Cultural-Social Narratives of the Company’s Station Compound from Past to Present
摘要
Exploration and development of the oil industry marked the transition from a traditional society to an industrial society in Iran, especially in the oil-rich regions of the south of the country. This transition brought changes in economic dimensions such as economic growth and development in the form of the entry of oil companies and industrial seepage into the cities; in the political dimensions of the country’s mutual relationship with global oil policies; in social dimensions such as population growth, development, and expansion of cities; and the development of social classes. Especially in the cultural dimension, leaving behind the remains of buildings and industrial structures has created today’s industrial heritage as a symbol of national and native identity. These changes, along with the emergence of local modernism signs in the country, opened a new chapter in the sociocultural structures of oil landscapes in Iran’s company cities. The corporate site of the Station was established as an oil heritage in the town of Kout-e-Abdullah, located in Khuzestan province in the 1930s (1317 AD), to house the workers of the Kout-e-Abdullah oil pump house and to establish a nationwide pipeline for oil transmission, resulting in significant cultural and social transformations. This study was conducted with a practical purpose and a narrative approach, utilizing documents, narratives, interviews, books, and articles to depict the sociocultural narratives of the Station. The findings indicate a deep connection between economic and political issues and sociocultural matters in oil landscapes. The sociocultural characteristics of the Station have been shaped by the historical policies of Iranian and British oil companies through oil contracts. The policies of the National Company of the South Oil-rich Regions and the country’s overarching policies influence the Station in the present era. The sociocultural backdrop of the oil landscape illustrates how corporate sites have undergone various changes following the shift from the oil economy and the dismantling of oil facilities.