[4][5] For the proposed oil production in the Caucasus region, the subsidiary Ost Öl GmbH (Ostöl) was founded in August 1941.
The company purchased rigs, vehicles and other production equipment; however, except in Maikop, the oil fields in the Caucasus were never captured by the German Army.
Actual oil production in Maikop was minimal, amounting to around 1,000 tons from November 1942 to January 1943, which was used locally for transport purposes.
About 200 oil shale specialists employed by Baltische Öl were evacuated to Schömberg, Germany to work the Operation Desert (Unternehmen Wüste).
Other shareholders were energy companies Deutsche Erdöl, Gewerkschaft Elwerath, Wintershall, Preußische Bergwerks- und Hütten and Braunkohle-Benzin, and financial institutions Dresdner Bank, Reichs-Kredit-Gesellschaft and Berliner Handels-Gesellschaft.