The Partex Oil and Gas Group has been instrumental in the development of the international oil and gas industry through its presence in the historical oil concessions of the Middle East. Its founder, Calouste Gulbenkian, a descendant of an illustrious Armenian family, was a pioneer of the exploration and development of the oil fields in the Middle East. In 1928, after laborious negotiations in which Calouste Gulbenkian played an influential role, the shares of the Turkish Petroleum Company (today Iraq Petroleum Company) were divided into four oil companies: Anglo-Persian Oil Co. (now BP), Royal Dutch-Shell Group, Compagnie Francaise des Pétroles (now TOTAL), and Near East Development Company (now ExxonMobil).