Published March 2026, Pg. 76-80

Section: From the history of oil industry development

UOT: 665.58 (09)

DOI: 10.37474/0365-8554/2026-03-76-80

Two superpowers in the history of global oil (on the 180th anniversary of the drilling first oil well in the world; 1846–2026)

Mir-Yusif Mir-Babayev Dr. in Ch. Sc. - Azerbaijan Technical University

This article presents two major oil powers at the beginning of the 19th century: the United States and the Russian Empire. It presents a chronology of the development of the oil industry (comparing key facts) in these countries and the main events that took place during the drilling of the world’s first wells (in Azerbaijan at Bibiheybat and in the United States in Pennsylvania). Azerbaijan lagged behind the United States in the 1860s, but by the 1890s it had caught up and developed leadership of its own. It should be emphasized that in 1899–1901, in terms of absolute quantity of oil produced, the Russian (Azerbaijani) oil industry occupied first place in the world, producing 11.5 million tons per year, while the American one – only 9.1 million tons.

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