SELECTED INPUTS FOR THE EXTRACTIVE PHASE OF THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY IN THE URAL-VOLGA AREA OF THE USSR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-01093A001100050001-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 68
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 15, 1999
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: June 6, 1956
• Content Type: IR

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PROVISIONAL INTELLIGENCE REPORT
SELECTED INPUTS FOR THE EXTRACTIVE PHASE
OF THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
IN THE URAL-VOLGA AREA OF THE USSR
CIA/RR PR-141
6 June 1956
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS
=MFNTNO _j
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Or_f _ c,:,rc 01
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WARNING
This material contains information affecting
the National Defense of the United States
within the meaning of the espionage laws,
Title 18, USC, Secs. 793 and 794, the trans-
mission or revelation of which in any manner
to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
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S-E-C-R-E-T
PROVISIONAL INTELLIGENCE REPORT
SELECTED INPUT'S FOR THE EXTRACTIVE PHASE OF THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
IN THE URAL-VOLGA AREA OF THE USSR
CIA/RR PR-141
(ORR Project 25.683)
NOTICE
The data and conclusions contained in this report
do not necessarily represent the final position of
OFR and should be regarded as provisional only and
subject to revision. Comments and data which may
be available to the user are solicited.
Office of Research and Reports
S-E-C-R-E-T
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S-E-C-R-E-T
FQREWaD
This report is a formal research effort to determine the quantity
and cost of selected inputs for the Soviet petroleum industry. Although
its scope is limited to an analysis of the inputs necessary to discover
and develop the petroleum resources of the Ural-Volga area, the method-
ology provides a basis for similar input studies of the extractive phase
of the industry in other areas of the USSR and in the USSR as a whole.
On the basis of the techniques employed in this report, it may be pos-
sible to expand the scope of future reports to include related informa-
tion on other phases of the Soviet petroleum industry.
The selection of the inputs covered in this report was governed by
the relative importance of the specific inputs and the information
available. Data on some relatively important inputs were unavailable
or were too fragmentary to warrant inclusion.
To provide a means of evaluating the level of efficiency in the
extractive phase of the petroleum industry in the Ural-Volga area,
data on certain important inputs for the oilfields of Alberta, Canada,
have been included in the report. Alberta was selected because of its
similarity to the Ural-Volga area in climate, geology, and relative
development of petroleum; resources.
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S-E-C-R-E-T
CONTENTS
Page
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
I. Introduction . . . . . . ? . . . . ? . ? ? . ? . ? . . . . 4
A. General . . ? . 4
B. Comparison of the Ural-Volga Area with Alberta,
5
Canada . ?
C. General Methodology . . . . . . . . . . ? . . . . . . . 8
II. Inputs in the Ural-Volga Area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
A. Materials and Equipment . . . . . 11
1. Drilling Rigs . . . . . . . . . . . . ? . . . . . . 11
2. Tubular Goods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ? . . . . 14
3. Bits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ? . 21
4. Cement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
5. Drilling Fluids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
'B. Electric Power . . . . 26
C. Labor . . . . . . . . . . 28
D. Capital Investment . . 31
III. Comparison of Input Requirements in the Ural-Volga Area
and in Alberta, Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
IV. Conclusions and Forecasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
A. Conclusions . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Bo Forecasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ? ? . . . . . . 44
Appendixes
Appendix A. Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Appendix B. Gaps in Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Appendix C. Source References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
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Tables
Page
1. Estimated Inputs for the Extractive Phase of the Petroleum
Industry in the Ural-Volga Area, 1946, 1954,
and 1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2. Estimated Annual Drilling and Wells Completed in the Ural-
Volga Area, ' 1946 and 1954 . . ? ? ? ? ? ? . . ? ? ? . . . 9
3. Estimated Annual Drilling and Wells Completed in the
Tuymaza Oilfields of Bashkirskaya ASSR, 1946
and 1951-54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4. Estimated Drilling Rigs in Operation -and -Wells Drilled per
Rig in the Ural-Volga Area and in. the Tuymaza Oilfields
of Bashkirskaya ASSR, 1946 and 1951-54 . . . . . . . . 13
5. Estimated Inputs of Tubular Goods in the Tuymaza Oilfields
of Bashkirskaya ASSR, 1946 and 1951-54 . . . . . . . . 16
6. Estimated Inputs of Tubular Goods in the Ural-Volga Area,
1946 and 1954 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .- . .
7. Estimated Inputs of Bitsin the Ural-Volga Area and in the
Tuymaza Oilfields of Bashkirskaya.ASSR, 1951-54 . . . . . 23
8. Estimated Inputs of Oil Well Cement in the Ural-Volga Area
and in the Tuymaza Oilfields of Bashkirskaya ASSR,
1946 and 1951-54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Estimated Consumption of Electric Power in the Tuymaza
Oilfields of Bashkirskaya ASSR, 1946 and 1954 . . . . . . 29
10. Estimated Capital Expenditures in the Tuymaza Oilfields
of Bashkirskaya ASSR, 191+6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
11. Estimated Reserves and Production of Crude Oil in Alberta
and in the Ural-Volga Area, 1946-54 . . . . . . . . . . 39
12. Estimated Drilling Operations in Alberta and in the Ural-
Volga Area, 1946-54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
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Page
13. Comparative Data on Drilling Operations and Inputs
in Alberta and in the Ural-Volga Area, 1946
and 1954 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
14. Labor Inputs and Costs in the Extractive Phase of the
Petroleum Industry in Alberta, 1946-49 . . . . . . . . . 42
15. Estimated and Forecast Input Requirements for the
Extractive Phase of the Petroleum Industry in the Ural-
Volga Area, 1954-61 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
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c]A/RR PR-141
(ORB Project 25.683)
SELECTED INPUTS FOR THE EXTRACTIVE PHASE OF THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
IN THE URAL-VOLGA AREA OF THE USSR*
Summary
Production of petroleum in the Ural-Volga area** of the USSR has
increased much more rapidly since World War II than has production in
other areas of the USSR. Pefore World War II the Ural-Volga area
produced only 6 percent of total Soviet production of petroleum; in
1955 the Ural-Volga area accounted for 58 percent of the total. During
the period between 1945 and 1955 the drilling operations of the petro-
leum industry in the Ural-Volga area, in terms of meters drilled, in-
creased from about 275,000 to about 2.3 million.
The input requirements for the extractive phase of the petroleum
industry in the Ural-Volga area have increased commensurately with the
increase in exploratory and developmental drilling. The number of
operating drilling rigs in the, area increased from about 110 in 1916
to about 520 in 1951, and the number of workers employed in drilling
crews increased from about 2,100 to about 8,500 during the same period.
Inputs of tubular goods increased from about 22,000 metric tons*** in
1916 to about 119,000 tons in 1951, and inputs of oil well cement in-
creased from about 5,500 tons to about 17,500 tons.
Comparison of the input requirements for the extractive phase of
the petroleum industry in the Ural-Volga area with those of the indus-
try in Alberta, Canada, a major petroleum area in the Free World in
which climate and geology are similar to those in the Ural-Volga
area, indicates that the industry in the Ural Volga area has a rela-
tively low level of efficiency. In terms of the quantity of inputs
required for a given meterage of drilling, the Ural-Volga operations
are much less efficient than those in Alberta. In the Ural-Volga
* The estimates and conclusions contained in this report represent
the best judgment of ORR as of 1 April 1956.
** The Ural-Volga area includes parts of Economic Regions VI, VII,
and VIII. (The term region in this report refers to the economic
regions defined and numbered on CIA Map 12018.1 (First Revision,
7-52), USSR: Economic Regions.)
*** Except as noted, tonnages are given in metric tons throughout
this report.
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area, for example,.a rig drills one-third as many meters of hole per
year as does a rig in Alberta and consumes 5 times as much drill pipe
and 70 percent more casing per meter drilled. Estimated inputs for
the extractive phaseof the petroleum industry in the Ural-Volga area
in 1946, 1954, and 1960 are shown in Table 1,* and comparative data
on operations in the Ural-Volga area and Alberta are shown in Tables
11, 12, 13, and 14.**
The difficulty of drilling in the Ural-Volga area and the inferior
quality of the Soviet materials used make requirements for drill pipe
and bits unusually large. Because Soviet drill pipe wears out less
rapidly in turbine drilling than in rotary drilling, the emphasis has
been on turbine drilling in the Ur-al-Volga area. In spite of this
emphasis, drilling bits wear out much more rapidly in the Ural-Volga
area than in other parts of the USSR, and about 70 percent of all the
3-cone rock bits consumed in the USSR in 1954 were used in the Ural-
Volga area.
The use of water as a drilling fluid has reduced the requirements
for clays and soda products in the Ural.-Volga area; but where it is
not feasible to use water alone, there is still a shortage of good-
quality clays for drilling fluids.
