IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0074 CLC/B/009
Held at: London Metropolitan Archives
Title: ANGLO-MAIKOP GROUP
Date(s): 1910-1949
Level of description: Collection
Extent: 69 production units.
Name of creator(s): Anglo-Maikop Group | oil mining company
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
Exploitation of the Maikop oilfield in the Kuban province of southern Russia began in the late 1870s. In 1909 the Anglo-Maikop Corporation was incorporated (with a registered office in London) to give financial assistance to a number of subsidiary companies working the various plots over which it had control. Subsidiary companies established in 1910 included Maikop Midland Oilfields Limited, Maikop Valley Oil Company Limited, Maikop Pipeline and Transport Company Limited, Maikop Refineries Limited, and Black Sea Oilfields Limited. In 1911 Levanovskoe Petroleum Company Limited and Kuban Black Sea Oilfields Limited were established, and Anglo-Maikop Corporation was reincorporated as a limited company.
In 1912 Maikop Combine Limited was formed as an amalgamation of Maikop and General Petroleum Trust Limited, Maikop Areas Limited, Maikop Apsheron Oil Company Limited, and Maikop Hadijensky Syndicate Limited. In 1913 Kuban Refining Company Limited was formed and in 1915 Black Sea Amalgamated Oilfields Limited was formed as an amalgamation of Black Sea Oilfields Limited, Maikop Victory Oil Company Limited and Maikop New Producers Limited.
All of the Anglo-Maikop companies were controlled financially by George Tweedy who was also the first general managing director. In 1913 an interest was acquired in Anglo-Roumanian Petroleum Company Limited (see Ms 24116), which was exploiting the district of Prahova, in Roumania. During the First World War the operations of some of the Anglo-Maikop companies were seriously affected by a scarcity of labour, and work had to be suspended in some areas until after the war.
In 1915 Russo-English Maikop Petroleum and Trading Company was formed in Russia, so that all the group's Russian properties could be transferred to a Russian registered company. However, this was of little benefit towards the long-term prospects of the group as, in January 1918, the Russian oil industry was nationalised by the new Soviet government without any compensation to former owners, whether nationals or foreigners.
Attempts in the 1920s to persuade the Soviet government to permit Anglo-Maikop to restart work on its properties in the Caucasus were largely unsuccessful, and a claim was made to the British government for compensation. Most operations appear to have ceased at this period, and the group was eventually dissolved in 1949. The group had London offices successively at 20 Bishopsgate, 7 Angel Court, 20 Copthall Avenue and 61 Moorgate.
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Papers of the Anglo-Maikop Group, oil mining company, and subsidiaries as follows:
Anglo-Maikop Corporation Ltd. (Mss 24054-62);
Kuban Black Sea Oilfields Ltd. (Mss 24063-8);
Kuban Refining Co. Ltd. (Mss 24069-74);
Black Sea Amalgamated Oilfields Ltd. (Mss 24075-7);
Levanovskoe Petroleum Co.Ltd. (Mss 24078-83);
Maikop Combine Ltd. (Mss 24084-90);
Maikop Midland Oilfields Ltd. (Mss 24091-6);
Maikop Pipeline and Transport Co. Ltd. (Mss 24097-103);
Maikop Refineries Ltd. (Mss 24104-9);
Maikop Valley Oil Co. Ltd. (Mss 24110-15).
The records include memoranda and articles of association; minutes; financial records and accounts; agreements; and reports.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English
System of arrangement:
Records divided into two sub-fonds; CLC/B/009-1: Anglo-Maikop Group and CLC/B/009-2: Anglo-Roumanian Petroleum Company Limited.
Conditions governing access:
Access by appointment only. Please contact staff.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Copyright to this collection rests with the depositor.
Finding aids:
Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
The surviving records were presented to Guildhall Library in 1989, having remained until then in the possession of the family and descendants of George Tweedy. The Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section merged with the London Metropolitan Archives in 2009.
ALLIED MATERIALS
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Date(s) of descriptions: November 2010 to January 2011.