 In 1880, Dmitri Mendeleev proposed the construction of Baku–Batum pipeline to ensure the transportation of Baku oil to the world market.The idea got momentum in 1883, after opening the South Caucasus Railway.In 1884, the chief engineer Vladimir Shukhov of an engineering company Bari, Sytenko & Co. published a draft and estimate of the Baku–Batum oil pipeline.