THE 
 
 PETROLEUM INDUSTRY 
 
 OF BAKU 
 
 AND 
 
 0 
 
 « » » 
 
 PETROLEUM PRODUCTION COMPANY. 
 
 June, 1893. 
 
 ST. PETERSBURG. 
 
 Tbenke & PusNOT, Printers, Maksimilianovsky Per., 13. 
 
 1893. 
 
Ji;o3BOJieHO ii,eH3ypoio. C.-nexepSypn,, 22 iioHa 1893 r. 
 
The Petroleum Industry of Baku and lobel 
 Brothers Petroleum Production Company. 
 
 The Caucasian mountain range terminates on the South 
 Eastern side at the shore of the Caspian sea by the penin- 
 sula of Apsheron which, since ancient time, was famous for 
 its naphtha springs and, particularly, for the wells of inflam- 
 mable gas exhaled from the ground. All know the phantastic 
 part which this locality played in the religion of the fire- 
 worshippers, the priests of which, during many centuries, 
 guarded the „ eternal fire" sustained by the evaporation of the 
 subterranean oils. 
 
 On the south side of this peninsula is a bay affording 
 excellent anchorage for vessels, and here is situated the tow^n 
 of Baku^ which not long ago was an insignificant provincial 
 townlet, but now, thanks to the developement of the naphtha 
 industry, has become a populous, well organised and flouris- 
 hing town. 
 
 Although, as above mentioned, the existence of naphtha 
 in the vicinity of Baku was known from time immemorable. 
 
4 
 
 the industrial exploitation of the oil only commenced since 
 1832. Seeing, however, that even at that time the naphtha 
 was obtained from pits, wells and natural springs, it stands 
 to reason that at that period it was impossible to think of 
 a more considerable production, and the yearly output too 
 was represented only by several hundred thousands of poods. 
 Many years even elapsed after the invention of the Petroleum 
 lamp in America and the marvelous developement in that 
 country of the mineral oil industry, before we in this country 
 thought of a proper exploitation of the wealth of naphtha in 
 Baku. An improvement occurred only when in 1871 the first 
 boring was made, and when a year later the leasing system 
 hitherto in vogue was abolished. The first boring was soon 
 followed by many others and, thanks to free competition, a 
 chance was afforded for capital and enterprise to impart new 
 life to this branch of industry. 
 
 Meantime American entreprise had succeeded in gaining 
 possession of the markets of the old and new worlds, inclu- 
 ding Russia, whereas Russian petroleum was only consumed 
 in the parts adjoining the Caspian sea and the Volga. It even 
 happened that American petroleum, thanks to its good quality 
 and cheapness, competed with the local article not only in other 
 parts of Russia but also on the Volga. 
 
 We may now ask, in what state at that time was the 
 Russian naphtha industry, and to what was attributable the 
 fact that the sale of the products obtained was so limited? 
 
 In accordance with the traditions of Russian trade, mi- 
 neral oil like all other merchandise was sent annually to the 
 fair at Nijni-Novgorod, where it was disposed of at a more 
 or less moderate price according to the demand. 
 
 The inferior quality of this oil, due to the primitive mode 
 of distillation, and the bad quality of wooden barrels in which 
 the oil was transported and stored, rendered it impossible to 
 
compete in those markets where the American petroleum had 
 obtained an entry. Owing to the absence of timber in the 
 vicinity of Baku the wood necessary for the manufacture of 
 barrels had to be brought from afar, and consequently was 
 expensive. 
 
 The conveying of the crude oil from the pits and borings 
 to the refineries had to be effected in skins and barrels on 
 carts ; and as the roads between the wells and the distilleries 
 were in such a deplorable condition that only a few poods 
 of oil could be conveyed in one cart, crude oil arrived at 
 the works burdened with so many charges that it was impos- 
 sible to obtain the product at a reasonable price. The refined 
 oil had again to be poured into barrels, whilst the loading 
 and transport in sailing vessels to Astrakhan and from thence 
 in large barges to Nijni-Novgorod was attended with an other 
 series of expensive and dilatory manipulations that it was lastly 
 quite impossible to dispose of the oil on anything like a 
 large scale. 
 
