CURRENT INTELLIGENCE WEEKLY SUMMARY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP71T00730R000500080124-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 20, 2000
• Sequence Number: 124
• Content Type: SUMMARY

. ILLEGIB
S
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE WEEKLY, SUMMARY 25X1X7
State Dept. declassification & release instructions on file.-..
PROBLEMS.-OF-SOVIET PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION
The U 3R hi
i
d
.25X1C
25X1 C
25X1 C
as nv
, ,e
bids
.11 .from rest German and French
firms for steel pipe and asso-
ciated equipment to lay a 40-
inch pipeline from the Gazli
natural gas field, in the Uzbek
SSR, to industr;1'al consumers at
Sverdlovsk, in the eastern Urals,
a distance of 2,150 kilometers
(more than .1, 300 miles).
This pipeline--with a
potential annual capacity of
more than 350?billion cubic
feet--is an integral part of
the Soviet1'Union's general
energy devel&pment program,
and its completion would allow
for a significant increase in
the consumption of natural gas
from Central Asia.
The availability of natural
gas in the Ural industrial re-
gion as a substitute for other
fuels ',might in turn be a de-
termining factor in the pace
atA# e CQ.~2eF r6TM/(;3102 : C
,exp its of exports to the
free world.
Trade Negotiations
Three West German firms
have formed a consortium to bid
on the pipe, and other German
companies may supply the com-
pressors and short-wave equip-
ment. A Soviet trade delegation
was in Paris early this year
seeking bids on pipe and dis-
cussing technical requirements
for the project.--including the
communications system, automa-
tion, and equipment protection
--with officials of French firms
The form of payment will.
be a major obstacle in ne -
tiating contracts with tho
firms.
Moscow may therefore
_JP71 T00l00RQO OO8O1Q43
ent in hard currencies.
4
n 0
 Approved For R
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE WEEKLY SUMMARY
One American firm report-
edly has tentatively agreed to
supply the air-conditioning
equipment, and another probably
will supply the valve. for the
pipeline.
?ase 2001/03/02,Sh.P71 T0 30R000500080124-3
The Pipeline Project
The pipeline project, which
will require 640,000 metric tons
of steel pipe,.: presents a major
problem in. logistics; sophisti-
cated construction, and equip-
ment quality. Much of the line
is to pass'through arid and
semi-arid wasteland. Tempera-
ture-variation's along the route
are extreme; communications and
other equipment must be capable
of' op.eration,,. in the open under
temperaturesfiranging from 49 de-
grees Fahrenheit-below zero to
113 degrees above. A further
problem will be the construc-
tion of a suspension bridge,
1,300 feet'high over the Duidul-
Atlagan gorge on the Amu-Darya
River.
`The Gazli-Sverdlovsk line,
the major gas pipeline project
of the USSR's Seven-Year Plan
(1959-65), is part of a dual
system designed to'supply the
expensive natural gas. The sec-
tion between Gazli and Chelya-
binsk is reportedly to be ready
for use 'by the end of 1963, and
the section to Sverdlovsk by
1965. Soviet planners hope to.
lay the Gazli-Chelyabinsk''and
Gazli-Sverdlovsk lines'simul-
taneously, as well as a water
pipeline along part of the route.
Lack of Steel Pipe
Construction of the Gazli-
Chelyabinsk line was to have be-
gun in 1960 but, for lack of
pipe, was not started until
this year. Apparently, pipe
from Western suppliers, prob-
ably West German, already-is
being used on this line; about
120 miles of pipe are to be laid
by the end of the year.
The lack of large-diameter
steel pipe has deterred the
development of the 30ov .et ciland
gas pipeline network for several
years. The USSR does not yet
produce 4,0-inch steel line pipe--
although-token' amounts may be
available domestically later
this year.. Unless the desired
Western xpport can be obtained,
it is likely that construction
of the Gazli-Sverdlovsk gas pipe-
line will be beyond Soviet capa-
bility for several years at
least.
The oil and gas pipeline 25X6A
construction program for the
Seven-Year Plan will require
about 9,000,000 tons of steel
pipe. Total requirements of
40-inch pipe during the period
probably will be about 2,100,-
000 tons. Of this amount, the
Gazli-Ural dual gas system is
to account for 1,200,000 tons,
all of 40-inch'diameter.
Other Deterrents
Even if the construction
program is fulfilled,' operation
could be limited by the absence
of parallel facilities. Because
of the lack of compressor and
gas-turbine equipment, for ex-
ample, a number of gas pipelines
now in place have not been able
to operate at rated capacity.
In addition, an inadequate
supply of gas-consuming equip-
ment and the delayed construc-
tion of city distribution sys-
tems have prevented the imme-
diate operation of newly com-
pleted lines. Inability to
distribute gas to prospective
consumers has led to continued
shortfalls in the annual produc-
tion of natural gas, but no re-
vision has been made in the goal
of 150 billion cubic meters of
gas for 1965. (SECRET NOFORN)
(Prepared by ORR)
SECRET
lAppgovd For Release 2001/ ZI CjAk 7,t'E00730R0005000$Qaa4.?
Ural"industrial region with in-