THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRIES IN THE U.S.S.R.

Abstract

DURING the period 1953-57 Soviet economists and other government personnel evaluated the broad features of the economy of their country in the light of expediencies and competitive costs and came up with some policy measures calculated to revamp certain sectors of the economy that were acting as bottlenecks to further development. These policies largely are embodied in the goals and procedures of the seven-year plan for 195965 and as such have been widely publicized in newspapers, magazines, and handbooks. Such publications, together with an unprecedented release of production statistics since 1956, afford a bench mark in time from which one can view the Soviet economy both backward and forward and discern significant trends now in progress that are destined to shape the character of the economy in years to come. It is quite possible now to identify some of the outstanding aspects that are planned for the future economic structure. One of the most significant changes now taking place, that could not have been discerned from maps and statistics published even as late as 1956, is the change in the types of fuel consumption in the country. Whereas in 1940 coal accounted for more than 70 percent of all mineral fuel consumption and oil and gas accounted for only 24 percent, in 1972 coal is to account for only about 30 percent and oil and gas are to account for more than 60 percent. That this is a true reversal in policy can be seen by the fact that in 1950 the share of coal had risen to 73 percent of the total and that of oil and gas had dropped to less than 20 percent. The ten-year plan for the development of the oil industry from 1951 to 1960 called for a gradual reduction in the consumption of fuel oil in metallurgical industries, at power plants, and by railroads until in 1960 such uses of fuel oil were to be completely eliminated. However, this plan was scrapped abruptly in 1957 and a new fifteenyear plan was launched with goals for 1972 as stated above.'