Evening star., 1942-05-09


Daily News
KUIBYSHEV.-The titantic Sov-
iet-German conflict is. as much as
anything, struggle for Russias oil
And it is fully recognized here that
this will probably be the year of Hit
ler's climactic attempt to attain it
Russia's oil policy since last au-
turnn has been twofold; One, to
create an unshatterable military
barrier against possible simulta-
neous German thrusts toward Cau-
casion petroleum from the Ukraine
and from the Middle East; two, to
step up the production of all Soviet
oil fields and refineries and to ex-
plot, to the limit of available ma
chinery, the rich petroleum deposits
in the Urals and Central Asia, which
are geographically secure against
attack.
The great old oil fields of Baku,
Maikop and Grozny, punched in the
Caucasus region, produced nearly 80
per cent of RuSsia'S pre-War output
of about 30,000,000 tons annually.
The war has made the Russians
acutely aware of the necessity for
rapidly expanding production of sec
opdary sources of supply deeper in
the rear. AS result, there has been
much exploratory work and new
drilling in oil areas opened up with
In. recent years.
Rate Of Development Boosted.
It takes great deal of time, labor
and equipment to drill an oil well,
and even at the most rapid pace 1t
will be a matter of years before the
new fields can be expected to ap-
proach the tremendous Baku pro-
duction. But the wars impetus has
accelerated the rate of development.
Soviet experts claim at least two
known oil regions in the interior
which rival Baku in potentialities.
One of these covers the Emba River
Valley on the northeastern seaboard
of the Caspian. The second occu-
pies the broad belt between the
middle Volga and the Urals, en-
bracing the cities of Syzran, Kuiby-
shev and Chelyabinsk. In the
latter area, especially because of
its central location, there has been
marked expansion since the war.
Exploratory drilling has shown
these fields to be more extensive
than was first supposed.
The newest and fastest-growing
Soviet oil field lies in the great
central Asian plateau lands of
Uzbekistan and neighboring Soviet
republics. Here, where the Asiatic
conauerors were born and began
their raids on Europe, heavily pro-
ducing wells have been brought in
at several widely separated points.
At ancient Bokhara gusher has
been reported. Test wells near
Tashkent-another old caravan
center-aIso struck oil.
Development is still in its early
stage, but with the assistance OF
American drilling equipment, which
arrived Just after the outbreak of
war, and Soviet machinery. it is
expected to more than double the
output of these new fields this year.
Although the tests are far from
complete, Soviet geologists believe
that the whole territory may be
underlain with petroleum-proving
that Ganghis Khan had greater
wealth under his feet than all the
loot of his world conqueStS.
Various Economies Employed.
The immense appetite of the war
for aviation gasoline and tank,
truck and tractor fuel naturally has
imposed heavy new burden on the
fields and refineries of the Soviet
Union. To make the existing equip
ment serve its maximum use, the
Russians have sbeen obliged to re-
sort to all sorts of ingenious strata
gems.
Where possible they have re-
opened abandoned wells. To econo-
mize on materials, they have pulled
up miles of piping from hopelessly
extinct wells for use in new drilling.
They have devised cheaper methods
of boring and at one field, at least,
in order to save metal they have
drilled wells without any piping
whatever. The structure was hard
enough and the wells shallow enough
10 make that possible.
In the refineries there has been
emphasis on by-products needed for
the front. like aviation gasoline,
Diesel fuel and tuluol.
The oil industry was a mans game
even in the Soviet Union until the
calling up Of large numbers of oil
workers for military service started
q big infltration of women. Now
there are numerous woman workers.
engineers and executives in the
Russian oil fields. They are given
courses of instruction in Baku.
whence they are dispatched wher-
ever needed
In a recent awards list the Soviet
government granted decorations to
3 refneries, oil fields and 1913 oil
workers.
tCoDynsht 1892 Chicago Daily News IncD