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.