept control of labour and oil supply within the concessionary contract
- The use of international institutions such as the UN, ICJ and World Bank by the oil company to subjugate, delay and prevent the Iranian desire for nationalisation.
- The active management of technical labour such as engineers, which ensured British technical staff had supervisory roles, whilst Iranians were locked out of the technical sphere of sophisticated petroleum engineering and geological knowledge.
The oilfields of south west Iran (Khuzistan) were used by BP as a laboratory for the mamagement of oil operations and geophysical knowledge.
A fascinating account of how the Anglo-American oil operation worked globally and the local actors that demand nationalization and sovereignty over their resources.
I reccommend this book to anyone interested in the early development of the oil industry, concessionary agreements, oil consortiums, debates over nationalization vs privatization of oil and the history of oil development in Iran.
The book presents the many devices that BP used in Iran to deter the threat of nationalization and in turn the cartel control of the Anglo-American oil majors of the global supply and distribution of oil.
Sociotechnical devices used were elaborared in the book on many fronts:
- The development of formulas that kept control of labour and oil supply within the concessionary contract
- The use of international institutions such as the UN, ICJ and World Bank by the oil company to subjugate, delay and prevent the Iranian desire for nationalisation.
- The active management of technical labour such as engineers, which ensured British technical staff had supervisory roles, whilst Iranians were locked out of the technical sphere of sophisticated petroleum engineering and geological knowledge.
The oilfields of south west Iran (Khuzistan) were used by BP as a laboratory for the mamagement of oil operations and geophysical knowledge.
A fascinating account of how the Anglo-American oil operation worked globally and the local actors that demand nationalization and sovereignty over their resources.
I reccommend this book to anyone interested in the early development of the oil industry, concessionary agreements, oil consortiums, debates over nationalization vs privatization of oil and the history of oil development in Iran.
June 15, 2022
It's a totally alternative view towards the history of oil in the middle East. I was a little unimpressed by her choice of conceptual framework (ANT) and over-concentration on Western sources.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews