Branobel

File:Branobel.jpg

The symbol of Branobel displaying the Fire Temple in Baku

The Petroleum Production Company Nobel Brothers, Limited,or Branobel (short for cable communications meaning Nobel Brothers in Russian), was an oil company set up by Ludvig Nobel and Baron Peter von Bilderling, in Baku, Azerbaijan. Firstly established by Robert Nobel (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.

History

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% 3,3% Alfred and 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 April 10, 1902, the company signed a contract for the purchase of oil fields in Romany, which were owned by the oil producer Isabey Hajinsky. On October 17, 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.

Challenges

In 1912, was founded, in London, the Russian General Oil Corporation, which was established as an English holding company and gathered some of the most important Russian and foreign banks, united 20 companies. These included A.I. Mantashev & Co., G.M. Lianosov & Sons, Moscow-Caucasus Trade Company, Caspian Partnership, Russian Petroleum Society, Absheron Petroleum Society and others. By 1914, the fixed capital in oil was more than 120 million rubles and the Russian General Oil Corporation, buying a considerable amount of shares in the Berlin Exchange, attempted to take control over Branobel. The move was a failure and by 1916 Emanuel Nobel had bought not only a considerable share in the Russian general Oil Corporation, but also established control over other oil businesses in the region, such as Volga-Baku Company, A.I. Mantashev & Co., the Anglo-Russian Maximov Oil Company in London and G.M. Lianosov and Sons, of which he personally owned a third of the shares.

About 12% of the money left to establish the Nobel Prizes by Alfred Nobel came from his shares in the company; he was its largest individual investor.

The Russian Revolution and Branobel

On April 28, 1920, the Bolsheviks seized power in Baku and Branobel's oil business in Azerbaijan was nationalized. In May 1920, the Nobel family sold almost half of 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 Gustav 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.

References

• Tolf, Robert, The Russian Rockefellers (Stanford, 1976)
• Yergin, Daniel (2003): The Prize: the Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power, Free Press, p. 58. ISBN 0-671-79932-0
• Åsbrink, Brita (2001): Ludvig Nobel: "Petroleum har en lysande framtid!" Wahlström & Widstrand, p. 19. ISBN 978-91-46-18181-1

External links

• Azerbaijan's Oil History
• First pipelines Branobel company,
• [1]
• The Tsaritsyn Heritage of the Nobel Brothers ar:برانوبل