May 26, 1908: Mideast Oil Discovered

26-May-2008 (one comment)

1908: A British company strikes oil in Persia (now Iran). It's the first big petroleum find in the Middle East, and it sets off a wave of exploration, extraction and exploitation that will change the region's -- and the world's -- history. Englishman William D'Arcy had obtained a license to explore for oil in Persia in 1901. He sent explorer George Reynolds, who searched fruitlessly for seven years.

>>>

There Will Be Blood

by Jahanshah Javid on Mon May 26, 2008 02:08 PM PDT

Farshid wrote in an email: I had to recommend this story of how oil was first discovered in the middle east 100 years ago today... in Iran! This is where all the madness started, we know too well the story from that day on. In the hope that no human being ever again dies for oil. To me, this is the meaning of Memorial Day, to remember all the people of our country and countries like ours who are no longer alive because of this "noble" cause- oil.