The petroleum industry in the Ural-Volga area is using electric
power in increasing amounts as the supply of electric power in the
area increases. At the end of 1955, however, the supply was not
sufficient to electrify all operations of the extractive-phase of
the industry, andmuch of the drilling was still powered by diesels.
The anticipated increase in the supply of electric power in the area
will result in an increase in the consumption of electricity for
drilling and for pumping the water used in flooding operations.
Apparently there is an ample supply of labor in the Ural-Volga
area, but poor management has resulted in considerable idleness and
wasted man-hours, and there is a critical shortage of trained tech-
nicians to operate and repair the complex mechanized equipment that
is beginning to be used in the oilfields.
* Table 1 follows on p. 3-
PP- 39, 40, 41', and 42, respectively, below.
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S-E-C-R-E-T
The discovery and development of the petroleum resources in the
Ural-Volga area require large expenditures of capital. It is estimated
that between 2 billion and 3.8 billion rubles were spent in the extrac-
tive phase of the petroleum industry in the Ural-Volga area in 1954.
Of this amount, from 800 million to 1.1.5 billion rubles, about 25 per-
cent of the total investment in the Ural-Volga petroleum industry, were
invested in the drilling of wells.
The construction of supply and repair bases and of power, water, and
transportation facilities has not been adequate for the needs of the
Ural-Volga oilfields. To continue the rapid development of the petroleum
resources of the area, large capital expenditures forsuch construction
will be necessary.
I. Introduction.
A. General.
The extractive phase of the petroleum industry includes all
operations of geological and geophysical. prospecting, the drilling of
exploratory ("wildcat") wells and of developmental wells in discovered
fields, the production of crude oil from the wells and its treatment
in the oilfields, and the transport and storage of the crude oil within
the oilfields. For the purposes of this report, the term drin
operations refers to the drilling of both exploratory wells and develop-
mental wells, wells, and the term producing operations refers tothe production
of crude oil from completed wells and the treatment, transport, and
storage of crude oil within the oilfields.
Inputs for which estimates are given in this report were selected
on the basis of relative importance and available information. About 75
percent of the total inputs into the extractive phase of the petroleum
industry in the Ural-Volga-area are discussed. Because of the lack of
pertinent data, estimates of the inputs into the geological and geo-
physical prospecting. operations and into the facilities for treating and
storing crude oil in the oilfields are not included.
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The Ural-Volga area, also known as the "Second Baku," covers
about 475,000 square miles in the eastern European USSR. It includes
the oilfields in the Kama valley in Molotovskaya Oblast, the import-
ant fields of the Bashkirskaya and Tatarskaya ASSR's, the Buguruslan
fields in Chkalovskaya Oblast, the fields along the Volga River in
Kuybyshevskaya Oblast, and the oil and gas producing areas of the
Saratovskaya and Stalingradskaya Oblasts in the lower Volga area.
Since World War II the Ural-Volga area has developed rapidly.
Production of petroleum in the Ural-Volga area has increased from 6
percent of the total petroleum produced in the USSR in 1940 to 58 per-
cent of the total in 1955. /* Estimates of the potential petroleum
resources in this area indicate that the importance of the Ural-Volga
area will continue to increase during the next 10 to 15 years. J
According to Soviet estimates, about 75 percent of the total petro-
leum production of the USSR in 1960 will be obtained from the Ural
Volga oilfields. 311
Since World War II the fields of the Bashkirskaya ASSR have
produced more than two-thirds of the cumulative total production of
the Ural-Volga area, V and in 1955 the Bashkirskaya ASSR became the
leading petroleum producing region in the USSR. ,S/ Since 1950 the
oilfields of the Tatarskaya ASSR have also been developed rapidly, J
and in 1955 the production of the Tatarskaya ASSR was reported to
equal that of Baku. J The Tatarskaya and Bashkirskaya ASSR's together
probably produced from 80 to 85 percent of the total Ural-Volga produc-
tion in 1955.
B. Comparison of the Ural-Volga Area with Alberta, Canada.
In order to evaluate the level of efficiency in the extractive
phase of the petroleum industry in the Ural-Volga area, this report
includes a comparison of the inputs required in that area and those
required in a similar petroleum region in the Free World. The simi-
larity of Alberta, Canada, to the Ural-Volga area in climate, geolog-
ical conditions, and relative stage of development led to the selec-
tion of Alberta as the best available region to use for such a com-
parison.
* For serially numbered source references, see Appendix C.
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The development of the petroleumresources of Alberta began
to expand rapidly in 1946-47. The USSR began intensive development
of the Ural-Volga area at about the same time. In both regions,
production and drilling operations have increased at a rapid rate
through 1955 and are expected to continue to increase. Production
of crude oil in the Ural-Volga area increased from 3.7 million tons
in 1946 to 22.1 million tons in 1954, and in Alberta, production
increased from 960,000 tons in 1946 to :L1.8 million tons in 1954.*
Drilling operations in the Ural-Volga-area during the same period
increased about 8 times and in Alberta about 14 times.**
The climate in both areas complicates the development of the
petroleum resources. The -areas are located in approximately the same
latitude. Both are bounded on the north by the 60th parallel; on the
south, Alberta is bounded by the 49th and the Ural-Volga by the 48th
parallel. Both areas have extremely cold winters, which last about-6
months. In Alberta, average winter temperatures are --3?F in the
northern part and 18?F at Calgary. In the Ural-Volga area the aver-
age winter temperatures range from about; -5?F to 15?F. The summer
temperatures average about 75?F in the southern part of both areas.
The severe winter cold in these areas requires the construction of
boiler installations and steam pipelines to keep drilling fluid from
freezing and to keep crude oil flowing in pipelines. / In the Ural-
Volga area, between October and May there is only one-third as much
drilling as there is during the summer months, because of the difficulty
of delivering supplies and completing construction work. 10 In Alberta,
on the other hand, drilling operations increase during the winter --
heavy equipment and supplies can be moved much more easily over frozen
ground than over the wet muskeg in the summer months. 11
Wells drilled in Alberta penetrate rocks of the same geologic
age as those in the Ural-Volga area. In both areas the major part
of production comes-from the Devonian formations. 12 The very hard
rocks of these formations make drilling considerably more difficult
* The area of Alberta is only 225,000 square miles, less than half
as large as the Ural-Volga area.
** The production of both areas is shown in Table 11, p. 39, below,
and the drilling operations in Table 12, p. 40, below.
- -6 -
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in both areas than in the southern and western areas of the USSR and
on the Gulf coast of the US. Most of the wells drilled in both areas
are of approximately the same depth.*
The lack of transportation facilities handicaps the development
of the petroleum resources in the two areas. In Bashkirskaya ASSR,
where the largest Ural-Volga oilfields are located, there were less than
10 kilometers of railroad per 1,000 square kilometers of area in 1950, J
and in 1947 there were only about 20,000 kilometers of dirt and improved
roads. l4 Because many of the roads in the Bashkirskaya ASSR are impass-
able to truck traffic in the winter, tractors provide the only means of
transportation to many exploratory drilling sites. / In Alberta there
are only about 22 miles of railroad and 315 miles of highway for every
1,000 square miles of area, 16 and there also tractors furnish the only
transportation to many remote drilling sites.
The oilfields of both the Ural-Volga area and Alberta are at
considerable distances from the source of supplies and equipment. Most
of the supplies and equipment used in Alberta are shipped from US sup-
pliers. The petroleum industry in Alberta has apparently had sufficient
equipment available at all times, even during the Korean War. The Ural-
Volga area receives its supplies and equipment from many parts of the
USSR, and most of the basic types of equipment and supplies are generally
available in adequate quantity to supply the needs of the oilfields.
The distribution of these supplies to the drilling crews, however, is
frequently badly organized and hampered by lack of transportation facil-
ities. In some areas, equipment often is allowed to deteriorate in
warehouses while in other areas drilling crews have to wait for deliv-
eries. Supply bases are frequently at considerable distances from the
drilling sites, and there are too few repair bases to keep equipment
in operating condition. As a result, new equipment is frequently used
to replace equipment that repair would make serviceable.
One problem of the Ural-Volga area is the shortage of water for
water-flooding operations. Water flooding (pressure maintenance) was
first introduced in 1948, particularly in the oilfields of Bashkir-
skaya and Tatarskaya ASSR's. 18 There is not enough water in these
areas, however, to make flooding completely effective. / Although
* See Table 12, p. 40, below.
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the Karabash reservoir, under construction on the River Ik, will supply
industrial water for flooding purposes to some of the oilfields of
Tatarskaya ASSR, 20- the shortage of water for flooding probably will
continue to be a problem in much of the Ural-Volga area. In Alberta,
water flooding has notbeen introduced.
In the Urals-Volga area, electric power is the most economical
type of power and is widely used in all oilfield operations. Suffi-
cient electric power is not available, however, for the complete elec-
trification of all operations, and other types of power have had to be
substituted for electricity -- particularly in drilling. 21 The com-
pletion of the large hydroelectric power stations under construction
in the Volga basin 22 may help to alleviate this shortage. In Al-
berta, other types of power are more economical for drilling, and
electric power is used much less than in the Ural-Volga area.
