In launching a series of publications dedicated to the history of the establishment of the State Concern "Turkmennebit["]( and the creation of the Turkmenbashi Oil Refinery Complex, we aim to provide a detailed account of various oil extraction methods, its applications in different industries, and the evolution of technologies that have led to modern achievements in oil refining.

Oil, known as "black gold," has played a key role in the development of human civilization for centuries. From ancient societies that used it for construction and embalming to modern technologies that power the world, oil has always been at the forefront. In this article, which opens a series of materials on oil extraction and refining, we will trace the journey of oil from its earliest mentions to its modern uses, with particular focus on its significance for Turkmenistan.

So, oil is a natural, oily, combustible liquid with a specific smell, primarily consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons and some other chemical compounds. It always contains a small amount of water and inorganic substances, among which the most undesirable are sulfur, halogens, and vanadium compounds. Oil is a fossil fuel (caustobiolith). Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, oil has remained one of the most important natural resources. According to the latest data, approximately 100 million barrels (15.9 billion liters) of oil are consumed worldwide daily.

The first mentions of oil use were recorded during excavations along the Indus Valley, home to a civilization in the 26th century BC. In the ruins of the ancient Indian city of Mohenjo-Daro, a large basin was discovered, built 5,000 years ago, with its floor and walls covered in asphalt (a product of oil oxidation).

In the 23rd century BC, oil and its derivatives were used as binding materials in construction, as evidenced by findings on the banks of the Euphrates. Biblical tales describe how King Nebuchadnezzar used oil to fuel a giant furnace in Babylon in the 6th century BC. Herodotus, describing events in Mesopotamia in the 5th century BC, mentions "notable wells" in the region of Cassia, on the estate of the Persian king Darius I, known as Arderica.

In Ancient Egypt, in the 4th century BC, oil was used for embalming the dead. By the 3rd century BC, in Ancient Greece, oil was used as an incendiary substance, as mentioned in the works of Plutarch and Dioscorides.

In the past, oil was primarily used for military purposes, and this continued until the late 17th century when firearms began to be used. However, the transition from oil to gunpowder was gradual, and for many centuries, oil was considered a more potent weapon. The use of oil in warfare is even mentioned in Homer's "Iliad." In 730 BC, Nubian warriors, led by King Piankhi, bombarded the Egyptian city of Memphis with "flaming arrows."

The ancient Greek scholar Hippocrates (5th–4th centuries BC), known as the father of medicine, described numerous medicinal recipes containing oil. Information about the healing properties of oil can be found in ancient medical books from Iran, the Arab world, and India.

There are numerous fragmented references from Arab-Persian, Greek, and Russian authors indicating that oil was extracted in the territory of modern-day Turkmenistan since ancient times. The presence of oil in the region of Western Turkmenistan was known not only to the inhabitants of the southeastern shores of the Caspian Sea but also to nearby regions. Historical data show that artisanal oil extraction in Cheleken began in 1743. That same year, Captain Woodruffe and one of the directors of the Anglo-Russian Trading Company, Jonas Hanway, visited Cheleken.

Turkmen historians refer to the book by Jonas Hanway, published in 1754, titled “Historical Outline of English Trade in the Caspian Sea.” This book describes the quantity of oil extracted in Cheleken, the methods used by Turkmen to extract it from shallow wells with simple devices, and the trade of Turkmen living on the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea with neighboring peoples. Hanway referred to Cheleken as "Naftoniy," due to the numerous sources of "nafta," or oil.

Records from Russian travelers who visited Cheleken in the 18th and 19th centuries contain information about Cheleken oil, the methods of its extraction, and its trade. According to engineer-majors Ladyzhensky and Tokmachev, who visited Cheleken in 1764, there were about twenty oil wells producing approximately 4,000 poods of oil annually (1 pood = 16.3 kg). In 1781, an expedition led by Count Voinovich arrived in Cheleken. Naturalist Karl Gablitz, who participated in this expedition, noted in his scientific report published in 1809 that Turkmen had lived in Cheleken since ancient times, continuing their ancestral practices of livestock breeding and oil extraction from wells.

In 1819, Captain N.N. Muravyov, a notable Russian traveler researching Western Turkmenistan, visited Cheleken. He traveled from Shagadama to the Khivan Kingdom and recorded that Turkmen had extracted about 60,000 poods of oil in Cheleken in 1812. By 1826, according to testimony from Professor Eichwald of Kazan University, oil production in Cheleken had increased to 80,000 poods. According to G.S. Karelin, the leader of the Russian expedition, Cheleken produced up to 135,000 poods of oil in 1835. Four years later, approximately 136,000 poods were extracted annually from 3,400 wells.

Lieutenant Mikhail Felkner, a mining engineer commissioned to inspect the eastern coast of the Caspian Sea, provided more detailed information about oil extraction in Cheleken. He reported that the oil wells in Cheleken were no more than eight arshins deep (1 arshin = 0.71 m). The depths of some wells averaged 12-15 sazhen (1 sazhen = 2.13 m), while others reached 35 sazhen, and the shallowest wells were only 1.5 sazhen deep. The amount of oil extracted varied: some wells produced around 20 poods of oil per day, while others yielded just one pood per month or less.

The history of oil is filled with fascinating facts and events that continue to influence our lives and economies. However, this is just the beginning of our journey. In the upcoming sections, we will continue our historical exploration, delve into modern oil extraction methods, examine its impact on the environment, and discuss the prospects for the oil industry in Turkmenistan and worldwide in the era of digitalization and green transition. Stay with ORIENT to learn more about the future of “black gold.”

Prepared with the support of the State Concern “Turkmennebit” and the Turkmenbashi Complex of Oil Refineries.

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