Earthquake hits Turkey

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armenia, azerbaijan, earthquake, Georgia, seismology, turkey, Van

On the 23rd of October, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake hits near Van in southeastern Turkey. Some buildings have collapsed and killed more than 400 people and trapped an unknown number under rubble.

By Elvira Abdullayeva and Rena Allahverdiyeva

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Oil’s Boom In The Land Of Fire

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azerbaijan, budget, contract, gas, ITGI, land of fire, NABUCCO, oil, pipeline, TPA

Azerbaijan means “Land of Fire” in persian. The explosion of oil’s exploitation since the 19^th century is largely contributing to the current economical boom of the country.

By Rena Allahverdiyeva & Elvira Abdullayeva

The turning point on oil production appears in the middle of the 19th century. For the first time in the post-industrial revolution world, oil wells were drilled in the district of Bibiheybat, then in Balakhani. In 1901, Azerbaijan took the first place in the world by producing 11.5 millions tons of oil per year; – 9,5 millions tons in the USA-. This beginning of modern exploitation of the oil fields led to a period of unprecedented prosperity and growth in the years before World War I.

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Such high production of oil ensured the victory of the Soviet Union in Second World War.  The regular discovery of new offshore oil fields, in the fifties and then in the 70-80’s, led the Republic of Azerbaijan and Caspian Sea in becoming the leader of world oil’s producers.