 Meantime, the enormous wealth of the oil sources conti- 
 nued to disclose itself more and more. Boring made at a 
 depth of from 200-400 feet brought up oil to the surface in 
 such quantities that it surpassed everything that had hitherto 
 been seen in America in this respect, and the abundance of 
 the crude oil was the cause of the fall in price of it to a 
 ruinous figure. When afterwards new mighty fountains were 
 opened which in the course of several months furnished from 
 30,000 to 50,000 barrels per diem, the position became so 
 hopeless that on the one side they did not know how to 
 collect and store such an enormous mass of crude oil, and on 
 the other hand they could not find a market or, if they did, 
 it was at such low prices that wholesale ruin of all engaged 
 in the Baku naphtha industry appeared inevitable. 
 
 It was necessary to find an issue out of this calamitous 
 
6 
 
 position and this was attained in a brilliant manner thanks 
 to the interference in the Russian naphtha industry of a man 
 possessed of rare intelligence and vital energy, by the appe- 
 arance on the scene of the late LucUvig Nohel, who introduced 
 such innovations in this industry that in a remarkably short 
 space of time it was able not. only to defeat foreign compe- 
 tition in Russia, but even to successfully compete with foreign 
 producers in the markets of Western Europe. 
 
 It was in the commencement of the seventies when 
 M"" Robert Nobel, brother to Ludwig, undertook a journey, 
 at the instance of the latter, through the Caucasus in order 
 to organize the exploitation for military purposes of the local 
 walnut-wood plantations, and it was then he had the oppor- 
 tunity of becoming nearer acquainted with the naphtha in- 
 dustry. He perceived that there existed a wide field here for 
 enterprise and intelligence, and he persuaded his brother 
 Ludwig to aid him in establishing in Baku a small Petroleum 
 Refinery. In 1876, Ludwig Nobel also visited the place, 
 studied the geological and economic conditions of the penin- 
 sula of Apsheron and came to the conclusion that the naph- 
 tha industry was capable of enormous developement, and of 
 attaining vast proportions if the exploitation were organized 
 in accordance with the latest technical improvements and 
 requirements. 
 
 In 1876, the brothers started their enterprise and in 1879 
 it was converted into a stock company. The object they had 
 in view was to remove as far as possible the existing de- 
 fects in the exploitation, and to reduce the cost of transport 
 to such a degree that Russian Petroleum could, at least, 
 command all the native markets in the Empire. 
 
 The first point was to connect the naphtha pits situated 
 near Balakhany, at a distance of about 15 kilometres from 
 Baku, by means of ])ipes with the shore where their refineries 
 
7 
 
 were erected. From these works, where every care was taken 
 to introduce into use the most perfected working system, the 
 refined petroleum was to be sent out not as was formerly 
 the case in barrels, but in specially constructed cistern- steamers, 
 which were filled with the oil by means of pumps through a 
 pipe line laid down on the shore from the works to the lan- 
 ding stage. 
 
 In addition to the large cistern steamers which were to 
 serve in transporting the oil across the Caspian, and which 
 owing to their large draught were not suitable for more 
 shallow routes, it was necessary to have corresponding stea- 
 mers and lighters for the latter service to receive the oil at 
 Astrakhan and convey it up the Volga to Tsarytzin. From 
 this point commenced the ramification of Russian railways, 
 and here was established a large store from whence the 
 petroleum was to be distributed throughout the whole of 
 Russia. The use of barrels was likewise to be discontinued 
 on the railways; the oil was to be conveyed to the various 
 points of destination by means of tank-cars. 
 
 The erection of stores and reservoirs at the principal 
 railway stations perfected this organization, thanks to which 
 the mineral oil from the place of its extraction commenced 
 to penetrate to Petersburg and to Warsaw, and to the fron- 
 tiers of Austro-Hungary and Germany without having been 
 in a barrel, and without any other mode of loading than by 
 means of a steam pump. 
 