C. General Methodology.
Estimated annual drilling and wells completed in the Ural Volga
area in 1946 and 1954 are shown in Table 2.* Estimated annual drilling
and wells completed in the Tuymaza Oilfields of Bashkirskaya ASSR in
1946 and 1951-54 are shown in Table 3. All input estimates in this
report are based on these estimates of the volume of drilling operations.
In order to develop estimates of inputs into the extractive phase
of the petroleum industry in the Ural-Volga area, it was necessary to de-
termine the volume of the drilling operations in all of the _oil producing
fields and prospecting areas. Postwar statistics for annual drilling
meterage and number of wells completed in the entire Ural-Volga area or
in any significant part of it have not appeared in Soviet publications.
The estimates made for the area as a whole, therefore, can be only rough
approximations of the actual figures. Research revealed, however, that
there was available some information which permitted fairly reliable esti-
mates of annual drilling meterage and number of wells completed in the
Tuymaza oilfields of Bashkirskaya ASSR. The margin of -error for esti-
mates of the drilling operations in the Tuymaza oilfields is, therefore,
considerably smaller than for those. of the Ural-Volga area as a whole.
The Tuymaza oilfields are the most important in Bashkirskaya
ASSR and in the entire Ural-Volga area. Throughout the postwar period
the Tuymaza oilfields have produced the major portion of the Bashkir
crude oil and about 30 to 40 percent of the total Ural-Volga produc-
tion. / The Tuymaza fields are located in the central part of the
Table 2 follows on p. 9.
Table 3 follows on p. 10.
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S-E-C--R-E-T
Table 3
Estimated Annual Drilling and Wells Completed
in the Tuymaza Oilfields of Bashkirskaya ASSR
1946 and 1951-54
Drilling
Percent of
(Thousand
Total Ural-
Year
Meters
Number of Wells
Volga Drilling W
1946
99 /
58
30.3 to 39.6
1951
137 J
81
N.A.
1952
.156 J
92
N.A.
1953
26o /
153
N.A.
1954
280 g/
165 b
11.7 to 12.4
a. The number of wells drilled was computed on the basis
of an average depth of 1,700 meters. L4
b. Computed from data in Table 2, p. 9, above.
c. In January 1947, 22 percent of the drilling in the
eastern areas was reported to be concentrated in Tuyma-
za. 35 The total drilling meterage of the eastern
areas is estimated to be about 450,000 meters because
only about 340,000 meters had been drilled during the
first 9 months.
d. Drilling in 1954 was 204 percent of the 1951 drilling
meterage. / (See note g, below.)
e. Drilling in 1952 was 114 percent of the 1951 drilling
meterage. 38
f. -Drilling in 1953 was 190 percent of the 1951 drilling
meterage.
g. The estimate of the drilling meterage for 1954 was de-
rived in two ways. The annual drilling plan called for
170 new wells. 40 The plan for drilling wells was appar-
ently not met, 1/ although probably more than 160 wells
It is estimated that about 165 wells
were completed.72
with a total of about 280,000 meters were drilled. The
majority of the drilling crews in the Bashkirskaya ASSR
were reported to be drilling at the rate of 4,000 to 5,000
meters per year in 1954. 43 The 56 crews of Tuymaza, 44
averaging 5,000 meters each, could have drilled about
280,000 meters.
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Ural-Volga area, and the geological and climatic conditions are fairly
typical of all Ural-Volga oilfields. For these reasons and because of
the greater reliability of input estimates based on the more reliable
drilling data, estimates for the inputs in the Tuymaza oilfields have,
in all cases, been included in the report. When data have been too frag-
mentary to permit estimates for certain input requirements for the Ural-
Volga area as a whole, it has sometimes been possible to make such esti-
mates for the Tuymaza oilfields, and these estimates have been included.
II. Inputs in the Ural-Volga Area.
A. Materials and Equipment.
1. Drilling Rigs.
The following types of rigs for developmental and deep
exploratory drilling are being manufactured in the USSR /*:
Name of Rig
Maximum Depth
of Drilling
Type of Drilling (Meters)_
UZTM-1M (with group diesel drive and 2
U8-3 Pumps)
Rotary, turbine**
3,500
Uralmash 3 D
Rotary, turbine
5,000
Uralmash 4 E
Rotary,
turbine
5,000***
Uralmash 6 D
Rotary,
turbine
3,000
Uralmash 5 D
Rotary,
turbine
3,000
BU-40
Rotary
1,200
BSShL-150 with electric drive
Rotary,
turbine
2,500
BSShL-150 with SAL-III and SAN-I drive
Rotary
2,500
Godzhayev rig with electric drive
Rotary
3,000
* Complete specifications for the equipment used on each type of drill-
ing rig are given in the same source.
** Rotary drilling is a method of drilling whereby a rotary table rotates
the entire drilling string, which in turn rotates the bit. In turbine drill-
ing, the drill string does not rotate, and the bit is rotated by a turbine
at the bottom end of the drill string. Most types of rigs can drill by
either the rotary or the turbine method, but some are not suitable for tur-
bine drilling, as indicated in this tabulation.
*** A 200-ton block-and-tackle system was used in drilling to this depth.
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The rigs most commonly used in the Ural-Volga area are those
produced by the Ural Heavy Machine Building Plant (UZTM). L6/ The drill-
ing rigs Uralmash 5 D and Uralmash 3 D are reported to be giving better
service than are other types of rigs in use in the Ural-Volga area. ~Lv
Portable rigs also are manufactured and are used for shallow
exploratory wells. These small rigs are used usually for the preliminary
exploration of new areas in preparation for deep exploratory drilling. 48
Steel derricks are now in general use. The "Jack-knife" mast
has. not been adopted in the USSR as widely as it has in the US and is used
mainly for shallow wells. The derricks are 28, 41, or 53 meters high and
are made of "structural rolled iron" (Sic) or used drill pipe. / The
41-meter derrick, which is used for drilling to depths of 1,500 to 3,500
meters, probably is the size most commonly used in the Ural-Volga
area, as the depths of most Ural-Volga wells are within that range.
The Tuymaza Oil Drilling Trust and the drilling trusts of the
Tatarskaya ASSR probably have the most modern and efficient equipment of
any oil producing ,regions in the USSR. By 1954, Tuymaza had replaced
almost all of its obsolete equipment with modern equipment, and the
Tatar oilfields, which have been developed-since 1950, / presumably
have been supplied with the most modern drilling rigs.
Until 1954 the number of drilling rigs in operation in the
Ural-Volga area had been increasing during the postwar period. In that
year the number of rigs in operation was reduced in some parts of the
area -- in the USSR as a whole the reduction amounted to 12 percent of
the total. This trend continued in 1955. Drilling speeds have increased,
however, so that more:meterage is drilled with fewer rigs. / Estimated
drilling rigs in operation and wells drilled per rig in the Ural-Volga
area as a whole and in the Tuymaza oilfields of the Bashkirskaya ASSR
in 1946 and 1951-54 are shown in Table 4.* The number of rigs in opera-
tion given in Table 4 probably represents about 85 to 90 percent of the
total number of rigs on hand. The remaining 10 to 15 percent probably
are held in reserve or are undergoing capital repair. 54/
Although drilling speeds have been increasing in the USSR,
the average speed is still far behind the US average, and thenumber of
wells drilled per rig per year is still very small by US standards.**
Table-4-follows on p. 13.
In the US and western Canada an average of 18.2 wells were drilled
by each rotary rig in 1954. / In Alberta, 9.45 wells were drilled per
rig compared with 2.57 in the Ural-Volga area (see Table 12, p. 40, below).
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S-E-C-R-E-T
Table 4
Estimated Drilling Rigs in Operation and Wells Drilled per Rig
in the Ural-Volga Area and in the Tuymaza Oilfields
of Bashkirskaya ASSR J
1946 and 1951-54
Ural-Volga Area
Tuymaza Oilfields
Year
Rigs in Operation
Wells per Rig
Rigs in Operation
Wells per Rig W
1946
99 to 124 c/
2.02 /
4o e/
1.45
1951
N.A.
N.A.
43
1.88
1952
N.A.
N.A.
52 /
1.77
1953
N.A.
N.A.
68 /
2.25
1954
502 to 533 J
2.57 J
56 /
2.95
a. The estimates are for the maximum number of rigs in actual operation or
in the state of being dismantled, moved, or constructed at any time during
the year and do not include rigs in reserve or undergoing capital repair.
