The greatest currently anticipated source of petroleum is said to be in the Caspian Sea off Baku, but the Caucasus region has been exploited for oil for centuries, as have other smaller, but key fields in Roumania. Now that so many former Soviet satellite states, Azerbaijan and Roumania included, are independent territories, there is global involvement and interest in their development. Through these documents the history of the industry and business itself is depicted, but the involvement of European and overseas companies and governments in this field will serve also as a lens through which to focus on political relations with Russia, her successor state the USSR, and annexed territories.