 The most important and striking innovation in the new 
 organization was the transport of the oil in tank-steamers, 
 without which of course the cistern-cars would have had no 
 sense. It was this mode of transport by sea and land, without 
 the employment of barrels that, thanks to Ludwig Nobel, gave 
 the Russian petroleum trade a special character and, owing 
 to such means of transport and the perfected appliance adop- 
 
8 
 
 ted for loading and unloading petroleum, the Caucasian mi- 
 neral oil lias not only penetrated to the frontiers of the 
 Russian Empire, but into all the states of Western Europe 
 and into Africa and Asia, where it has entered into compe- 
 tition with American petroleum. And, indeed, the cost of illu- 
 mination in Russia is at present very cheap, whereas it was 
 most expensive before the radical reforms introduced in the 
 Russian naphtha industry. Thus, a pood of crude naphtha cost 
 at Baku in 1873 about 45 cops, and a pood of petroleum 
 in Nijni-Novgorod was sold at Rbs. 6 ; at the present time 
 the first costs from 1 — 2 cops, and the latter 35 cops, (ex- 
 clusive of the excise duty of 60 cops, on light refined oils). 
 The Govt, has a direct revenue from the excise under this 
 head of about 16 million roubles, besides the increase in 
 commercial transactions consequent on the annual export of 
 naphtha praducts approximately for the amount of Rbs. 
 30,000,000. There must also be taken into account the 
 freights taken by steamship and railway companies and the 
 wages received by thousands of working people thanks to the 
 naphtha industry. 
 
 The realization of the programme laid down by Messrs. Nobel 
 created an enterprise of unexpected dimensions. At the outset 
 the necessary funds were wanted for working this grand 
 project, and in order to overcome this difficulty Ludwig No- 
 bel, as far back as 1876, applied to the chief naphtha men 
 in Baku with the proposition that they should join together 
 in constructing pipe lines for connecting the naphtha sources 
 with the refineries. He further proposed to the steamship 
 company «Kavkaz & Mercuri)) on the Caspian & Volga, and 
 to the Griase Tsarytsin Railway (both companies being sub- 
 sidized by the Govt.) that they should construct, conjointly 
 witli him or on their own account, several cistern-vessels and 
 tank-cars for the transport of naphtha products. Botli one 
 
9 
 
 and the other Company found the project of the intrepid in- 
 novator chimerical and unrealisable, & Ludwig Nobel was 
 ridiculed and his plan rejected. Thereupon the Nobel Bros, 
 instead of restricting themselves to industrial activity were 
 compelled to take into their own hands the task of distribu^ 
 ting and disposing naphtha products throughout the Kussian 
 Empire, and it was thus that their enterprise embraced an 
 enormous district. 
 
 But how soon the picture changed! When it transpired 
 that the pipe line was working admirably and fabulously cheap, 
 and that cistern-steamers, tank-cars and reservoirs suited their 
 purposes excellently, — the most bigoted individual compre- 
 hended the immense significance of the innovation and, in a 
 short time, the vicinity of Balakhany-Sabuntchi was bisected 
 with pipe lines, and no one ever dreamt of conveying tlie 
 crude product from the source to the works in barrels. Tank 
 steamers on the Caspian Sea and on the Volga appeared one 
 after the other, and the Railway Companies adjacent to the 
 Volga were compelled in their own interests to adopt the 
 innovation conceived by Ludwig Nobel and to supplement 
 tlieir rolling stock with cistern- cars. At the present time there 
 are on the Caspian Sea and on the Volga several hundred 
 tank-steamers and lighters; in the Black Sea 30 tank-stea- 
 mers specially built for. the transport of petroleum have been 
 constructed, and along the various Russian railroads there 
 travel over 15,000 cistern-cars engaged in transporting mi- 
 neral oil. 
 
 Thanks to the perfection of this organization the growth 
 of the Russian naphtha industry was very rapid, as is evi- 
 dence by the tables in the appendix, showing the general 
 devilopement in Baku of this industry, and the parUeipation 
 therein in detail of the firm of Nobel Bros. 
 
