By Vestnik Kavkaza. Materials of Gazprom were used
This year the prominent Baku native, scientist Sabit Orudzhev would have celebrated his 100th birthday. He was the minister of gas industry of the USSR in 1972-1981. His ministry raised the USSR gas production to a record level – 800 billion cubic meters annually. This record wasn’t beaten yet, and Orudzhayev remained the only man in the world who headed a ministry which produced so much gas. Vestnik Kavkaza publishes a series of memories of Orudzhev’s colleagues about him and his reforms.
Ahead of taking the position of minister, Sabit Orudzhev was well-known as a talented scientist. He worked on the technology of exploration of deep oil wells by means of aerization. He developed methods of pressure maintenance, patented the construction of a deep-sea large-block ground of sea drillers.
Grant Margulov, the president of the International fuel and energy association
Orudzhev was PhD, a pioneer of ultradeep drilling and sea oil. He organized the first in the country specialized sea chief directorate and headed construction of the first iceproof basement in the sea part of the Strelkovoe gas deposit. He initiated development of technical and economic reasons for construction of first underwater oil and gas pipelines across the Caspian, the Azov, and the Black Sea.
Sultan Gamzatov, the former deputy head of the general department on scientific progress in the Fuel and Energy of the State Committee on Science and Technique of the USSR
Orudzev had many theoretical projects, inventions. One of them was a tunnel-mining method of oil production from the sea coast. However, even today the project hasn’t been implemented. Orudzhev thought he was a real sea wolf. He dreamed about establishing of a sea oil branch. When he became the minister of gas and oil industry, he proposed establishing of a sea ministry of oil and gas industry. He did a lot to contribute to this issue, despite disagreement of the Ministry of Oil Industry of the USSR and the Ministry of Geology. They did want to give major sea oil and geological survey enterprises which worked on the Caspian /sea, the Far East, and the Northern Ocean. However, deputy chairmen of the USSR Ministers’ Cabinet, Nikolai Baibakov and Vladimir Kirillin, supported the project by Orudzhev. The project was sent to the Cabinet, but all important decisions could be made only by the Central Committee of the Communist Party.
Soon Orudzhev found out that the Party wouldn’t let him head the new ministry. He made an unexpected step – a couple of days before the session of the Cabinet he prepared new documents on establishing of the Chief Department on exploration of sea oil and gas deposits under the system of the Ministry of Gas Industry.
Orudzhev stated that the country had no necessary grounds for establishing of the Sea Ministry of Oil and Gas Industry. But oil workers and geologists had their sea enterprises, while gas workers couldn’t catch them up in this sphere. He proposed establishing of the Chief Department on exploration of sea oil and gas deposits. This initiative by Orudzhev was approved.
Orudzhev was a man with very complicated strong-willed character and power. He demanded strict discipline from employees, but also respected and was gratitude to them. He supported strong and courage specialists, while defenseless and weak people had never been offended by him.
He was a very good speaker. His speech was detailed and logic, bright and with a certain extent of humor. Orudzhev had a special natural feature: he proved his rightness without meanness.
Orudzhev had a unique talent of prediction. He said: “Natural gas is a younger brother of oil, and it will say its leading word in the progress of human civilization.” By middle of 1992 Russian scientists made a major conclusion – achievements of geology, including drilling of the Kolskaya ultradeep well, significantly changed perception of the Earth’s structure and global processes happening in its depths.
Baibakov and Orudzhev were sure that exploration of natural gas would be followed by exploration of methane resource, which demands creating new technologies. They thought that the main problem in this sphere was money.
Orudzhev lived and worked according to the principle: one shouldn’t exist only, he has to live in favor of something. His top living and political interests were priority of state interests over personal needs, patriotism and glorification of the motherland, wisdom, courage, bravery, and decency.
To be continued
