The story of the Patos-Marinza Oilfeld in southern Albania is contradictory and contested, like all good stories. The history of modern Albania is contained in the chronicle of this oilfeld as it carries with it the hopes and dreams of industrial development during the Communist era, as well as the despair and environmental degradation during the breakdown of communism and the civil war following the national pyramid scheme in 1997. In recent decades, Patos-Marinza has been revitalized and modernized, attracting foreign investors, new technology, skills development and experiencing record high production. The development of the oilfeld has also been accompanied by environmental restoration through the introduction of state-of-the-art technology and the clean-up of the pollution of soil and water resources. However, Patos-Marinza has also been associated with several scandals and controversies, such as widespread poverty, excessive gas emissions, earth tremors and community protests. In the same way that the nationwide optimistic expectations on the transition to democracy and market economy have been replaced by gloomy reality and the consequential exodus of young ambitious Albanians, the development of Patos-Marinza has left many residents both disappointed and in a state of despair. Thus, when I examine the current narratives about the Patos-Marinza Oilfeld, various layers of Albanian history call for my attention. As a former oil industry consultant and employee, I spent almost fve years working at the Patos-Marinza Oilfeld and have several frst-hand experiences of its controversies. In recent years, I have revisited the Patos-Marinza Oilfeld in the role of researcher. This text uses various sources to illustrate the milestones in the development of the Patos-Marinza Oilfeld, as well as the various discourses that describe its modernization and expansion