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Oil in Azerbaijan

However, mechanical oil ' drilling had started in 1847 in Bibi Eybat (the suburbs of contemporary Baku).

In 1859 the first oil refinery factory was built (Kokorin factory in Surkhani). There in Surakhani yellow and white oil was turned into kerosene for the first time in the world. The very first oil tankers were also built in Azerbaijan and transported oil on the Caspian Sea. There were about 30 sailing tanker ships and some steam ships by the 1890.The first in the world tanker ship with the steel case was built here in !877 and got the name” Zoroaster” after I the prophet of the fire I worshippers. By the last I quarter of the 19'" u century, there was rapid I growth of foreign investments stipulating the boom of oil industry extracting, refinery and chemistry. It should be mentioned that the main capital of Sweden Nobel was obtained in Azerbaijan.

The whole oil products in Russia came from Baku. There were only nine mechanical oil wells in 1879 but the output increased by 1895 and a hundred years later there were 1710 mechanical oil wells. Absheron was turning into large significant industrial agglomeration giving more than 50% of the world oil output in 1889. With the oil boom Baku far expanded beyond the ancient walls of the old town, the area of oil industry the so-called "Black town" appeared that was attracting laborers from the rural districts of Azerbaijan, from Russia and Iran. The oil drilling towers still are decorating the suburbs of Baku and the industrial landscape of Absheron The Absheron oil helped the USSR to win the terrible warwith the Hitler's Germany. The fuel for tanks, airplanes and vehicles came from Baku where scientists and engineers worked over new technologies inventing many valuable items. The famous "Molotov cocktail" and Soviet napalm was invented by Yusif Mamedaliyev, the Academician and distinguished scientist. Not far from Baku in the sea started the first in the world complex of platforms for sea oil drilling and extraction the 'Neft Dashlari" .When the state independence of Azerbaijan was restored it could use own natural resources free of the collapsed USSR impact. In 2004, independent Azerbaijan celebrated the 10" anniversary of the big oil contract that was called "the contract of the century». The contract provides the building of the important Baku- Tbilisi-Jeykhan oil - transporting pipeline that will connect the oil extracting sites of Azerbaijan and some fteighbor Caspian states with the world market.

Nowadays the oil industry of Azerbaijan is represented with the State Oil Company that is cooperating with the biggest international corporations like BP, STATOIL, LUKOIL etc.

Azerbaijan signed more than 55 various contracts related to the hydro carbonic resources of the country by the 2004.