The minister who led Soviet oil to its peak through the West Siberian fields
In March 1971, he was awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labour for 'outstanding services in fulfilling five-year plan targets for oil extraction and achieving high technical and economic indicators.'
An oil engineer born in Maykop who rose from the oilfields of Tataria and Perm to become Soviet Minister of the Oil Industry (1977–1985). Succeeding Valentin Shashin, he directed the intensive development of West Siberian fields during the late Brezhnev period, sustaining the USSR's position as the world's largest oil producer. He served as a candidate member of the CPSU Central Committee (1981–1986) and retired in February 1985, on the eve of Gorbachev's accession. A Hero of Socialist Labour (1971), he spent his final years in Moscow.
Career Timeline
- 1951Graduated Grozny Oil Institute as mining engineer
- 1951–1956Shop chief, chief engineer, deputy chief at Tatneft enterprises
- 1956–1960Chief of Aznakayevskneft, Tatneft association
- 1960–1961Chief of Bugulmaneft, Tatneft association
- 1961–1972Chief of Perm Sovnarkhoz Oil Industry, then head of Permneft production association
- 1972–1977First Deputy Minister of the Oil Industry, USSR
- 1977–1985Minister of the Oil Industry, USSR
Related historical events
West Siberian Oil Field Development and Industry Reorganization
Appointed USSR Minister of the Oil Industry in April 1977 following Valentin Shashin's death, Maltsev immediately set about reorganizing the West Siberian oilfields. On September 15, 1977, by ministerial order, he established four new production associations in Western Siberia: Nizhnevartovskneftegaz, Surgutneftegaz, Yuganskneftegaz, and Uraineftegaz. A fifth, Noyabrskneftegaz, was added in 1981, substantially strengthening the organizational and technical command structure of the West Siberian fields.
Under Maltsev's tenure, drilling volumes in Western Siberia surged from 2.8 million meters in 1975 to 9.6 million meters in 1980. To support this expansion, production associations from across the USSR (Tatneft, Bashneft, Kuibyshevneft, Belorusneft, Ukrneft, Saratovneftegaz, Krasnodarneftegaz, and Grozneft) were mobilized to drill on a rotational fly-in/fly-out (вахтово-экспедиционный) basis. Maltsev personally oversaw the acquisition of Tu-154 aircraft, the construction of dedicated runways, and the reconstruction of regional airports to ensure tolerable living conditions for these "flying brigades."
The costs of rapid expansion became increasingly apparent. Annual output growth fell from 28.4 million tons in 1980 to 20.8 million in 1981, 18.0 million in 1982, 16.7 million in 1983, and just 7.1 million tons in 1984. That year, Western Siberia missed its production plan by 3 million tons. In 1985, West Siberian output dropped by 12 million tons year-on-year. Total Soviet oil production declined for the first time in decades. In February 1985, Maltsev was dismissed as minister, taking responsibility for the production decline, effectively forced into retirement at age 57.
Nevertheless, Maltsev's eight-year tenure marked the period when the USSR consolidated its position as the world's largest oil producer, and the production-association structure he built survived the Soviet collapse to become the skeleton of the Russian oil industry.