The Oil

Azerbaijan is the oldest oil producing country in the world and had its first oil boom in the early 20th century. Before this, back in the 19th century the oil was just a few metres above the ground and could easily be extracted. Today the old oil fields of Baku are left abandoned and most oil is extracted way out in the Caspian Sea. It is in the late 19th century when the link between Scandinavia (Sweden) and Azerbaijan is created. Robert and Ludvig Nobel, brothers of Alfred Nobel, decide to invest in the oil industry of Baku. Robert takes the leading part and in 1876 he founds Branobel, (The Petroleum Production Company Nobel Brothers, Limited) with Ludvig and Alfred as principal shareholders. The oil company soon becomes the second largest in the world. However, with the Russian Revolution and the Bolsheviks gaining power Branobel is nationalized in 1920. The company was formally dissolved in 1959. More information on today's oil and gas production in Azerbaijan will be available soon.

On our way back home last weekend we passed the former oil fields of Baku. The sight is amazingly impressive although environmentally shocking. Not far away from the old oil cranes, that still moves up and down with the wind, children were playing. However, when you see the scale of these old fields it's easy to understand why Baku, in the days of the Nobel Brothers, was one of the most important oil cities in the world. Today, Azerbaijan is still called the "Land of fire" but the statistics of the World Bank speak for themselves:

"130 years of oil production has led to 33 000 hectares of oil-contaminated lands corresponding about 700 million barrels of oil."