Some of the world’s first ever commercial oil wells were operational near Baku in 19th century Imperial Russia in today’s Azerbaijan. The oil abundance produced some of the wealth that Alfred Nobel later put towards the creation of the famous Nobel Prizes for the sciences. Also, the enigmatic Calouste “Mr. Five Percent” Gulbenkian began his career in Baku.
After more than 150 years of extensive oil production activities, the new-found country’s energy-wealth hasn’t been depleted yet. Shortly after the Cold War the independent Republic of Azerbaijan struck a deal with western super-majors for what was dubbed “the deal of the century”. The country’s existing oil fields and future discoveries were supposed to lessen Europe’s dependence on Russian energy. Although Azerbaijan has failed to meet these expectations, the nation of 9 million souls has earned a tremendous amount of money over the past decades. The effectiveness of the positive cashflow, however, on health care, education and income per capita is questionable as the level of development is fairly similar to its neighbors who lack major energy deposits.
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WNU Editor: All good things come to an end. In the case of Azerbaijan, it will probably happen sooner rather than later.
1 comment:
Did they aquander their caviar wealth too...
Probably.
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