Abadan, << `ah` bah DAHN >> (pop. 250,555), is a refining center for Iran’s oil industry. The city lies on Abadan Island, on the Shatt al Arab River in southwestern Iran. Pipelines connect Abadan with Iranian oil fields. The city’s petroleum refinery, completed in 1913, ranks among the largest in the world. It was badly damaged by Iraqi forces in 1980, during a war between Iran and Iraq. The Anglo-Persian Oil Company, a British firm, began the development of Abadan in the early 1900’s.
