Post and Past the Oil in Azerbaijan

As the UN climate conference takes place in Baku, Azerbaijan traces the history of the hydrocarbon industry through the lens of postage stamps

- Sona Maniar

AFTER last year’s Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-28) event in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), this year’s COP-29 is being hosted by another petrostate, Azerbaijan, in its capital Baku. Azerbaijan is one of the oldest oil-producing countries in the world, with its oil and gas production accounting for nearly 47.8 per cent of its GDP and over 92.5 per cent of its export revenue in 2022. Postage stamps and sheets issued this year by the country provide a fascinating look at the evolution of the oil and gas industry in the country and its transition towards green energy.

One sheet, published in September this year as part of a series, reads “History of the Oil Industry” and it bears three stamps. These stamps mark key milestones in the development of the oil industry as indicated by their captions that translate into: “The first industrially drilled oil well in the world, 1846”, “The world’s first oil tanker ‘Zoroaster’, 1877” and “World record for oil production, 1901”. Historically, oil seepage had been observed on the Absheron Peninsula for many centuries, and the Fire Temple of Baku was known for the eternal flames that were fed by fossil fuels oozing through the underlying ground. The Nobel brothers entered the oil business in Baku in the late 19th century, and it was Ludvig Nobel who commissioned the world’s first bulk oil tanker ‘Zoroaster’. In the process, Ludvig earned himself the title of the ‘Oil King of Baku’.