| Hazar | |
|---|---|
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Hazar
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Turkmenistan |
| Province | Balkan Province |
| Population (1989 census)[1] | |
| • Total | 13,865 |
Hazar is a city in Turkmenistan on the Caspian Sea, part of the Balkan Province, formerly Çeleken, also written Cheleken.
This city and area is within a rich petroleum oil reserves. As far back as 1st century, the Greek philosopher Strabo said, "They say, diggers opened oily springs near the Okh River. Indeed, if a country has alkaline, asphalt, sticky, sulfurous waters, it is most likely to have oily springs. Only, their scarceness makes this fact miraculous". In 1743, a Captain Woodruff of a British merchant company remarked that there were 36 Ogurdjali families resided on the island. They had 26 large boats and some oil wells.
Prior to 1917, the Moscow Society, Cheleken-Dagestan Society, Kuzmin and Co, Bostondjoglo, South Caucasian Mining Society, and Second Moscow Group were among established Russian oil companies. By 1925, after the establishment of Soviet Turkmenistan, wells had been nationalized and oil production decreased. By the late 1950s, oil production index went up again.[2]