 In consequence of the abundance and cheapness of the 
 
10 
 
 crude oil the Nobels found it possible to regard the question 
 of acquisition of naphtha land as being of secondary impor- 
 tance, and directed special attention to the technical working 
 of the oil. 
 
 The Company, notwithstanding that its output of petroleum 
 represents more than 22 7o of the whole industry in Baku, 
 possesses approximately only 157o of all the borings, and it 
 purchases from other producers the crude naphtha approxi- 
 mately about one third of the quantity necessary for the 
 fabrication of oil. 
 
 The 70 productive borings at present belonging to the 
 Company are situated partly in Balakhany and partly in Sa- 
 buntchi, consequently they are separated from the town of 
 Baku and from the works by a distance of about 15 kilos. 
 
 The works of the Company situated near Baku in the so 
 called „ Black Town" are connected with the naphtha sources 
 by 2 pipe lines, through which there passed in 1892 over 
 51,000,000 poods of crude oil. There are besides two special 
 pipe lines from the Works to Balakhany for the water supply, 
 and a canal to the works from the sea for the same purpose. 
 
 The Works are divided into six sections: distillery, refi- 
 nery for illuminating oil, refinery for lenzine, lubricating oil 
 works, sulphuric acid and soda sections. 
 
 In the distillery the oils are separated according to their 
 various specific gravity. The parts out of which are prepared 
 benzine and good illuminating oil are sent to the Refineries 
 from whence they issue ready for use. 
 
 The illuminating oil thus obtained represents not more 
 than 35 7o of the natural crude product. Bendne on account 
 of the small demand is turned out in inconsiderable quanti- 
 ties (about 60^000 poods per annum). Thus, there remains a 
 considerable quantity of „ostatki" (residues) which find a va- 
 riety of uses. 
 
11 
 
 The greater portion of these ,,ostatU'' is used as fuel 
 in Baku, on the Caspian Sea, on the Volga and in the ad- 
 joining parts. A less considerable quantity is used up in the 
 section for producing lubricating oils, and undergoes a distil- 
 lation, until there remain only the heavy component parts 
 which are added to ordinary ostatki and used for heating the 
 works. 
 
 The distilling hoilers (stills) for extracting illuminating oils 
 are constructed so as to turn out in the course of 24 hours 
 66,000 poods or 1,100 tons of illuminating oil. At the out- 
 set, when the Company's activity was limited to supplying 
 with oil the Russian markets and the frontier localities of 
 Germany and Austro-Hungary, the Works were only in action 
 during the 8 navigation months on the Volga; during this 
 period the maximum turn out of petroleum amounted annually 
 to poods 12,000,000 or tons 200,000. But on the opening 
 of the Transcaucasian Baihvay^ and when that line had been 
 furnished with sufficient rolling stock, the Company sent its 
 products abroad also via Batoum, and the Works were kept 
 in action uninterruptedly all the year round, so that at pre- 
 sent more than 18,000,000 poods of illuminating oil alone 
 are turned out. Theoretically speaking the naphtha Works is 
 capable of turning out 24,000,000 poods of petroleum annually. 
 
 The lubricating oil works is capable of producing an- 
 nually not less than tons 33,000. 
 
 The sulphuric acid section has for its object the prepa- 
 ration of the requisite quantity of acid for treating illumina- 
 ting and lubricating oils, although latterly sulphuric acid pre- 
 pared at the Company's w^orks has been supplied to other 
 oil manufacturers. Up to the present time raw sulphur im- 
 ported from abroad has been used in the Works and only 
 latterly the Company has seriously thought of substituting for 
 the raw sulphur the Caucasian copper pyrites. 
 
12 
 
 The soda works serves the purpose of reestablishing the 
 soda residues remaining after the refining of the petroleum 
 in order that they may be utilised a second time. 
 
 The mechanical work shops^ the gas works, the plant for 
 electric lighting and the ivater supply apparatus complete the 
 industrial organization of the enterprise, in establishing which 
 everything was done to ensure the best results in tlie working 
 and the highest quality of products. 
 