The range of error for the estimates for the Ural-Volga area is plus or
minus 20 percent and for Tuymaza, plus or minus 10 percent.
b. These estimates were computed from the data in Table 3, p. 10, above,
and the third column of this table.
c. These estimates were computed from data in Table 2, p. 9, above,
and from the data in the second column of this table.
d. This estimate was computed from the average meterage drilled per rig
at Tuymaza (2,475 meters, derived from Table 3 and the third column. of
this table) and the estimated average well depth of 1,225 meters given
in Table 2.
e. 56
f. 57/ Each brigade is assumed to operate one rig.
g. / Each brigade is assumed to operate one rig.
h. This estimate was computed on the basis of data from Table 2 and an
average drilling meterage per rig of 4,500 meters, based on. the statement
that most crews in Bashkirskaya ASSR drilled 4,000 to 5,000 meters per
year, 52/ an amount considered to be fairly typical. of the entire Ural-
Volga area. The Tuymaza average of about 5,000 meters and the Tatar-
skaya ASSR average of 5,333 meters LO/ are believed to be the highest
in the Ural-Volga.
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Although the hard-rock drilling in the Ural-Volga area requires that a
large part of the drilling time be consumed in "trip"* operations for
frequent bit changes, the greatest cause of the small output per rig
appears to be the amount of time required to dismantle a rig, move it
to a new location, and reassemble it for drilling the next well. Even
the best drilling crew in the Tatarskaya.ASSR, for example, had an
average of 3 weeks of idle time between wells in 1953, 61 and in many
instances a month or more is required to construct the drilling rig. 62
Although the USSR has developed a method of constructing movable founda-
tions, which eliminates the necessity of dismantling the-rig before
moving it, this innovation has not been adopted generally. / Because
of a lack of mechanized equipment, much of the construction work is still
done manually. !L4/ Another reason for the small output of wells per rig
is the amount of idle time that occurs during drilling as the result of
organizational delayt and-shutdowns caused by accidents and repairs. 65/
2. Tubular Goods.
The types of tubular goods for which estimates have been
made are drill pipe, casing, tubing, and field oil-gathering lines.
Because of the lack of essential data, no estimates have been made for
gas-gathering lines, water lines, or steam lines. Much of the gas
produced is still being flared, however, / and the meter-age of gas
lines is presumably much less than that -of the oil-gathering lines.
The severe winter climate requires the heating of pipelines, storage
tanks, and other oilfield installations, so that the meterage of steam
pipelines is probably equal to, or greater than, that of the oil-
gathering lines. Estimated inputs of tubular goods in the Tuymaza
oilfields of Bashkir-skaya ASSR in 1946 and 1951-54 are shown in
Table 5, and estimated inputs of tubular goods in the Ural-Volga
area in 1946 a n d 1954 are shown in Table 6.
a. Drill Pipe.
Soviet drill pipe is made of rolled or cast open-hearth
steel, mark D or mark E. The size of pipe* ranges from a diameter
* A trip" is the operation of-pulling the entire drill string from
the well, changing the bit, and lowering the drill string back into the
hole to resume drilling.
Table 5 followson p. 16.
Table 6 follows on p. 17.
xxxx Soviet publications usually give pipe diameters in inches, as in
the US, but use the metric system for other types of measurement.
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 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01093AO01 100050001 -1
of 2 7/8 inches to 6 5/8 inches, and the lengths range from 6 meters
for pipe of the smallest diameter to 11.7 meters for pipe of the
largest diameter.
The average life of a string* of drill pipe in the
Ural-Volga area is very short}, according to US standards.** In
turbine drilling in the USSR a string of drill pipe will be worn
out after drilling only 4 or 5 wells. / In rotary drilling,
which causes greater stress on drill pipe, the life of a drill
string is presumably shorter and may be only 1 or 2 wells. The
poor performance of drill pipe in rotary drilling in the Ural-
Volga area 1J is certainly one of the chief reasons for the wide
use of turbine drilling in that area. The new experimental elec-
tric drill,*** which has been tested at Tuymaza recently, has thus
far proved to be more economical, for 8 to 10 wells can be drilled
with 1 drill string. / It is estimated that in 1954, 9.2 kilo-
gram (kg) of drill pipe were used for every meter drilled in the Ural-
Volga area; in Alberta, 1.8 kg of drill pipe were used per meter of
drilling.**** The inferior quality of Soviet drill pipe, which
* A string is a column or series of pipe arranged with the
necessary couplings for lowering into the hole.
** In the US a drill string drilled from 23 to 57 rotary wells
in 1951, the number determined by the geological conditions. 68
*** The electric drill consists of an electric motor installed
at the bottom of the. drill string to rotate the bit. As in turbine
drilling, the drill string itself does not rotate.
**** See Table 13, p. 41, below.
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 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01093AO01 100050001 -1
ii
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 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01093AO01 100050001 -1
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43 N
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has not been greatly improved during the last 20 years, ?/ causes many
accidents, particularly in rotary drilling. Even in the Baku region,
where the rock formations are more easily drilled, in 1954 there were
241 accidents caused by failures of drill pipe. 28j*
b. Casing.
Soviet casing is either welded pipe or seamless pipe,
made usually from carbon steels, mark A, mark S, or mark D, and -some-
times from alloy steels, mark E or mark EM. 1 The diameters of
casing range from 4 3/4 inches to 20 1/2 inches, and pipe lengths
range from about 6 meters to about 15 meters. / Although there are
43 different sizes of casing listed in the Soviet GOST (Gosudarstvennyy
obshchesoyuznyy standart- -- All-Union State Standard), not all these
sizes actually are produced, and the selection of casing is consider-
ably smaller than it is in the US. 2~/ Because of the small selection,
casing of a larger diameter or with a greater wall thickness than is
necessary or economical is sometimes used in Soviet oilfields.
In the Tuymaza oilfields the usual well construction
consists of a conductor casing set to a depth of from 100 to 300
meters** and a production string set for the entire length of the
well. The conductor string usually is of 10 3/4-, 12 3/4-, or
14 3/4-inch casing, and the production string is generally 6 5/8
inches in diameter. FI`he more complicated deep exploratory wells may
have1 or 2 intermediate strings in addition to the conductor and
production strings.' The same type of well construction is employed
throughout the Ural-Volga area, but in some regions a short length of
surface casing, in addition to the conductor string, is set.
Within the last year there has been a trend to conserve metal by the
use of casing of smaller diameter and the elimination of the conduc-
tor and intermediate strings of casing. 26J Although these steps
are being taken in Stalingrad and Kuybyshev, there does not appear
to have been much progress in the Ural-Volga area as a whole.
* Offshore exploratory drilling, more difficult than land drilling,
is done usually by the rotary method, ~2/ and in 1954 in the Baku
area 27.3 kg of drill pipe were used for every meter drilled, three
times as much as the permitted norm. 2-0
** The conductor casing is set near the surface to prevent caving
of the top soils andseepage of water.
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An average Ural-Volga well, 1,750 meters deep with 2
strings of casing, is estimated to require 81 tons of casing, or 46.3
kg per meter.* The Joints used to connect the casing together would
bring the total amount of steel used in the caking strings to about
83.1 tons, as the joints add about 2 or 3 percent to the total weight
of the casing strings.** In 1946 the Ural-Volga area used almost 70
percent more casing per meter drilled than did Alberta in that year.***
One reason for the greater casing inputs in the Ural-Volga area is that
the Soviet industry apparently does not attempt to salvage casing from
dry holes.**** It also seems to be standard practice in the Ural-Volga
area to ease all types of wells for the entire length of the hole
instead of just to the production zone or to the degree that the geo-
logical conditions of the individual wells require.
The cost of casing is about 15 to 20 percent of the
cost of drilling a well 22/9 and 50 percent or more of the cost of
materials for drilling. 100 Some 1950 prices for casing indicate a
wide variation in price, the degree of difference depending on the
grade of steel and the thickness of the wall. For example, one type
of 6-inch casing cost 56.74 rubles per meter, and another type cost
96.38 rubles per meter*X***; and one type of 10-inch casing cost
94.04 rubles per meter, and a 16-inch casing cost 195.43 rubles per
meter. 101 If it is assumed that these prices were effective in
* In the offshore wells at Baku, where the geological conditions
often require one or more intermediate strings of casing, the Neft-
yannyye Kamni Drilling Office consumed 65.8 kg of casing per meter
drilled in 1954 instead of the planned 56.5 kg; and during the first
quarter of 1955 the Artem Drilling Office consumed 62 kg of casing
per meter instead of the 45 kg established by norm. 2.V
** Computed from data in source 2_8j.
*** See p. 41, below.
**** This conclusion is based on the fact that although a number
of references to salvage of surface equipment, such as water pipe-
lines and electric lines, have appeared in Soviet publications, no
reference to salvage of casing has been seen. There is no provision
for salvage of casing in available examples of estimates for drill-
ing and financing wells.
****-* The prices quoted apparently include the joints.
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 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01093AO01 100050001 -1
the Tuymaza area in 1951, the cost of the 6-inch production casing in
that trust alone may have been between 7.8 million and 13.2 million
rubles, The only information on 1954 prices of casing is a statement
that by saving 1,300 tons of 6-inch and 12-inch casing the Turkmen
oilfields saved almost 2 million rubles, 1,02
an indication that the
price of casing may average about 1,500 rubles per ton. If it is
assumed that this is also about the average price of casing in the
Ural-Volga area, the cost of casing at the Tuymaza oilfields in 1954
may have been about 22 million rubles and in the Ural-Volga area as
a whole, about 160 million to 170 million rubles.
c. Tubing.
