Oil for the 20th Century

1/7/2025

This really is just an excuse to go back to the dawn of the 20th Century and see off Queen Victoria, showcase some well dug out archive and set the scene for the exploration of the vastness of Persia for oil. It's told via a narration taken, partly, from some letters of the man granted an exclusive mandate to go looking. The team was led by D.B. Reynolds, an Englishman, and his goal was to strike the black gold in commercial quantities. Geologists say north, he thinks south - but it was all little better than guesswork as the derricks went up and promptly came down again. The huge variety of photography does illustrate just how much manual labour was involved as the drilling delivered nothing of note after six years of looking. Cash was running out as they took one final punt with the sun