 It may be here observed that the Company is engaged 
 at tlie present time apart from the production of ordinary 
 kerosine, in preparing for the Russian markets a new illumi- 
 nating oil, so called „ solar oil" or ,,pyronaphta'' which is obtai- 
 ned from the heavy residue remaining after the distillation 
 of naphtha, and has a specific gravity of 0.860 with a 
 flashing point of 100^ C. 
 
 The transport of oil is conducted in two directions: via 
 the Caspian Sea and the Volga^ and along the Transcau- 
 casian railway via Batoum to South Western Russia and 
 abroad. In the first named direction the article is conveyed 
 in large Tank- steamers with a capacity of from 750 to 900 
 tons, which to the number of 12 transport the petroleum 
 from the Company's wharves in Baku to the „5 feet''' road- 
 stead off the town of Astrakhan, which place is separated 
 from the Caspian Sea by shallows formed during many cen- 
 turies by the current of the river Volga. At the „9 feet" 
 road-stead, a distance of 150 kilometres from Astrakhan, the 
 oil is transferred from the Tank-steamers partly into river 
 steamers (8 in number) and partly into lighters (of which 
 there are 89). These craft carry the oil up the Volga to 
 Tsaritzyn^ Saratoff and Nijni- Novgorod i. e. to the commen- 
 cement of the railway communication. The petroleum destined 
 for Siberia is transported along the river Kama, an affluent 
 of the Volga, to Perm and from tlience it is sent to the 
 
13 
 
 Company's stores in Omsk and Tomsk and to other central 
 markets. The transport of mineral products from Petersburg & 
 Lilaii to Scandinavia and North Eastern Germany is effected 
 by means of a Tank-steamer, specially constructed for the 
 Baltic sea named the „Ludwig Nobel". 
 
 For the export of its products to the Western European 
 States the Company mainly avails itself of the Transcaucaslan 
 Bailivay; and before the construction of the Suram tunnel, in 
 order to facilitate and expedite the transport of its products 
 from Baku to Batoum, it laid down between the stations of 
 Micliailolf and Quirilli, a distance of 212,000 feet, a 4 inch 
 pipe connection. For the reception of the oil at Batoum the 
 Company constructed reservoirs with a capacity of 1,300,000 
 poods.) in addition to other appliances for facilitating trans- 
 port. From Batoum the products are transported to Western 
 Europe and partly to South Russia, principally in Tank-stea- 
 mers, some of which are owned by the foreign agents of the 
 Company or chartered by them. 
 
 In order to ensure the regular movement along the rail- 
 ways of their own cistern-cars the Company organized a 
 special railway staff, and put up its own workshops for ma- 
 king the necessary repairs. 
 
 For the Tank transport service in the Caspian Sea and 
 on the Volga the Company constructed two docks in Astrak- 
 han, and workshops for the repairs of steamers in Tsarytsin, 
 x\strakhan and Baku. 
 
 The construction of Tank-steamers represents in itself from 
 a technical point of view special interest, seeing that the 
 problem of transporting liquid cargo in Tanks united in one 
 whole was solved here in a most successful manner. The ad- 
 vantage of this system of transport, particularly for short 
 distances, is unquestionable. Both the loading and unloading 
 in this case are effected in the simplest manner by means 
 
14 
 
 of steam pumps; and the voyages of these vessels may be 
 effected with a rapidity which, under the old method of trans- 
 porting the products in barrels, was not to be thought of; 
 seeing that the latter require careful storage and also dis- 
 charging which is attended with great loss of time. Moreover, 
 the leakage which was considerable when barrels were used 
 is, under the system of tank transport, reduced to a minimum. 
 A tank steamer with a capacity of 800 tons is loaded at Baku 
 in 4V2 hours and can be discharged in the same space of time. 
 
 These Tank-steamers, and similarly all the steamers which 
 now navigate the Caspian Sea, the Volga and its affluents 
 do not use any other material as fuel than naphtha residue 
 or „masoot" as it is commonly called in Russia. 
 