Crude oil is produced through tubing varying in diam-
eter from 1 1/2 to 4 inches. Although in some parts of the USSR,
notably Baku, a double string of tubing is generally used, the well
cemented rock formations of the Ural-Volga area probably make only
one string of tubing necessary in most fields. 10 Furthermore,
the compressor method of production, which requires the double
string of tubing, has been largely eliminated in the Ural-Volga.
area. 104 Because of the paraffin problem at Tuymaza, it is
improbable that anything smaller than 2 1/2-inch tubing is used
in those oilfields. 10 The 2 1/2-inch size probably is the
most commonly used throughout the Ural-Volga area.
There are no available data to indicate the propor-
tion of dry holes to the total number of wells drilled either in
the Tuymaza oilfields or in-any part of the USSR during the postwar
period. In view of the very rapid increase in Tuymaza-production,
it has been assumed that a large percentage of the total wells
drilled, possibly 75 to 90 percent, are productive and require
tubing. The proportion of productive wells to the total. wells
drilled in the Ural-Volga area as a whole has been estimated at
about 65 percent, the same proportion as in the US and western
Canada in 1954. 106/
d. Field Oil-Gathering Lines.
Field oil-gathering lines from the wells to the
individual or group storage point and from there to the central
field tank farm range in diameter from 2 to 12 inches. The-size
most commonly used probably is the 4-inch pipe. 10
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In the early years of development, wells were spaced
at 100 to 200 meters. 108 It is probable that in most areas wells
.are now spaced at 400 meters. With the latter spacing, considerably
less metal is required for gathering lines than with the closer spac-
ing. With 400-meter spacing, 25,000 ,meters, or 336 tons, of 4-inch
pipe are required for every 1,000 hectares.
3. Bits.
The three-cone rock bits manufactured in the USSR are
classified according to the type of rock formation they are designed
to drill: soft, medium, hard, and well cemented. ILO/ All but the
first type are commonly used in the Ural-Volga area, and the latter
two types are required for a large share of the drilling. III/ The
most frequently used size is the No. 10 bit, 9 3/4 inches in diameter,
for drilling hole for the production string; and bits up to a No. 18,
17 3/4 inches in diameter, are used for drilling hole for the conduc-
tor string. IM/
In the hard-rock drilling conditions in the Ural-Volga
area the expenditure of bits is considerably higher than the average
for the USSR as a whole. In 1954 the average meterage per bit at
Tuymaza was 21 meters, 11 and in the USSR as a whole the average
meterage per bit was 33.7 meters in developmental drilling and 18.7
meters in exploratory drilling. 114 The 1954 average at Tuymaza
is an improvement over the average in 1951, when each bit drilled
an average of only 15.1 meters. 11 A Tuymaza well (1,700 meters
deep) requires between 65 and 100 bits. 1161* Although the actual
* In the US, wells as deep as 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) use an aver-
age of 16 bits, wells between 5,001 and 10,000 feet (1,525 to 3,049
meters) use an average of 28 bits, and wells more than 10,000 feet
(more than 3,049 meters) use an average of 136 bits.,ll The meter-
age per bit varies widely in the US, depending on the depth of wells
and the geological formations. In the "West Texas chert," considered
the most difficult to drill in the US, a bit can drill only 3 or 4
meters, whereas in some soft formations on the Gulf coast 1 bit may
drill more than 3,000 meters. 118 In the Mid-Continent region,
each bit drills on the average 108 to 117 meters. 1-19-/
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meterage per bit for the Ural Volga area as a whole is not available,
it wasreported in 1955 that the average was not yet 20 meters. 120
Because of the great volume of drilling in the Ural-Volga area, it is
evident that the low meterage per bit in that area has reduced the
average for the USSR. Of a total of about 173,000 three-cone rock
bits used in the USSR in 1954, 121 the Ural-Volga area is estimated
to have used 118,400 to 126,300 bits, 68 to 73 percent of the total.
In spite of the large expenditure of bits, the supply was reported
to be adequate in all areas in 1954. 122 Estimated inputs of bits
in the Ural-Volga area and in the Tuymaza oilfields of Bashkirskaya
ASSR in 1951-54 are shown in Table 7.*
The, poor quality of Soviet bits causes considerable
concern to the Soviet oil industry.** Research to improve the quality
of bits continues, and a number of new types were tested in the oil-
fields in 1954. 124_ The results of the tests have not been disclosed,
and none of the new types has been produced for general use. 12
The 1950 prices of 3-cone rock bits for a "theoretical
Soviet well" were given as 848 rubles for a 9 3/4-inch bit and 2,396
rubles for a 15 3/4-inch bit. 126 If the prices quoted are considered
to be in the right order of magnitude for the Tuymaza oilfields, the
cost of bits used in Tuymaza in 1951 was nearly 9.8 million rubles.
In 7954 the average price of a Soviet 3-cone bit was approximately
725 rubles.xxx At thisaverage price the cost of bits used in the
Tuymaza oilfields in 1954 may be estimated at about 9.64 million
rubles and in the Ural-Volga area as a whole at about 85.84 million
to 91.57 million rubles.
4. Cement.
For cementing wells, special "tamponage" cements are
used. These are special types of hydraulic portland cement for wells
Table 7 follows on p. 23.
A comparison of bits of Soviet manufacture with bits imported to
Soviet oilfields during World War II showed the great superiority of
the imported bits. In 1945, imported bits drilled, on the average,
40 percent more meterage per bit than the bits of Soviet manufacture. al/
In 1954 the USSR used about 173,000 three-cone bits at a cost of more
than 125 million rubles. 12
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Table 7
Estimated Inputs of Bits in the Ural-Volga Area
and in the Tuymaza Oilfields of Bashkirskaya ASSR
1951-54
Ural-Volga Area
Tuymaza Oilfields
Y
a/
Weight in
Weight in
Number of Metr c
ear
Number of Bits -
Metric Tons
%
Bits W
a c
T
_
ons
1951
N.A.
N.A.
9,100
550
1952
N.A.
N.A.
10,100
boo
1953
N.A.
N.A.
13,300
8oo
195+
118,E+00 to 126,300 /
6,650 to 7,050 /
13,300
800
a. Figures have been rounded.
b. The average meterage per bit in 1951 was 15.1; in 1952, 15.4; in
1953, 19.5; and in 1954, 21.0. 128
c. The weight is computed on the basis of 50 kg for a 9 3/4-inch bit
and 120 kg for a 13 3/4-inch bit. 12 The 13 3/4-inch bit is assumed
to have been used for the drilling meterage under the conductor casing,
and the 9 3/4-inch bit is assumed to have been used for the remaining
meterage. Data for these computations were obtained from Tables 2, 3,
5, and 6, pp. 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, respectively, above. These sizes of
bits are the minimum sizes that could have been used for the size of
the casings generally used, and the weights given are, therefore,
minimum estimates.
d. The meterage per bit in the Ural-Volga area was estimated to be
19 meters on the basis of a statement that the average per bit was
"not yet 20 meters." 130/ The estimated number of bits is, therefore,
probably a minimum estimate.
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of 3 categories: "cold" wells with a bottom-hole temperature to 40?C,,
"hot" wells with a bottom-hole temperature to 75?C, and extra-deep
wells with a bottom-hole temperature to 100-120?C. 131 In 1954 a
gypsum-alumina cement, which reduced the hardening time considerably,
was used for cementing the conductor string in Tatarskaya ASSR, and
in 1955 its use was to be extended to cementing the production string
and to other specialized uses throughout the Ural-Volga area. 132
The amount of cement required for casing a well varies
with the diameter of the casing used and the depth to which it is set.
It is estimated that the wells of the Ural-Volga area require 30 to
45 tons of cement for setting casing with the present depths and
casing program. 133,* Estimated inputs of oil well cement in'the
Ural-Volga area and in the Tuymaza oilfields of Bashkirskaya ASSR
in 1946 and 1951-54 are shown in Table 8.**
Additional amounts of cement are required for build-
ing foundations for the derrick and surface equipment. In 1945 an
average Soviet well required about 1,400 sacks (70 tons) of cement, 135
more than half of which,probably was used for foundations for surface
equipment.
A 1950 price for oil well cement was 250.05 rubles
per ton. 136 At this price the cost of -cement for the Tuym.aza oil-
fields in 1951 was -about 706,900 rubles.
