Farman Gurban oglu Salmanov was born on July 28, 1928 in the village of Morul in the Shamkhor (now Shamkir) region of the Republic of Azerbaijan. After graduating from high school, he entered the Azerbaijan Industrial Institute at the geological exploration faculty. In 1954, he graduated from this institute with higher education.

After graduating from the institute, F. Salmanov was sent to Baku, but he decided to write a letter to the Minister of Oil Industry N.K. Baibakov with a request to send him to work in Siberia. They responded positively to this letter and the young oil worker’s dream came true.  In 1955-1957, he worked as the head of the Plotnikovskaya oil exploration expedition in the Kemerovo region and was the chief geologist of the Gryazny oil exploration expedition.

Subsequently, Salmanov considered the search for oil in Kuzbass futile and took an extremely risky step. In August 1957, he and his brigade went to Surgut without permission from management to conduct reconnaissance work. This reckless step of his caused concern among the management. They wanted to fire him and initiate a criminal case against him. Having learned about this, his employees decided to go on strike if Farman Salmanov was arrested. Fearing that the team’s move would damage the international image of the USSR, the leadership issued a backdated order to appoint Farman Salmanov as a head of intelligence work in Surgut. Thanks to this, Salmanov had a favorable opportunity to realize his oil dream. Fortunately, on March 21, 1961, the first exploration well hit the fountain - the Megion field, which had been drilling for several months in the area of the village of Megion. Then Salmanov wrote the following letter to his opponents: “Dear comrades, in Megion oil is gushing from a depth of 2180 meters. Is it clear now?"

Farman Salmanov’s opponents in the USSR Ministry of Geology responded to his success by saying that this was an anomaly of nature, that the well would dry up in two weeks, and that there could not be a lot of oil in Western Siberia. After this, when the second well was drilled in the Ust-Balyk region, F. Salmanov sent a radiogram to the management: “The well reveals a properly working fountain in accordance with all the rules.” Also, he sent a telegram to N. S. Khrushchev with the following content: “I found oil. That's all! Salmanov."

Further discoveries continued one after another: Mamontov, Megion, Pravdin and other huge oil fields. In the period from 1962 to 1964, Salmanov was the chief geologist of the Ust-Balyk oil and gas exploration expedition, and since 1964, the head of the Pravdinsk NRE.

In total, F. Salmanov discovered and participated in the discovery of more than 130 oil and gas fields in the north of Tyumen. Among them were the unique, well-known and large fields mentioned above, as well as Surgutskoye, Fedorovskoye, Urengoyskoye, Yamburgskoye and many others, which are a reliable base for the oil and gas complex. F. Salmanov worked in Western Siberia for more than 30 years.

For important achievements in the implementation of the seven-year plan for the development of geological exploration, exploration and discovery of mineral deposits, F. Salmanov was awarded the “Order of Lenin” and the “Hammer and Sickle” gold medal. By the decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on July 4, 1966, he was awarded the title of “Hero of Socialist Labour”.

In 1970, F. Salmanov was appointed chief geologist for oil and gas, deputy head of the Tyumen Production and Geological Department, and in 1978 he was appointed head of “Glavtumengeologiya”.

F. Salmanov moved to Moscow in 1987. In 1987-1991 he was First Deputy Minister of Geology of the USSR. Since 1992 - President of CJSC “Rospan International”, since 2002 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of LLC NGK “Itera”, Chairman of the Board of Directors of LLC “Yugneftegaz”. The creation of the “Tyumen” football club is also associated with the name of Salmanov.

Thanks to his knowledge and intuition, F. Salmanov still saw the prospect of Western Siberia. Under his leadership, gas, condensate and oil-bearing formations in the Novo-Urengoy and East Urengoy fields were studied for the first time and exploration was carried out at “Rospan International” LLC. At LLC NGK “Itera”, Salmanov was engaged in the search and exploration of oil and gas in the Republic of Kalmykia.

F. Salmanov - Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences (1972), Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1991), editor-in-chief of the scientific and technical journal "Geology of Oil and Gas". He is the author of the fundamental scientific works devoted to the problems of the formation and placement of large oil and gas fields. More than 160 of his articles and 10 monographs have been published.