 This liquid fiiel apart from its cheapness represents ano- 
 ther great advantage in that its heating power is about double 
 that of coal, and in addition to this it can be taken on board 
 by means of pumping as rapidly as the cargo itself. Further, 
 the minimum of manual labour is required to attend to the 
 boilers as the stoker in order to regulate the spray of „ ma- 
 soot" has only to use a single tap. 
 
 At the present time the importance of „masoot" as a 
 fuel (for which purpose Mr. L. Nobel contrived several ap- 
 paratuses) has become very considerable, seeing that the an- 
 nual consumption latterly of „masoot" has attained over 
 110,000,000 poods. Its employment for fuelling railway loco- 
 motives and steam engines is extending more and more in the 
 Volga district, and is adopted in nearly all the mechanical 
 works; similarly, the industrious undertakings in the Moscow 
 district are now using „masoot" almost exclusively, — the 
 factory owners having convinced themselves of its superiority. 
 Its cleanliness as a fuel and likewise the high temperature 
 which it may easily be made to yield, renders it specially 
 suitable for metallurgical works, and it may confidently be 
 
15 
 
 predicted that it will play an important part in the future de- 
 velopement of industry^ at any rate in the south eastern parts 
 of Russia. The first experiments in fusing iron by means of 
 naphtha residue were made at the mechanical works of Lud- 
 wig Nobel in St. Petersburg. The success of these experiments 
 (which could not fail to attract the attention of those inte- 
 rested in the subject) was such that the new fuel found its 
 way even into Sweden where it was adopted by a mechanical 
 work in the fusion of iron. 
 
 To refer once more to the organization of the enterprise 
 of the Nobel Brothers there may be stated the following in 
 supplement to what has been said above. 
 
 In drawing up the original plan of the undertaking it 
 was decided that the Town of Tsaritzyn should serve as the 
 centre of the operations of the Company ; at least as regar- 
 ded the Russian markets, and up to the present time, it has 
 retained that character. To meet the requirements for the sale 
 of the products along the Volga and for the transport to 
 other markets of Benzine and lubricating oils, the Company 
 built in Tsaritzyn a mechanical coopery, although the trans- 
 port was effected mainly by rail in cistern-cars constructed by 
 the Company at its own cost. Subsequently the necessity arose 
 of establishing along the Volga other stores of oil at Saratoff, 
 Batraki, Nijni-Novgorod and at Perm (on the Kama) all of 
 which stores, with the exception of the latter, were intended 
 to facilitate the sale of naphtha residue and lubricating oils, 
 the greater part of which until the opening of the Transcau- 
 casian railway was sent abroad by way of St. Petersburg. 
 From Tsaritzyn the cistern-cars, of which the Company at 
 the present time owns approximately 1633, carried the naphtha 
 and its products to the west, north west and south of Rus- 
 sia, in one word to all the points where railways existed and 
 beyond to the frontiers of Germany and Austro-Hungary. 
 
16 
 
 In order to regulate the organization of these cistern-cars 
 the Company constructed at Domnino, near Orel, a central 
 store with a capacity for holding over 4,000,000 poods = 
 400,000 barrels of petroleum. The distribution throughout 
 Russia of the mineral products is effected from the stores 
 constructed in all the centres of sale of petroleum, and these 
 stores are furnished with reservoirs with a capacity corres- 
 ponding to the general demand in the given district. Thus, 
 tlie stores for the local sale of mineral oil in Fetershurg^ 
 Moscoiv and Warsmv have each a capacity of from 50,000 
 to 85,000 barrels of the products, whereas at other points 
 the stores require reservoirs with a capacity of not more 
 than several hundred barrels. 
 
 The map of European Russia given in the appendix shows 
 the locality and capacity of the stores of the company on Bus- 
 si an territory. 
 
 The account of the property of the Company^ moveable 
 and immoveable, amounts at the present time approximately 
 to Rbs. 26,000,000. The transport service^ represented by 
 sea and river steamers, lighters and cistern-cars, possess a 
 capacity of about 6,400,000 poods, whilst the reservoirs and 
 other storing plant belonging to the Company are capable of 
 holding 56,000,000 poods of crude petroleum and the pro- 
 ducts extracted therefrom. 
 
