Нобель Бауырларының Мұнай Компаниясы: Тарихы мен Әрекеті

Russian oil company

The Petroleum Production Company Nobel Brothers, Limited, or Branobel (short for братьев Нобель "brat'yev Nobel" – "Nobel Brothers" in Russian), was an oil company set up by Ludvig Nobel and Baron Peter von Bilderling. It operated mainly in Baku, Azerbaijan, but also in Cheleken, Turkmenistan. Originally established by Robert Nobel (who contributed 25,000 rubles) and the investments of barons Peter von Bilderling (300,000 rubles) and Standertskjöld (150,000 rubles) as a distillery in 1876, it became, during the late 19th century, one of the largest oil companies in the world.

The Nobel Brothers Petroleum Company was an oil producing company that had its origins in a distillery, founded by Robert and Ludvig Nobel in Baku in 1876, which, in 1879, turned into a shareholding company headquartered in St. Petersburg. The share capital of three million rubles was divided as follows: 53,7% Ludwig Nobel, 31,0% Baron Peter von Bilderling, 4,7% I. J. Zabelskiv, 3,8% Alfred Nobel, 3,3% Robert Nobel, 1,7% au Baron Alexandre von Bilderling. Pipeline transport was pioneered near Baku by Vladimir Shukhov and the Branobel company in 1878–1880. On 10 April 1902, the company signed a contract for the purchase of oil fields in Romany, which were owned by the oil producer Isabey Hajinsky. On 17 October 1905, in accordance with the Committee of Ministers, the company purchased the oil fields owned by oil producer A. Adamov. The company's fixed capital in 1914–1917 was 30 million rubles. By 1916, it was the largest oil company in Russia, producing 76 million poods of oil. Between 1877 and 1901, the company drilled over 500 wells, produced 150 million barrels of oil, and employed 12,000 workers.

On 28 April 1920, the Bolsheviks seized power in Baku after the Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan and Branobel's oil business in Azerbaijan was nationalized. In May 1920, the Nobel family sold almost half the Branobel's shares in its possession to Standard Oil of New Jersey. At the time it was considered uncertain whether the Bolshevik regime would last and the negotiation led by Gustaf Nobel, on one side, and Walter C. Teagle, on the other, proved to be a profitable masterstroke for the Nobel family. Branobel was formally dissolved in 1959 and its last President was Nils Nobel Oleinikoff, son of Marta Nobel Oleinikoff and grandson of Ludvig Nobel.

More photos can be found at Tekniska museet in Stockholm, Sweden.