F. Salmanov is a holder of the Order of Lenin (1966), the Red Banner of Labor (1971, 1976), the October Revolution (1983), also the Order of Glory (Shohrat Order, in Azerbaijani- Şöhrət ordeni, July 26, 2001), which he received for the great services in the development of economic and scientific relations between Azerbaijan and Russia. He was awarded several medals, including the medal “For the development of subsoil resources and the development of the oil and gas complex of Western Siberia.” Awarded the diploma “Discoverer of Deposits” (1970 - Ust-Balyk, 1986 - Fedorov). Laureate of the Lenin Prize (1970), laureate of the I.M. Gubkina. He was awarded the honorary titles “Honored Geologist of the Russian Federation” (July 14, 1988), “Honored Worker of the Gas Industry of the USSR”, “Honored Oil Worker of the USSR”, “Discoverer of the Field”, and was an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

F. Salmanov is the first honorary citizen of Surgut (June 28, 1968), honorary citizen of the Khanty-Mansiysk and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the city of Megion (July 17, 1985), the state of Texas (USA) and the city of Jinzhou (PRC). 
Farman Gurban oglu Salmanov died on March 31, 2007. According to his will, Farman Salmanov was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery in Moscow, next to his son’s grave.

Monuments and busts in memory of F. Salmanov were erected in Moscow, Baku, Surgut, Salekhard, Khanty-Mansiysk. In Surgut, a gymnasium and a street are named after him. An oil and gas condensate field, a pipeline and an airplane are named after him. In 2008, a youth scientific and practical conference held by the Siberian Scientific and Analytical Center group of companies in the city of Tyumen was called “Salmanov Readings”. The name of F. Salmanov was assigned to the Tu-154M aircraft of the UTair airline, then to the Boeing 737-800 aircraft of the same company. The name of F. Salmanov was also assigned to the Airbus A321neo aircraft of Aeroflot airlines. A passenger ship, built at the Samussky shipbuilding and ship repair plant (Tomsk region), by order of the Yamal administration, bears the name of Salmanov. On August 29, 2013, a memorial plaque dedicated to F. G.  Salmanov was unveiled in Tyumen. The author of the memorial plaque, made of tinted bronze, is a member of the Union of Artists of Russia Zaur Rzayev.

The feature film “Risk Strategy” (1978) was shot about the life and personality of F. Salmanov. Other documentaries and feature films have also been made about him, including “In Siberia.”

In May 2019, the Russian airport in the city of Surgut was named after the outstanding Azerbaijani geologist Farman Salmanov.

Recommended literature:

1. Nərimanov, Akif Əli oğlu. Prometeydən bu günə qədər: Azərbaycanda neft geologiyasının yaranması və inkişafı tarixi / A. Ə. Nərimanov, R. Q. Abdullayev; baş məsl. X. B. Yusifzadə ; Azərbaycan Neftçi Geoloqlar Cəmiyyəti. - Bakı: AZSEA nəşriyyatı, 2014. - 388 s.
2. Azərbaycanın geoloq və geofizik alimləri=Azerbaijan geologists and geophysics=Ученые геологи и геофизики Азербайджана / tərt. ed. S.B.Axundova; red. A.C.İsmayılzadə, Ş.A.Balakişibəyli, Ə.Ə.Feyzullayev; ön söz. A.Əlizadə; AMEA, Geologiya İn-tu.- Bakı: Nafta-Press, 2004.- 358 s.
3. Салманов Ф.К. Сибирь - судьба моя: Рассказ одного из первооткрывателей тюмен. нефти / Ф.К. Салманов ; Литобработка Ю. Пахотина. - Москва : Молодая гвардия, 1988. - 318 с.
4. Фарман Салманов: иллюстрированная книга /автор-сост., ред. А. Лобов ; текст А. Тавобов, А. Лобов. - Москва: Земля и человек XXI век, 2009. - 237 с.
5. Фарман Салманов - Путь к достижению цели /З. Салахова; Музей миниатюрной книги. - Баку: б. и., 2019. - 258 с.