 From the aforegoing brief sketch it may be seen that 
 the activity of the Company of the Nobel Brothers, as above 
 remarked, is of a dual character: 
 
 1) the extraction and tv orbing of naphtha, 2) the trans- 
 port and sale of mineral products obtained at the Company's 
 Works in Baku. 
 
 The most characteristic feature of the enterprise of the 
 Nobel Brothers consists in the unity, so to say, of its tech- 
 nical organization based on the principal of simplifying the 
 
various parts of tlie meclianism and arriving at one uniform 
 system. 
 
 The exactness with which all these various elements were 
 united into one whole has had the consequence that all the 
 naphtha or crude petroleum obtained by the Company's bo- 
 rings at Baku (Balakhani-Sabuntchi) passes through the whole 
 refining apparatus, becomes converted into illuminating and 
 lubricating oils and benzine and is transported to the most 
 distant points, without leaving the hands of the Company, and 
 that it runs in an incessant stream througli pipe lines, stills, 
 agitating, settling and clarifying cisterns, tank-steamers and 
 reservoirs, reaching the lamp of the consumer without liaving 
 been in a barrel longer than actually necessary to pass tln^ough 
 the hands of the retail dealer. 
 
 This sytem has at the present time become so much in 
 vogue in Russia that the transport in barrels, owing to legis- 
 lative measures and the railway tariffs, is only adopted 'for 
 lubricating oils and benzine, and the transport of illuminating 
 oils in barrels would now be counted as an anachronism. 
 
 Following the example set by the Nobel Brothers in Rus- 
 sia, this system has been adopted not only by Russian mineral 
 oil producers but also in the Western European States, par- 
 ticularly in Germany and Austro-Hungary, whither Russian 
 petroleum is conveyed in cistern cars and is there stored in 
 iron reservoirs of a construction similar to that generally 
 used in Russia and recognised as admirably suitable to the 
 purpose. Simultaneously, Russian petroleum is transported in 
 tank-steamers to Western European ports by way of the 
 Black Sea and the Baltic Sea. 
 
 With regard to the lubricating oil extracted at Baku from 
 Russian naphtha it may be stated that this product has also 
 in course of time earned a good reputation. Its consumption 
 increases daily seeing that its viscosity taken in connection 
 
18 
 
 with the absence of organic acids admits of its being used 
 for many purposes in preference to other lubricating oils. 
 
 In recognition of the superior quality of the products of 
 the Company and taking into consideration its beneficial acti- 
 vity in the matter of the naphtha industry, the Company has 
 been awarded: 
 
 1) At the „A11 Russian Exhibition of Industry & Arts", 
 held in 1882, the highest distinction possible for industrial 
 enterprises: i. e. the right of displaying the „ State Eagle'' 
 in the Trade mark of the Company. 
 
 2) The following awards were received abroad : 
 
 a) In 1884, at the „ International Health Exhibition" 
 in London — a gold medal ; 
 
 h) In 1885, at the „ International Exhibition in Ant- 
 werp" — honorary diploma and gold medal; 
 
 c) In 1889, at the „ International Exhibition in Paris" 
 — 2 large prizes (Grand Prix). 
 
 In conclusion we will permit ourselves to say a few words 
 respecting the manner in which Ludivig Nobel understood his 
 mission in tlie field of naphtha industry, and how he strived 
 to impart to his enterprise an ideal character. All the plans 
 for the new constructions of tank-steamers, cistern cars, the 
 erection of work shops at tlie stores, the building of docks 
 etc. were discussed and carried into effect under his direct 
 personal direction. His patience was never exhausted in ob- 
 taining even in administrative circles the recognition of the 
 practicability of the innovations introduced by him. This was 
 an extremely difficult task, seeing that all his projects, owing 
 to their radical character and entire novelty, encountered nu- 
 merous obstacles on the part of the administration; and it 
 was only owing to the iron will and steadfast persistency of 
 
19 
 
 Ludwig Nobel that all his projects attained their end i. e. 
 were realised and practically applied. 
 
