Oil Studies in Van and Sinop from Ottoman Empire to Republic (1876-1950)

Oil fields in Anatolia were begun to be located with the understanding of the importance of oil in the Ottoman Empire, especially during the reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II. Formerly, many attempts were conducted to operate the oil in the fields such as Van (Bargiri) and Sinop (Boyabat) both in the Ottoman Empire and in the Republican Period. The government prepared the concession agreement for the evaluation of the oil fields in these two regions and presented the agreements to both foreign and national entrepreneurs in order to find and operate the oil. This situation was in favour of Turkish entrepreneurs in the Republican Period with the help of lessons taken from the economic difficulties in the Ottoman Empire and the advent of technology. However, this study showed that there was not much economic output from the oil lands in Van and Sinop. In addition, the provisions of the contracts were not fulfilled properly and the planned oil was not drilled at that time. This study entitled “Oil Practices in Van and Sinop from Ottoman Empire to Turkish Republic (1876-1950)”, aimed to show the existence of oil in the regions with the examination of the concession processes taking place on the regions, archival documents and copyright works. The attempts of the Russians on the oil fields of Van and Sinop were also explained in the study. Then, the adventure of oil in these regions from Ottoman Empire to Turkish Republic was dealt with in detail in the light of the information.