Bnito

Bnito

Company type	Private
Industry	Oil industry
Founded	1883
Founder	Alphonse Rothschild
Defunct	1911
Fate	Acquired by Royal Dutch Shell in 1912
Products	Crude oil
Owner	Rothschild banking family of France

Bnito—an abbreviation derived from the Russian "Batumskoye Neftepromyshlennoye i Torgovoye Obschestvo" (Батумское нефтепромышленное и торговое общество)—also known as the Caspian and Black Sea Oil Company, was established in 1883 by Alphonse Rothschild of the Rothschild banking family of France.

Context

In the early 1880s, annual crude oil production in Russia reached approximately 10.8 million barrels, representing about one-third of the volume produced in the United States. At that time, the Swedish Nobel Family, under the leadership of Robert Nobel and Ludvig Nobel, controlled much of the market by focusing on oil transportation from Baku towards the Baltic Sea.

To counteract the Nobels’ influence, Russian entrepreneurs Palashnikov and Bunge approached the French Rothschilds for investment to construct a railway linking Baku, Azerbaijan, with Batumi on the Black Sea. Mayer (Alphonse) de Rothschild took charge of this initiative, securing mortgages on Russian oil assets and arranging advantageous crude oil export contracts for Western Europe. Acknowledging the competitive edge of Russian oil against American imports, the Rothschilds acquired Bnito and rebranded it as Société Commerciale et Industrielle de Naphte Caspienne et de la mer Noire (The Caspian and Black Sea Oil Company). Together with Deutsche Bank, they expanded their influence in the Russian oil sector through strategic acquisitions. The company pioneered the use of tankers for oil transportation, moving away from traditional barrels or iron containers.

By the dawn of the 20th century, this company had emerged as a significant rival to Standard Oil in global markets.

In 1912, Royal Dutch Shell purchased the Caspian and Black Sea Oil Company, with the Rothschilds obtaining shareholder positions within the newly formed corporation.