Changes

==Commercial Success==

==Commercial Success==

The market for Nobel's products grew rapidly and Alfred proved to be a skilful businessman as well as a scientist. By 1865 his factory in Germany was exporting nitroglycerine explosives throughout the world. Eventually he built 90 laboratories and factories in 20 different countries.  While basing himself in Paris, France he continued to travel widely and was described by [[Victor Hugo]] as "Europe's richest vagabond".  No content with developing explosives, Nobel registered 355 patents including materials such as synthetic rubber, leather and silk.

The market for Nobel's products grew rapidly and Alfred proved to be a skilful businessman as well as a scientist. By 1865 his factory in Germany was exporting nitroglycerine explosives throughout the world. Eventually he built 90 laboratories and factories in 20 different countries.  While basing himself in Paris, France he continued to travel widely and was described by [[Victor Hugo]] as "Europe's richest vagabond".  Not content with developing explosives, Nobel registered 355 patents including materials such as synthetic rubber, leather and silk.

Baku in Azerbaijan had long been famous for its oil seeps and in 1872, the Tsarist regime in Russia started to auction off sections of the oilfield.  With his two older brothers, Robert and Ludvig, Alfred began the process to turn Baku into one the first large-scale commercial oil-fields in Europe. After visiting Baku in search of walnut wood to make rifle stocks for the family's armaments factory in St. Petersburg, Alfred ended up buying tracts of oil-bearing land. Bringing in six Pennsylvanian drillers, Nobel transformed Russian oil-field technology.  However, the remoteness of Baku meant that transporting wooden barrels full of crude oil to the western markets was a difficult task.  But by 1880 Nobel had constructed the first oil pipeline in Europe to deliver the oil to Baku and with the profits from their enterprise they not only launched the world's first oil tanker, the ''Zoroaster'', but also built the first continuous-process refinery as well as a railway to transport the crude to St. Petersburg.  At one time a single well form the ''Apspheron'' oil-field could produced 4.5 million litres, far surpassing any well in the United States.  It was only the quantity of oil from Baku that prevented [[John D. Rockefeller]]'s Standard Oil from establishing the same monopoly position in Europe that it had in the United States.

Baku in Azerbaijan had long been famous for its oil seeps and in 1872, the Tsarist regime in Russia started to auction off sections of the oilfield.  With his two older brothers, Robert and Ludvig, Alfred began the process to turn Baku into one the first large-scale commercial oil-fields in Europe. After visiting Baku in search of walnut wood to make rifle stocks for the family's armaments factory in St. Petersburg, Alfred ended up buying tracts of oil-bearing land. Bringing in six Pennsylvanian drillers, Nobel transformed Russian oil-field technology.  However, the remoteness of Baku meant that transporting wooden barrels full of crude oil to the western markets was a difficult task.  But by 1880 Nobel had constructed the first oil pipeline in Europe to deliver the oil to Baku and with the profits from their enterprise they not only launched the world's first oil tanker, the ''Zoroaster'', but also built the first continuous-process refinery as well as a railway to transport the crude to St. Petersburg.  At one time a single well form the ''Apspheron'' oil-field could produced 4.5 million litres, far surpassing any well in the United States.  It was only the quantity of oil from Baku that prevented [[John D. Rockefeller]]'s Standard Oil from establishing the same monopoly position in Europe that it had in the United States.