Branobel

Petroleum Production Company Nobel Brothers, Limited (Branobel)
Company type	Joint-stock company
Industry	Oil and gas
Founded	1876
Founder	Robert Nobel, Ludvig Nobel, Baron Peter von Bilderling
Defunct	1959
Headquarters	St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Area served	Baku, Azerbaijan; Cheleken, Turkmenistan
Key people	Ludvig Nobel, Emanuel Nobel, Nils Nobel-Oleinikoff (final president)
Products	Oil production
Number of employees	12,000 (circa 1901)

The Petroleum Production Company Nobel Brothers, Limited, commonly known as Branobel (derived from братьев Нобель, meaning "Nobel Brothers" in Russian), was an oil enterprise established by Ludvig Nobel alongside Baron Peter von Bilderling. Its operations were primarily centered in Baku, Azerbaijan, with additional activities in Cheleken, Turkmenistan. Initially founded in 1876 by Robert Nobel—who invested 25,000 rubles—and joined by barons Peter von Bilderling (300,000 rubles) and Standertskjöld (150,000 rubles) as a distillery, the company evolved into one of the foremost oil producers worldwide by the late 1800s.

History

Originating as a distillery launched by Robert and Ludvig Nobel in Baku during 1876, the Nobel Brothers Petroleum Company transformed into a joint-stock corporation with its headquarters relocated to St. Petersburg by 1879. The initial capital of three million rubles was apportioned as follows: Ludwig Nobel held 53.7%, Baron Peter von Bilderling owned 31.0%, I.J. Zabelskiv possessed 4.7%, Alfred Nobel controlled 3.8%, Robert Nobel had 3.3%, and Baron Alexandre von Bilderling maintained 1.7%. Branobel was a pioneer in implementing pipeline transport near Baku between 1878 and 1880 under the guidance of Vladimir Shukhov. On 10 April 1902, the company expanded its holdings by acquiring oil fields in Romany from Isabey Hajinsky, followed by another purchase on 17 October 1905 of fields owned by A. Adamov after receiving approval from the Committee of Ministers. By the period spanning 1914 to 1917, Branobel's fixed capital had escalated to 30 million rubles. In 1916, it stood as Russia’s leading oil producer, extracting approximately 76 million poods of oil.

From 1877 through 1901, Branobel drilled upwards of 500 wells, yielding around 150 million barrels of oil, and employed nearly 12,000 laborers.

Challenges

The Russian General Oil Corporation was formed in London in 1912 as a British holding entity that consolidated about twenty prominent Russian and international banks and companies, such as:

A.I. Mantashev & Co.
G.M. Lianozov Sons
Moscow-Caucasus Trade Company
Caspian Partnership
Russian Petroleum Society
Absheron Petroleum Society

By 1914, investments in oil fixed capital had surpassed 120 million rubles. Attempts by the Russian General Oil Corporation to acquire control over Branobel through share acquisitions on the Berlin Exchange were unsuccessful. By 1916, however, Emanuel Nobel had secured substantial holdings within the Russian General Oil Corporation and managed other regional petroleum enterprises including Volga-Baku Company, A.I. Mantashev & Co., the Anglo-Russian Maximov Oil Company based in London, and personally owned one-third of G.M. Lianozov Sons.

Notably, about twelve percent of the funds that Alfred Nobel designated for founding the Nobel Prizes originated from his investments in Branobel; he remained its largest private shareholder.

Russian Revolution and Branobel

Following the Red Army invasion of Azerbaijan, on 28 April 1920 the Bolsheviks took control of Baku, resulting in the nationalization of Branobel’s oil properties within Azerbaijan. In May of that year, the Nobel family divested nearly half their Branobel shares to Standard Oil of New Jersey. Given the uncertain future of the Bolshevik government at that time, negotiations led by Gustaf Nobel and Walter C. Teagle represented a shrewd and lucrative decision for the family.

Branobel officially ceased operations in 1959; its final President was Nils Nobel-Oleinikoff, a grandson of Ludvig Nobel.

Photogallery

Further images can be found at Tekniska museet located in Stockholm, Sweden.

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.
Åsbrink, Brita (2001): Ludvig Nobel: "Petroleum har en lysande framtid!" Wahlström & Widstrand, p. 19.
Mir-Babayev M.F. The role of Azerbaijan in the World's oil industry – "Oil-Industry History" (USA), 2011, v. 12, no. 1, p. 109-123.
Mir-Babayev M.F. and Atabeyli B. The unknown Nobel Prize in Baku – "Oil-Industry History" (USA), 2013, v. 14, no. 1, p. 117-124.

External links