History
of Oil in BAKU
In his famous book 'The Travels', Marco Polo records that
he had been to the northern part of Iran around 1271-1273
and in his visit to Baku, he had observed that some kind of
liquid has been widely traded around. This unusual substance
was called 'neft' and it can easily be understood from his
words that he has really been impressed by the volume of this
trade.
Three centuries ago, merchants used to fill leather pouches
with this burnable strange kind of liquid and carry their
load throughout the Caucasus on camels. 'Neft' is a word used
in Arabic and Persian languages and is nothing but today's
crude oil which was consumed centuries ago in medical science,
cleaning of silk and other clothes, lighting and in war.
Robert Nobel, who has been to Baku in 1873, searching for
walnut trees to be used in producing guns for the Russian
army, noticed that the oil was being produced using primitive
methods on the Caspian shore. What he had seen was enough
to put his search aside and jump into this promising business.
On the same year, the Russian Czar gave permission to foreigners
to explore oil in the Caucasus, and this resulted with the
privilege given to the Nobel Brothers in the Region.
After some time, it became evident that these reserves are
even larger than the Pennsylvanian fields in which the modern
oil industry was born. Bigger reserves meant more capital
and Nobel Brothers went to the French Rothschilds Bank. The
credit they have taken, was the first step in marketing of
the Caucasian crudes to Europe and Asia. The Region has turned
to be the leader with an oil production of nearly one half
of World's total, just in the late 19th century.
The oil in Baku has also charmed one of the most bloody leaders
the World had ever witnessed, the main actor of World War
II; Adolf Hitler. At the most critical point of the War, Hitler
orders his army to go forward the Caspian. The target was
the 'Caspian Oil Fields'. Maybe it was the irony of fate,
they ran out of fuel on the way to the 'source of fuel' and
Baku was saved from the invasion of the German Army. After
the War, Russians gave much importance to the reserves in
Volga-Urals and West Siberia and the long wait of about fifty
years begins for the Caspian crudes.
As it can be seen, collapse of the Soviet System is not the
first time that the Caucasian oil is taken into energy world's
agenda. So what is different today for these crudes? The answer
is not so hard to find. The point is that, today really big
amounts of hydrocarbon are about to flow to the World markets
from the Region and the projects aiming to export those amounts,
coincides with this era that the former Soviet nations are
in great effort to stand on their own feet on the way to fully
independence.
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