5. Drilling Fluids.
In the Ural-Volga-area in recent years, water, rather than
conventional. drilling muds, has often been used-for drilling fluid.***
In 1953 in Kuybyshevskaya Oblast, more than 40 percent of the
* In the US, wells as deepas 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) require an
average of 442 -sacks of cement (18.8 tons), wells from 5,001 to 10,000
feet deep (1,525 to 3,049 meters) require an average of 350 sacks (14.9
tons), and wells more than 10,000 feet deep (more than 3,049 meters)
require 1,400 sacks (59.7 tons). 134/
** Table 8 follows on p. 25.
***_ A drilling fluid is pumped through -the drill pipe and through the
bit to carry the cuttings to the surface, to lubricate and cool the
bit, to-support the: walls of the well, and to control pressures. Drill-
ing fluid referred to as "mud" is a mixture of water, clay, and certain
chemical additives.
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Table 8
Estimated Inputs of Oil Well Cement in the Ural-Volga Area
and in the Tuymaza Oilfields of Bashkirskaya ASSR J
1946 and 1951-54
Metric Tons
Year
Ural-Volga Area
Tuymaza Oilfields
1946
5,000 to 6,250
2,030
1951
N.A.
2,835
1952
N.A.
3,220
1953
N.A.
5,355
1954
46,440 to 49,320
5,775
a. The estimates are for tamponage cement used
for setting casing and do not include any cement
used for construction. The estimates are based
on an estimated requirement of about 25 tons of
cement per well in the Ural-Volga area in 1946,
about 36 tons per well in 1954, and about 35 tons
per well in the Tuymaza oilfields. / The
range of error is estimated to be plus or minus
15 percent.
drilling was done with water, 1381 and at the Tuymaza oilfields 76.2
percent was done with water. 1 In 1954, water was used in 6o to
70 percent of all the drilling operations in the Ural-Volga area. 140
The use of water is reported to increase the efficiency of turbodrills,
to lengthen the period between repairs, and to increase the drilling
speed by about 40 percent. 141
The use of water has also greatly reduced the cost of drill-
ing. By the use of water instead of mud in Tuymaza in 1953, the cost
per meter drilled was reduced 35.73 rubles, a saving of more than 60,000
rubles per well. 142 At this rate, more than 7 million rubles were
saved in 1953 in the Tuymaza fields, and the drilling muds that were
used cost about 2,211,000 rubles.
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The use of water, however, has not been completely success-
ful. Most of the rock formations of the Ural-Volga area can be drilled
satisfactorily with water, but the use of water in drilling some forma-
tions has resulted in cave-ins and the consequent loss of time to re-
pair the damage. 143
In 1954, bentonite* powder was frequently used as a com-
ponent of drilling muds. A shortage in the output of bentonite, how-
ever, limited its use. 144 At the Tuymaza oilfields the clays used
for drilling muds areof poor quality and have to be brought from
great distances. These clays cannot be used without the addition of
caustic soda and soda ash. Drilling an average Tuymaza oil well re-
quires about 20 tons of soda products . In 1946, Tuymaza used
about 1,160 tons of these chemicals, but in 1953 and 1954 the use of
water reduced the requirements for soda products to about 700 tons.
The 1950 price for caustic soda was 1,647.94 rubles per ton, 146
a fact which accounts for the emphasis on reducing the use of these
chemicals.
B. Electric Power.
Electric power is used widely in almost all phases of drilling
and production operations in Soviet oilfields.** In Soviet drilling
operations, electricity is the most economical type of power. 147
Because of a shortage of electric power,, however, much of the drilling
in the Ural-Volga area throughout the postwar period has been powered
by steam or diesel engines. 150 In the Ural-Volga area, only the
Bashkirskaya ASSR and the Krasnokamsk fields of Molotovskaya Oblast
used electric power for drilling in 1946, and in those areas it was
used only in small amounts. L 51J In 1951 it was proposed to increase
the amount of drilling by electric power to 61 percent of all drill-
ing, 1 2 but actually 66 percent of all Soviet drilling rigs were
* A type of clay.
** In the US, electricity is practically never used to power drill-
ing rigs, because of the high cost and the remoteness of drilling
sites from power lines. In 1947, 71 percent of all US drilling-rigs
were powered by internal combustion engines, 21 percent by steam,
and 8 percent by diesel electric drive. 148 Butane, diesel oil,
and natural gas are the fuels generally used for drilling in the
us. 14
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still powered by diesels in that year. / In 1954, although steam-
powered rigs were no longer widely used, 1 4
j large numbers of diesel
engines were still in use. -.G;/ Even at Tuymaza, which has its own
power plant 156J and where the most modern equipment and methods are
employed, many rigs were still on diesel drive in June 1955 because
of a shortage of electric power. i2v
The norms for the average expenditure of electric power per
meter of drilling in the Ural-Volga area in 1946 ranged from 130
kilowatt-hours (kwh) for shallow developmental drilling to 560 kwh
for extra-deep exploratory drilling in Krasnokamsk. In Bashkir-
skaya ASSR the norms ranged from 180 to 260 kwh per meter. 1 8 With
the increase in drilling speeds the consumption of power per meter
has decreased. In 1948, experiments with fast drilling in shallow
wells in Krasnokamsk reduced the consumption of power from 130 kwh
to 70 to 72 kwh per meter. / The only available data on consump-
tion of electricity in drilling in 1954 were for one drilling office
at the Tuymaza oilfields,' which used 113 kwh per meter of turbine
drilling. 160 In the USSR as a whole a 1953 publication reported
the average expenditure of power to be 175 to 200 kwh per meter of
drilling for wells 1,500 to 2,000 meters deep. 161
Petroleum production operations in the USSR are almost entirely
electrified. In 1946 the expenditure of power per ton of oil pumped in
the Ural-Volga area ranged between 7.5 kwh in the Kinel' fields of
Kuybyshevskaya Oblast to 22 kwh in Krasnokamsk. In Tuymaza the expendi-
ture per ton was 12.6 kwh. 162 This rate of consumption of power
apparently has not changed appreciably since 1946; in 1953 the average
expenditure for the USSR as a whole was given as 12 to 18 kwh per
ton. 16 The compressor method of production, which requires 3 to
4 times as much power as pumping, 164 has been largely eliminated
in the Ural-Volga area. 16
All other electric power requirements in the oilfields of the
Ural-Volga area in 1946 varied from 2 kwh per ton of production at
the Kinel' fields to 32.1 kwh at the Krasnokamsk fields. 166 The
average consumption of 4.25 kwh per ton of production at Tuymaza in
1946 16 was consistent with the average for the USSR of 2 to 5
kwh reported in 1953. 168
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At Tuymaza since 1948, and more recently in other oilfields
of Tatarskaya and Bashkirskaya ASSR's, water flooding has been used.
Water flooding requires large quantities of electric power for the
pumping stations. The Tuymaza oilfields, which pump 50,000 cubic
meters of water per day into the input wells, 169 probably use
almost 100 million kwh of electric power per year for this pur-
pose.*
Because of insufficient data on the actual percentage of
wells drilled by electric power and the percentage of the total
crude oil produced from pumping wells in the Ural-Volga area, no
documented estimate can be made for the consumption of electric
power in the area as a whole. It seems probable, however, that
the total consumption of electric power in the oilfields of the
Ural-Volga area in 1954 was between 550 and 650 million kwh.
Estimated consumption of electric power in the Tuymaza oilfields
of.Bashkirskaya ASSR in 1946 and 1954 is shown in Table 9.**
C. Labor.
Except for data on certain categories of labor in a-few
specific areas, information concerning the labor input in the
petroleum industry is too fragmentary to permit estimates. The
drilling phase of the industry is the most standardized in the
use of labor. A Soviet drilling crew consists of 15 to 21 men,
the exact number depending on the type of power used to operate
** From data given in source 1 0 the average consumption of
electric power per cubic meter of water pumped was computed to
be 5.5 kwh.
** Table 9 follows do p. 29.
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Table 9
Estimated Consumption of Electric Power in the Tuymaza Oilfields
of Bashkirskaya ASSR
1946 and 1954
Thousand Kilowatt-Hours
Purpose 1946 1954
I
Drilling wells 6,500 to 8,700 J 25,425 to 28,250 b
Pumping wells 1,260 14,4oo to 19,200 J
Auxiliary needs 8,500 J 32,800
16,260 to 18,46o 72,625 to 80,250 g/
a. The average expenditure of power per meter of drilling was esti-
mated at 220 kwh. L71/ It was assumed that about 30 to 40 percent of
the total drilling meterage in 1946 was drilled by electric power.
