Emba River

Oil basin

The oil basin of the Emba lies between the Mugodzhar Hills in the east and the Volga in the west. This area was known since olden days as Maily Kiyan, which means the land blessed with miracle oil. The British merchant Gok mentioned in the mid-17th century that during his travels he came to a spring near the Emba River that spouted oil instead of water. Between 1919 and 1921 the Bolsheviks tried to build the Algemba railway and pipeline from Alexandrov Gay, so as to provide a means of conveying the oil from the recently captured oil field to the centre of Russia. However, due to logistical problems, the project failed with substantial loss of life.