Hazar (until 1999 known as Çeleken, also written Cheleken; russian: Челекен;
Persian: Chaharken ) is a seaport town located on the
Cheleken Peninsula
The Cheleken Peninsula (russian: Челекен полуостров) is a peninsula located in western Turkmenistan, in the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea.
The city of Hazar, former Cheleken, is located in the peninsula, which belongs admini ...
of the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central A ...
. It is directly subordinate to the city of
Balkanabat
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in
Balkan Province
Balkan Region ( tk, Balkan welaýaty, Балкан велаяты) is the westernmost of the five regions of Turkmenistan. Clockwise from north it borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (north); two provinces of Turkmenistan (east), Iran (south), ...
of western
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...
. In November 2022, it was downgraded from city-with-district-status to a town.
Etymology
Hazar (also Khazar, a backformation of rus, Хазар) was the name of a Turkic people, the
Khazars
The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
(''viz.''), who lived on the shores of the Caspian Sea and lent their tribal name to the body of water in several Turkic languages, including
Turkmen. The current name of the city thus comes from the Turkmen name of the Caspian Sea. The former name, Çeleken (Cheleken), is the name of the former island, now peninsula, on which the city is located. The word comes from Persian ''chahar kan'' چهارکن, meaning "four wells" or "four riches", referring to the wealth of petroleum found on the peninsula.
Economy
Petroleum
This city and area are rich in
petroleum oil
Mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of higher alkanes from a mineral source, particularly a distillate of petroleum, as distinct from usually edible vegetable oils.
The name 'mineral oil' by itself is imprecise, ...
reserves. As far back as 1st century, the Greek philosopher
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...
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 36
Ogurdjali families resided on the island. They had 26 large boats and some
oil well
An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas ma ...
s.
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.
Dragon Oil
Dragon Oil plc is an independent international oil and gas exploration, development and production business. It is based and registered in Dubai and its operations are primarily located in Turkmenistan. The company was listed on the Irish Stock Ex ...
, a petroleum extraction firm owned by
Emirates National Oil Company
ENOC (the Emirates National Oil Company) is a global diversified state owned energy group and operates in oil, gas and coal industry.
History
Established in 1993, ENOC is a wholly owned company of the Government of Dubai, through the Investment ...
, is the major employer in Hazar and operates the oil loading terminal there.
Iodine
Following planned renovations and upgrades, the Hazar iodine plant will have a design capacity of 300 tonnes of iodine, plus 4500 tonnes of
bromine
Bromine is a chemical element with the symbol Br and atomic number 35. It is the third-lightest element in group 17 of the periodic table ( halogens) and is a volatile red-brown liquid at room temperature that evaporates readily to form a simi ...
per year.
References
Hazar İnfo
External links
Picture of Hazar / Chelekenon Panoramio
Populated coastal places in Turkmenistan
Populated places in Balkan Region
Populated places established in 1956
Cities and towns built in the Soviet Union
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