 It is impossible to pass over in silence an admirable hu- 
 mane feature in the character of Ludwig Nobel. Although 
 fully appreciating the importance of capital in the matter of 
 progress he, at the same time, recognised that the proprietor 
 of an enterprize ought not alone to benefit by the profits 
 derived therefrom, and that a portion of the gains should be 
 distributed among his subordinates and fellow labourers, for 
 the simple reason that on their energy, care and conscien- 
 tiousness, depended the success of the whole enterprize. Having 
 succeeded in this manner in interesting his employes in the 
 proper and profitable conduct of the business established by 
 him, he strove to render their life, especially at Baku, as 
 favourable as possible. To this end a whole series of dwelling 
 houses were constructed for the employes; in a desert place 
 where formerly there was not to be seen a shady tree or 
 bush, a garden was laid out and other conveniences arranged 
 at a large outlay and much trouble so that the employes 
 and workmen might, in their hours of leisure, recreate them- 
 selves. At the chief centres of the Company's activity schools 
 & hospitals were opened for the use of the employed and 
 their families, stipends and savings banks were instituted with 
 a capital at present of several hundred thousand roubles. The 
 * individual about whom we are speaking was indeed a man of 
 large deeds in various respects. If, at the present time, a pood 
 of korosine in Baku costs only from 7 — 10 cop. a pood, if 
 the traditional Russian chip, the cause of many devastating 
 fires, has now been replaced in the villages by the kerosine 
 lamp, if the poor classes have now access to a cheap lighting 
 material and if, lastly, Russian petroleum has found a large 
 and ready market in Europe, all this is undoubtedly due to 
 the energy and enterprise of Ludwig Nobel. At the same 
 
20 
 
 time all that he did and created was attained without any 
 concessions, guarantees or monopolies, as it was not in the 
 man's nature to solicit from the Government any special pri- 
 vileges for his inventions and innovations. All his labour and 
 all his endeavours were always devoted to and had for their 
 aim the general welfare of the public. 
 
t/o/i'i/f^. 
 
JIht. fleTBpce»fb,Cn6. 
 
J'iHT HeTepceifb.CnS 
 
SHOWING THE PETROLEUM STATIONS AND PLANTS 
 
 belon^in^ to 
 
 BROTHERS PITRBLEUM 
 
 11 lUEo: 
 
 ElSS'l 
 
 1893. 
 
THE CENTRAL PETROLEUM STATION, DOiNlNO (OREL). 
 
A REGULATED NAPHTHA FOUNTAIN. 
 
11. H. 11. 11. THE EllPEKOIl AND THE ilPRESS OF EOSSIA VISITING THE NOBEL'S REFINER!, BAKOU. 
 
BOLK STEAilERS. 
 
THE PETROLEUM STORAGE STATION, BATOUi HARBOUR. 
 
DOCK AND TUG STEAllERS,ASTRAKeAN. 
 
LUBRICATING OIL PURIFIING PLANT, BAKOU. 
 
WOODEN BULK BARGES FOR TRANSPORTATION OF ilASOOT ON THE RIYER Ml 
 
VIEW OF THE PETROLEUl FIELD, UUmi 
 
CENTRAL PUMPING STATION, BALAKHANl 
 
LIGHTING OIL PURIFIING PLANT,eAI(OU. 
 
PETROLEUM STATIONJATOUII HARBOUR. 
 
LIGHTING OIL DISTILLEEI,BAK0[1. 
 
LUBRICATING OIL DISTILLERY, BAEOU. 
 
THE PETROLEUi STORAGE STATION, BATOUIl HARBOOR. 
 
THE SHORE OF THE RIM YOLGA NEAR ASTRAKHAN AND DIFFERENT BULK BARGES FOR TRANSPORTATION OF PETROLEUM PRODUCTS. 
 
VIEW OF THE PETROLEUi FIELD, BALAKHANI. 
 
NAPHTHA FOUNTAIN.