Figures were rounded.
b. It is estimated that about 225,000 to 250,000 meters were drilled
by electric power in 1954. The average expenditure of power was
estimated to be 113 kwh per meter. 1 2
c. Only 5 percent of the total production of Tuymaza was produced by
pumping in 1946.1 3 The production by pumping is estimated roughly
at about 100,000 tons. The expenditure of electric power was 12.6
kwh per ton. 174/
d. It is estimated that about 15 to 20 percent of the total produc-
tion in 1954 was produced by pumping, roughly a maximum of 1.2 mil-
lion to 1.6 million tons. The 1947 norm of 12 kwh per ton of produc-
tion j was used to make this estimate because the Soviet average
figure of 12 to 18 kwh per ton published in 1953 116J indicates there
probably has been no significant change in the expenditure of power
for pumping.
e. The estimate was based on the expenditure of 4.25 kwh per ton of
production. The 1946 production was estimated roughly at about
2 million tons.
f. The estimate was based on the 1947 norm of 4.1 kwh per ton of
production 1 8 and on estimated maximum production of 8 million tons.
g. There probably is a wide margin of error in this estimate because
of the lack of a firm production figure for 1954 and the unknown ef-
fects of new technology, which probably consumes large quantities of
power. The power consumed by the water-flooding operations alone may
bring this total to 170 to 180 million kwh. (See p. 28, above.)
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the rig.* 180 It is estimated, therefore, that in the Ural-Volga area
between 1,750 and 2,500 workers were employed in the actual operation
of drilling rigs in 19+6 and between 7,500 and 9,500 in 1951+.** In the
Tuymaza oilfields, about 700 men were employed in drilling in 1946 and
a mimimum of 814.0 in 1954.**
The workers employed in various support and auxiliary activities
connected with the drilling of wells far outnumber the workers in drill-
ing crews. A derrick construction brigade usually has 11+ men, and other
special brigades, consisting of 2 to 5 workers, are employed in the
installation of drilling equipment, blow-out preventers, boilers, and
diesel engines. 181 Together with the drilling and construction-as-
sembly brigades,: workers such as electricians, transport workers,
tractor operators, and mechanics make up a drilling sector. The total
number of workers for eachsector may be 71+ to 87 men, or -- if there
are 2 drilling crews in 1 sector -- from 95 to 105 men.*** 18 On
the basis of this type of organization, the total number of workers
employed directly or indirectly in the drilling operations at Tuymaza
in 1954 probably was between 2,500 and 5,000.
Because of the inadequacy of the available .information, the
labor input for the production phase of the oilfield operations in
the Ural-Volga area cannot be estimated with any degree of accuracy.
The organization of production operations is not so-standardized as
is that of drilling operations. There is a great variation in labor
requirements, which are determined by such factors as the number and
distribution of operating wells, the methods of production (flowing
or pumping), the terrain of the oilfield, and the amount of treat-
ment necessary for the crude oil. In 1938 the number of production
workers per well in the Ural-Volga area was 2.7, and in the USSR as
a whole it was 1.7. 181+ In one of the Tuymaza oilfields in-1953,
* Electric power requires 15 men; diesel, 18 men; and steam, 21
men. -x-17/
For the estimated number of operating rigs, see Table 1+, p. 13,
above. The estimates for the number if workers have been rounded.
*** This was the organization of fast-drillingvectors in the
Krasnodar _oilfield,s in 191+8. 182 _ The organization of fast-drilling
sectors in the Ural-Volga area probably is similar, although the to-
tal number of employees may be larger than in an average sector.
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however, 1 man could service 5 or 6 wells. 18 Automation has been
introduced in a few fields and has contributed to reducing the number
of workers per well. 186 There are not enough specialists trained
in the fields of electronics, telemechanics, and radio technology,
however, and automation still has a limited use in Ural-Volga oil-
fields. 18 In oilfields where water flooding is employed, the
average number of workers per well is twice that in other areas.
In such fields, about 6.4 percent of the total number of workers
engaged in the production of petroleum are employed in the water-
flooding operations. 188
Because of the greater yield per well in the Ural-Volga area,
labor productivity is 2.5 times as high as it is in the "old regions."*
In 1954 in the "new regions" the petroleum output was 10 times as high
as in 1940, but there were only 4 times as many workers employed. 18
Of the total number of workers employed by an-oilfield administra-
tion, less than 50 percent are engaged in the actual production of petro-
leum. 1 0 Large numbers are employed in construction, transport, repair,
and other services. At Tuymaza in 1954, for example, about 400 workers
were employed in the operation of boilers for heating, and 150 men were
employed in the transport of workers to and from their jobs. 12-1/
Despite the relatively large manpower requirements in the petro-
leum industry, there is no evidence to indicate any serious shortage of
labor in the Ural-Volga area. In 1954, some difficulty was encountered
in the support of the exploratory drilling locations because some labor
and transport had been diverted to agriculture. 192/
D. Capital Investment.
One of the largest capital investment items of the Soviet petro-
leum industry is the cost of drilling wells. In 1955, about 25 percent
of the total investment in the petroleum industry was allocated to drill-
ing, and about 30 to 40 percent of the capital expenditures in the
extractive phase of the industry is estimated to be for drilling. 1 4
* The Soviet source does not define the terms new regions and old
regions. The term new regions was interpreted to refer primarily to
the Ural-Volga area and old regions to the fields at Baku and in the
North Caucasus.
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In 1940-41, drilling required an even larger share of the capital invest-
ments of the petroleum industry -- almost half of the capital expenditures
of the extractive phase and a third of the investment of the industry as
a whole. 1 5
It is probable-that in the Ural-Volga area in 1945-47 the cost
of drilling wells was more than 50 percent of the investments in the
extractive phase and in some areas may have been as much as 60 or 65
percent. One reason for the relatively large proportion of expenditures
for drilling in the total investment at that time was the intensive ex-
ploration and development of the newly discovered deposits in the
Devonian formations and the relatively high cost of drilling in those
hard-rock areas. Furthermore, the cost of producing the oil in'those
areas was relatively low because of the large proportion of flowing
wells and the absence of the compressor method of production. 196/
The compressor method is the most costly method and may account for
10 or 15 percent of the total expenditures of an oil production
trust. 12 With the greater development of the petroleum resources
in the Ural-Volga areaand with improved drilling techniques, drill-
ing costs have declined. 12.8j On the other hand, the cost of producing
operations has increased in several areas as a result of the introduc-
tion of water flooding. It is believed; therefore, that drilling my
have accounted for 30 to 40 percent of the total expenditures in the
extractive phase of the industry in the Ural-Volga area in 1954 and
1955.
Of the total cost of drilling in 1946, the cost of materials
was 29.1 percent; fuel and power, 16 percent; labor, 12.6 percent; and
depreciation of equipment, 16.9 percent.* 22/ The relative proportion
of these items to the total cost of drilling has apparently not changed
significantly since 1946. The cost of materials and of fuel and power
was still about 45 percent of the total in 1954. 200 Of the cost of
materials -- casing, cement, drilling fluid components, cable, lumber,
and-spare parts -- the cost of casing is the largest item -- 50 percent
or more of the total. 201 The cost of casing is about 15 to 20 per-
cent of the total cost of a well, 202 -and the cost of all other materials
is about 10 percent. 20
* The source gave these percentages for the eastern areas as a whole,
of which the Ural-Volga area is the major part.
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There is a wide range in the total costs of wells in the Ural-
Volga area. According to the official Soviet price list 204 on which
the estimates for the costs of drilling all Soviet wells in 1946-50
were based, the cost of drilling a well in the Ural-Volga area in
1945-46 ranged from about 54,000 rubles for a shallow developmental
well (250 meters deep) to more than 3 million rubles for a deep ex-
ploratory well (3,400 meters deep).' 20 The cost, per meter for
these wells was 215 rubles and 894 rubles, respectively. The average
cost per meter of all types of wells drilled in the Ural-Volga area
in 194.6 was 572 rubles.* 206
Evidence on which to calculate drilling costs in 1954 is very
fragmentary. On the basis of the estimated amount of casing used in
an average well in 1954, however, it is possible to make a rough esti-
mate of the total cost of a well. An average well, 1,750 meters deep,
in the Ural-Volga area was estimated to require about 83.1 tons of
casing,*** which cost an average of approximately 1,500 rubles per
ton.*** As the cost of casing is about 15 to 20 percent of the total
cost of a well, an average Ural-Volga well in 1954 probably cost
between 623,500 rubles and 831,000 rubles, or between 356 and 475
rubles per meter. The only wells for which actual 1954 drilling costs
are known are exploratory wells, which would normally be more costly
than the average wells. In Kuybyshevskaya Oblast the cost of drilling
an exploratory well ranged from 500,000 to 6 million rubles. 20 One
exploratory well in this oblast, 2,252 meters deep, cost 2,150,700
rubles, or 955 rubles per meter, and another well, 2,650 meters deep,
cost 1,137,100 rubles, or 429 rubles per meter. 2Q8 These actual
costs, however, were considerably lower than the planned costs, pro-
bably estimated on the basis of previous experience, which amounted
to 1,030 rubles and 780 rubles per meter, respectively.
Because of the wide range in the estimates of the volume of
drilling and in the average costs of drilling in the Ural-Volga area,
In 19 5 prices.
This is a straight average of all types, and no attempt was made
to weight by number of wells of each type. Because of the large pro-
portion of the less expensive developmental wells in the total of
wells drilled, a weighted average probably would be lower.
