Abstract In the current Zagros Fold Belt of Iran and in its contiguous offshore, five petroleum systems caused an impressive gathering of oil and gas fields that represent some 8% and 15% of global oil and gas reserves, respectively. Almost all the oil fields are located in the relatively small Dezful Embayment, which extends over 60 000 km 2 , whereas most of the gas fields are concentrated in Central and Coastal Fars and in the contiguous offshore area. This paper describes the functioning of the various petroleum systems through time, each petroleum system having its own specificity, and reconstructs the succession of events that explains the current location of the oil and gas fields and the reservoirs in which oil and/or gas accumulated. In addition to the classical description of the petroleum systems (distribution and organic composition of the source rocks, evolution of their maturity through time, geometry of drains and reservoirs, and trap availability at the time of migration), the influence of tectonic phases (Acadian, Hercynian, Late Cenomanian to pre-Maastrichtian, and Late Miocene to Pliocene Zagros phases) on the various systems are discussed. As the time of oil and/or gas expulsion from the source rocks is necessary to reconstruct migration paths and to locate the traps available at the time of migration, extensive modelling was used. The timing of oil or gas expulsion was compared with the timing of tectonic events. For the older systems, namely the Palaeozoic (Llandovery source rocks), Middle Jurassic (Sargelu), Late Jurassic (Hanifa–Tuwaiq Mountain–Diyab) and Early Cretaceous (Garau), oil and/or gas expulsion occurred before the Zagros folding. Oil migrated over long distances, according to low-angle geometry, towards large-scale low-relief regional highs and salt-related structures. In the current Zagros Fold Belt, oil and gas remigrated later to the closest Zagros anticlines. In contrast, for the prolific Middle Cretaceous to Early Miocene System (Kazhdumi, Pabdeh), oil expulsion occurred almost everywhere in the Dezful Embayment after the onset of the Zagros folding. Oil migrated vertically towards the closest anticlines through a system of fractures. A comparison was made between the oil expelled from the source rocks, as calculated by the model, and the initial oil in place discovered in the fields. Oils were grouped into families based upon isotopic composition (carbon and sulphur), and biomarkers. Correlation between pyrolysates and oils verifies the origin of the oils that was proposed to explain the current location of the oil (and gas) fields.