CURRENT INTELLIGENCE WEEKLY SUMMARY

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Collection: 
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP71T00730R000500080124-3
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RIPPUB
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S
Document Page Count: 
2
Document Creation Date: 
December 9, 2016
Document Release Date: 
July 20, 2000
Sequence Number: 
124
Case Number: 
Content Type: 
SUMMARY
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PDF icon CIA-RDP71T00730R000500080124-3.pdf166.41 KB
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. 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-