*** Including the joints. (See p. 19, above.)
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estimates for the total investments in the drilling of wells and in the
extractive phase as a whole will necessarily have such a wide range as
to be of value only as an indication of the possible order of magnitude
of such investments. On the basis of the estimated cost of an average
Ural-Volga well in 1954, it is estimated that the total 1,290 to 1,370
wells drilled may have cost between 800 million and 1.15 billion rubles.
As the cost of drilling wells was estimated to be 30 to 40 percent of
the investments in the extractive phase, the total investments in this
phase of the industry in 195+ may have been between 2 billion and 3.8
billion rubles.
Because considerable data are available on the amount of drill-
ing and the costs of drilling in the TuyMaza oilfields in 1946, the
estimates for the expenditures of that trust canbe made. The propor-
tion of the different items of expenditure to the total expenditures
would be considerably changed in this trust in 1954, however, because
since 19+8 the cost of water flooding hasbecome a major item of ex-
penditure. The cost of water flooding in 1955 was 15 to 18 percent
of the total production costs at Tuymaza. 20 Inspite of thegreat
amount of capital expended for water-flooding operations, the greatly
increasedproduction obtained by this method has made the cost of
Tuymaza crude oil considerably less than the average for the USSR as
a whole. 210 Estimated capital expenditures in the Tuymaza oilfields
of Bashkirskaya ASSR in 19+6 are shown in Table 10.*
Large capital expenditures have recently been made by the petro-
leum industry throughout the Ural-Volga area-for the construction of
roads, housing, transportion and communications facilities, ware-
houses, and supply bases. A major portion of the 800 million to 900
million rubles to be expended by the petroleum industry of the USSR
for such construction during the next few years 211 will certainly
be allocated to the Ural-Volga area. In 1955, three-fourths of the
total construction work of one main administration of the Ministry
of Construction of Petroleum Industry Enterprises were allocated to
Bashkirskaya and Tartarskaya ASSR's alone. 212
Table 10 follows on-p. 35.
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Table 10
Estimated Capital Expenditures in the Tuymaza Oilfields
of Bashkirskaya ASSR
19+6
Purpose of Expenditure
Drilling of wells
Materials
Power and fuel
Labor
Depreciation of equipment
Overhead and administration
Other expenses
Total drilling
Amount ,~
(Rubles) J
11,717,000 J
6,Li.2,00o J
5,073,000
6,805,000
5,999,000 b
+,228,000 b
1+0,265,000
Equipment for producing wells 6,927,000 J
Other major oilfield equipment, such as storage tanks
and pipelines 5,808,000 J
All other expenditures 10,610,000 J
Total expenditures 63,610,000 g/
a. In 19+5 prices.
b. This breakdown is based on data for all the eastern areas of the
USSR. Of the cost of drilling, the cost of materials comprised 29.1
percent; energy expenditures, 16 percent; labor force, 12.6 percent;
depreciation of equipment, 16.9 percent, overhead and administrative
expenses, 11+.9 percent; and other expenditures, 10.5 percent. 213
c. On the basis of source 211+ J and of the fact that the average monthly
wages of drilling workers in Baku was 612 rubles in January and 960
rubles in December 1911-6, 215 labor in this category is interpreted
to refer only to drilling crews. Other types of labor, such as
transport and construction, are probably included in "overhead" or
"other."
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S-E-C-R-E-T
Table 10
Estimated Capital Expenditures in the Tuymaza Oilfields
of Bashkirskaya ASSR
1946
(Continued)
d. The number has been rounded. The estimate, in 1945 prices, was
computed from data on drilling costs for the various types of wells
drilled at Tuymaza during 1945-46. 216 From these data the average
cost per meter was computed to be 40 7 rubles.
e. The estimate is based on data for one unidentified oil production
trust in 1946 from source 21 . Because the trust described employed
the compressor method of production, allowance was made for the absence
of a compressor system at Tuymaza. On the assumption that other opera-
ting conditions in the two trusts were similar, the equipment for produ-
cing wells was estimated to comprise more than 10 percent of the total
investment and other oilfield equipment more than 9 percent.
f. Residual.
g. The data referred to in note e were used. With an allowance for the
absence of a compre-ssor system at the Tuymaza oilfields and with the as-
sumption that other operating conditions were similar in the two trusts,
the drilling of wells at Tuymaza was estimated to comprise 63 to 64 per-
cent of the total investment. The per-ntage used to compute the total
investment at Tuymaza was 63.3 percent.
III. Comparison of Input Requirements in the Ural-Volga Area
and in Alberta, Canada.
Because of the similarity of the Alberta and the Ural-Volga areas,
a comparison of the input requirements in the two areas will give a
basis for an evaluation of the efficiency of the extractive phase of
the petroleum industry in the Ural-Volga area. Estimated reserves and
production of crude oil in Alberta and in the Ural-Volga area in 1946-54
are shown in Table 1l,* and estimated drilling operations in Alberta and
in the Ural-Volga area in 1946-54 are shown in Table 12.** Comparative
Table 11 follows on P. 39.
Table 12 follows on p. 40.
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 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01093AO01 100050001 -1
data on drilling operations and inputs in Alberta and in the Ural-Volga
area in 1946 and 1954 are shown in Table 13.* Although comparable infor-
mation is available for only a relatively small number of inputs, the
comparative figures on these inputs show the superiority of the operating
efficiency of the petroleum industry in Alberta.
The relatively low output per drilling rig in the Ural-Volga area is
a direct reflection of the poor management and inefficient construction
techniques used in the Ural-Volga area. Although a few of the leading
drilling crews in the Ural-Volga area have operated their rigs efficiently
and have equaled the average meterage per rig in Alberta, the majority
of the crews are hampered by administrative delays, slow construction
work, and loss of time caused by accidents and repairs. 218 Because of
the inefficient construction techniques and the lack of mechanized equip-
ment for assembling and dismantling drilling rigs, the rigging-up and
tearing-down operations in the Ural-Volga area frequently require a month
or more ?D2; in the oil industry of the West, 1 or 2 weeks is usual. 220
.The inferior quality of Soviet drill pipe is reflected in the large
consumption of drill pipe in the Ural-Volga area compared with that in
Alberta. Even with the wide use of turbine drilling, which has resulted
in the saving of a large quantity of drill pipe, the Ural-Volga area
still uses about five times as much drill pipe per meter drilled as does
Alberta.
The casing program in Alberta is similar to that used in the Ural-
Volga area. There are usually 2 strings of casing -- a surface string
set to about 600 feet (183 meters) and a production string of 5 1/2-
or 7-inch casing set through the productive zone. 221 The chief
reason for the greater use of casing in the Ural-Volga area appears
to be the failure of the Soviet industry to salvage casing from dry
holes. Moreover, it appears to be the standard Soviet practice to
case all wells for the entire length of the hole; in Alberta, casing
is usually set through the productive zone and not necessarily to the
bottom of the hole. 222
The larger casing requirements in the Ural-Volga area would require
a proportionately larger amount of oil well cement than is used in Al-
berta. The Alberta cement requirements, however, are not available for
comparison.
13 follows on p. 4l.
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 Approved For Release 1999/09/26 : CIA-RDP79-01093AO01 100050001 -1
Data on the performance of drilling 'bits in Alberta are not available
for the area as a whole for comparison with the Ural-Volga area. Infor-
mation on the use of bits in very deep wells of one Alberta field, how-
ever, revealed that an average of 13.5 meters per bit for wells about
3,000 meters deep was increased to 33.6 meters per bit-for wells of that
depth as a result of the use of a larger drill collar. 223 These wells,
among the deepest in Alberta, are considerably deeper than the average,
and the performance of bits in this one field cannot be considered typical.
The penetration rates per bit in these deep wells presumably are among the
lowest rates in Alberta. The rates do indicate, however, that the average
meterageper bit in the Ural-Volga area, estimated to be a maximum of 19
meters,* is probably considerably lower than the meterage per bit in Al-
berta, except in very deep drilling.
The cost of drilling wells in Alberta is about $6o,000** to $75,000
for developmental wells of medium depth (1,500 to 1,700 meters) and
about $150,000 to $250,000 for extra-deep developmental wells (2,400 to
2,700 meters). Exploratory wells are usually more costly. They average
$100,000 to $125,000 for wells 1,500 to 2,100 meters deep, and extra-
deep wells of more than 4,000 meters may cost $1 million or more. 224
Because of the artificiality of the official ruble-dollar exchange rate,
it is not possible to make an accurate comparison between the costs of
Alberta wells and the estimated cost of an average Ural-Volga well of
between 623,500 and 831,000 rubles*** (between $155,875 and $207,750
at the official rate). Labor inputs and costs in the extractive phase
of the petroleum industry in Alberta in 1946-49 are shown in Table
14.*** Data for the Ural-Volga area are not sufficient for adequate
comparisons with the data on Alberta.
See p. 21, above.
In terms of US dollars.
See p . 33, above.
**** Table 14 follows on p. 42.
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