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.
Great merit of Orudzhev as Minister of Gas Industry was the creation of the Main Directorate for exploration and development of offshore oil and gas. In 1978, at the initiative of Orudzhev, offshore crude oil and everything related to it was transferred from the Ministry of Oil to the Ministry of Gas Industry. Initially it was the creation of a separate ministry which would be responsible for the development of offshore fields. However, as a result, the Main Directorate for exploration and development of offshore oil and gas has been created in the Ministry of Gas Industry. Orudzhev dedicated many years of life to marine exploration and production and was considered the most competent person in the field of exploration of the shelf. He headed the Ministry of the Gas Industry in 1972 and used to say: "I am the first Azerbaijani Minister of the Soviet Union."
"Before coming to the position of head of the Ministry of Gas Industry Sabit Atayevich did a lot for the development of the oil industry”, the president of the Union of Oil and Gas Producers of Russia Gennady Schmal says. “He was a very competent engineer, a talented scientist. At first, when the development of oil fields in Western Siberia just started, his help was quite useful.
Sabit Atayevich was a very talented man. As a rule, any talent is multifaceted. In the 1960s, natural gas industry, as opposed to oil, evolved slowly. If the oil industry in 1970 in Western Siberia produced more than 31 million tons of oil, gas workers stood still. But after only a few years after Sabit Atayevich headed the Ministry of Gas Industry a rapid development of the gas industry followed.
In 1972 - 40 years ago – the operation of the first large northern deposit of Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area – Medvezhi – began. This was the beginning of the gas industry. The development of this deposit, a giant deposit in Urengoi and other fields in Western Siberia is largely due to Sabit Atayevich.
When gas production in Western Siberia was just beginning, everyone said that production costs would be too high. But Orudzhev believed in the enormous potential of Western Siberia. And already in 1975, the cost of production caught up with the average of the USSR, and after 5 years it became the lowest in the USSR.
The construction of city of Novy Urengoy was also the merit of Sabit Atayevich. In those years there were discussions about whether to create a regional town or village. Visiting this land, Sabit Atayevich said there should be a town. And that decision was entirely justified. After all, the stocks of the Urengoy field were already estimated at 10-11 billion cubic meters. And it was planned to create a completely unique gas field with an output of 280 billion cubic meters of gas per year in the region.
Sabit Atayevich was quite irrepressible. At that time in our country, some regions determined the development of the gas industry. These regions were Vuktyl in Komi, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Western Siberia. And it was necessary to control everything.
We had to deal with the creation of industry in very difficult climate conditions. And for those incomplete 10 years when he was the Minister of Gas Industry, gas production in the country doubled to 220 billion cubic meters, mainly by development of northern fields of the Tyumen region.
Much attention was paid to the development of domestic engineering. If the Medvezi deposit was equipped mainly due to French equipment, in Urengoi and Yamburg 90% of equipment was produced in the USSR.
Orudzhev very often went to Western Siberia, visited gas fields, compressor stations. But what was a compressor station at that time? At best, it was equipped with a wooden platform on which a helicopter could land. And two or three dozen pairs of rubber boots were necessary in order to reach the station from the helipad. Sabit Atayevich wore boots, went to the site and spend at least half a day there in order to understand in details all of the issues related to construction.
Sabit Atayevich was very communicative, although for eastern people this is not quite usual. He treated with great attention to people. He asked the workers not only about construction but also about the conditions in which people live, how they eat, what their problems are. It is worth noting that the issue of food was then resolved at the highest level – the meals were probably better than in most Moscow restaurants. And Orudzhev closely followed all these issues. The role of Sabit Atayevich in the development of the economy of our country cannot be overemphasized. He is a phenomenon in our gas industry. And we were very lucky that these people were at the beginning of its rapid development. "
"Orujov gave space for work to his subordinates and did not find fault in the small things, but demanded a lot. At the same time, he never refused to give some advice”, the former deputy minister of the gas industry of the USSR Sergei Kashirov says. “But in one question we got disagreed. The designers planned to use gas pumping units (GPU) made abroad with a capacity of 25 million kilowatts. Therefore, in the course of work Mingasprom and Orudzhev personally decided to use units with capacity of 10 million kilowatts, increasing the number of units and technological communications, etc. In addition, the GPU were with low efficiency. I strongly objected to the new solution, although I knew that Orudzhev was already convinced of its rationality. At one of the meetings he even did not hold hands with me. It was decided to use the low-power GPU. I went to him and said: "I have not been persuaded with regard to the correctness of the original decision. It will take time, and we shall return to it". He did not answer. But as time passed, the GPU with low efficiency were changed for the GPU with high efficiency.
In 1976 Orudzhev proposed me to promote the profile of the dispatch service of "Gazprom" and to lead the Central Dispatch Unit (CDU), wishing, perhaps, to show the importance of CDU, and perhaps to make up for the previous roughness in our relationship, he immediately promised to make me a member of the Board of "Gazprom ". But I underestimated the gesture of the minister and said that I agreed to work in the new position, even though not being a member of the Board.
Sabit Atayevich was irritated by my answer, but he did not show his feelings and did not abandon his words. I became head of the CDU and a member of the Board. Much later, in a private conversation, he noticed that my stubbornness could become a major obstacle in my career. Then I realized that it was not so much the advice by a chief but rather by a man not indifferent to my fate.
Less than two years later, Orudzhev invited me to become his deputy, but immediately warned: "Do not give up." By that time I already knew his character and style of work quite well, so I agreed. In this position, I worked with Orudzhev for the rest of his life.
Orudzhev did not forget about the people even against most major cases. In 1980, during testing the pipeline Gryazovets - Cherepovets there was a big accident. I flew to the scene. When I made a report to Orudzhev on measures of eliminating, he listened carefully, and then asked, "And do you, Sergei Stepanovich, have warm clothes? Maybe you need something?" I was touched - it was about the pipeline, by means of which the country received daily about two million cubic meters of gas, and each day of downtime could have a significant impact on the economy of the whole region, and he talked to me about the warm clothes. With Orudzhev it was possible to work with the feeling that a strong man always stood behind you. Sabit Atayevich did not let anyone offend his employees, believing that in this way he defended the honor of the ministry, although all sorts of mistakes made by their fault were not hidden and were discussed in detail at the meetings in "Gazprom". And there is the guilty should not count on leniency, though Sabit Atayevich also spoke on the fault of the Ministry. He could objectively assess the situation and change his earlier decision, if he was convinced of its bias. Especially, this quality manifested itself when it was about the fate of man.
Orudzhev had a special technique that he used in relations with the senior managers, when he wanted them to make a positive decision of a question. He invited them to the Ministry to attend the board meeting.
Thus, he imposed his "game at home," when officials of the highest rank, surrounded by experts, had to respond to specific questions. This contributed to the rapid solution of many problems in the industry.
Our schedule was always very tight. We started work early, finished late and went to bed at about two in the morning. No special conditions of life for the minister were created.
We were freezing, soaking in the rain, we ate very simple food. The main thing was our common case. Orudzhev was devoted to it and demanded the same from others.
The example of Orudzhev convinced me that at the ministerial level it was not necessary to be an expert in all areas of the industry. A minister must know the case as a whole, to be a smart man, a good organizer, to have reliable partners and to be able to make decisions on the basis of the advice. Orudzhev was not punished for his mistakes in dealing with some minor issues because he was right in a strategic policy branch, and that was important. "
To be continued
