The oil industry is a key sector of the USSR national oil wells are brought into production annually economy which has been growing rapidly since the whereas the general drilling volume is more than 40 Second World War. million m. About 25 billion roubles are invested into In the mid-l940s, the country's annual oil pro- the industry annually. duction was as low as 18 million tons. Discovery of It should be noted that the USSR oil industry has highly productive oil fields with substantial reserves up to now developed within the geographical, poliin 1950-196Os, first in the Urals-Volga region and tical and economic state borders. Therefore, the situlater in West Siberia (Tuymazy, Romashkino, Sam- ation in the industry adequately reflects the general otlor, Fyodorovsk, etc.) marked the beginning of a situation in the country's economy. Presently, long period of intensive growth in oil production. however, when the integration of efforts of the world-Annual incremental oil production volumes reached wide community gains a growing importance for efi- 25-30 million tons. In 1974, the country moved into cient and environmentally compatible production, first place among 80 world oil producers with 470 and when the need to save depletable resources is million tons of oil produced. In 1980, oil production obvious, the USSR oil industry must evidently not exceeded 600 million tons. retain its seclusion.
Today, enterprises of the USSR Minneftegasprom In this connection we would like to attract the are engaged in economic activities on vast territories attention of world oilmen to the problems in develand in all natural and climatic conditions from the opment of oil resources in our country with its huge Island of Sakhalin in the east to Kaliningrad region reserves, an established system of exploration, proin the west, from the Island of Kolguyev in the duction, processing, oil and gas transport, a devel-Barents Sea to the southern national border. oped infrastructure and scientific potential.
The principal oil producing areas are West Siberia, The purpose of the present paper is to point out Urals-Volga, West Kazakhstan, European North of the main features which define, as we believe, posthe USSR and the shelf of the Caspian Sea. Oil and sible lines for a mutually beneficial international gas production enterprises are engaged in activities cooperation. in 10 Union Republics. In connection with the deteriorating pattern of the The oil industry is one of the most fund-intensive country's oil reserves, large-scale investigations, tests branches of the national economy. Today, the fixed and the introduction of all up-to-date EOR methods producton assets of the industry exceed 120 billion known in the world are carrie
