The legendary object "Friendship." The oil pipeline built in the times of the USSR

"Friendship" (main oil pipeline) is the largest network in Europe for delivering oil to consumers. It's an old, but reliable system. Under Soviet power there was such a body, the CMEA (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance). It was an intergovernmental organization dealing with economic issues arising in the interaction of the Warsaw Pact countries. At the CMEA session in 1958, it was decided to build an object such as the Druzhba (oil pipeline), with the aim of supplying oil to the socialist countries of Europe.

The process took 4 years (1960-1964). Some branches were built earlier, and in 1962 Czechoslovakia received the first oil. Later, from 1968 to 1974, in connection with the increase in the volume of oil supplies, the second line, Druzhba-2, was built.

Features of construction

The construction of the Druzhba oil pipeline clearly demonstrated the close cooperation and mutual economic integration of the countries of the socialist camp. The fact is that the pipes for the project were made by the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia was engaged in fittings, all the pumps at the distillation stations were produced by the German Democratic Republic (German quality!), And Hungary was responsible for the automation of communication equipment.

The purpose of the construction of the oil pipeline "Friendship"

"Friendship" (oil pipeline), in fact, was a reflection of Soviet foreign policy in those years. Its main feature was assistance to fraternal socialist countries. In those years, they helped the "brothers" with everything they could. Often for a nominal fee or completely free.

• The first goal. To strengthen economically the friendship between the countries of the eastern Warsaw bloc. Therefore, the system of oil pipelines and called "Friendship."
• The second goal. Politics is politics, but economics is economics. Without Soviet oil, the socialist countries of Eastern Europe found it difficult to survive, develop production, and implement social programs.

It was unprofitable and dangerous to take oil from tankers from the capitalists. And suddenly like it, but what if the West offers preferential terms for the purpose of regime change? Such things the Union did not encourage and could not stand. There were examples. The Yugoslav leader, Marshal Josip Broz Tito, undertook some reforms, allowed private business with reservations, and immediately Yugoslavia was equated to a capitalist country, and the marshal was declared a renegade.

At the construction of this grandiose facility, the political and economic goals of the project's organizers coincided. The construction of the Druzhba pipeline was dictated not only by the political situation, but also by a vital necessity.

Where does Russian oil go

Today there is no Soviet Union, no Czechoslovakia, no GDR. The story is changing, and "Friendship" (oil pipeline) has a regular function: it delivers oil from Russia to the countries of Eastern and Western Europe.

Deliveries are made from Tatarstan (Russia) through Ukraine and Belarus to Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Germany. For the most part today, oil is flowing through Belarus, as there are problems with the Ukrainian side, but they are a little lower.

The Druzhba oil pipeline, Bryansk

The network of the main oil pipelines "Druzhba" is included in the structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation. "Druzhba" main oil pipeline has its main office in Bryansk, which is due to the fact that the Bryansk region has a unique geographical location, some of its regions border Ukraine, and others - with Belarus .The main branch goes from Samara to Bryansk, and then to Mozyr (Belarus) .In Mozyr, the system is divided into two important branches: northern (Belarusian) and southern (Ukrainian) .Therefore it is convenient to manage the pipeline from Bryansk.

Ukrainian branch of the oil pipeline "Friendship"

As already written above, in the Belarusian Mozyr the system is divided into two branches. The southern Ukrainian part of the pipe goes from Mozyr to the city of Brody (Ukraine) and then through Galicia and Transcarpathia to Europe. The Ukrainian company UkrTransNafta is exploiting this direction.

The state of the Druzhba pipeline on the territory of Ukraine today

The Druzhba oil pipeline in Ukraine today does not function in full, and therefore Russia is forced to seek detours for the transit of oil to Europe. Plus, UkrTransNafta announced its intention to terminate the 1995 agreement with Russia on the operation of the facility. This is due to the poor domestic political situation in Ukraine and the complication of diplomatic relations with Russia.

Accidents at the oil pipeline "Friendship"

At the end of the topic, we will tell a little about the accidents at the Druzhba oil pipeline. From man-made disasters no one is immune, so readers will be interested to know how things were with this object.

There were oil leaks. Not critical, not causing catastrophic consequences, but there were. In the Ukrainian sector, oil spills arose because of the illegal tapping into the pipe. One of the most sensational cases occurred in July 2012 in Transcarpathia, in the Mukacheve district. Then half a ton of oil poured into the meliorative channel.

There were also funny situations at first glance. But as a result of such curiosities, there were serious breakdowns in the pipeline system. A big response was the situation that took place in October 2012. Station operators in the Slovak and Czech areas noticed the malfunctioning of the instruments. Later it was found out that condoms and rubber nipples in large quantities fell into the system. And the pipe was clogged up in Ukraine.

A little later, the units at the Hungarian control station were spoiled in the same way. In social networks, many wits from the heart were having fun. But there was no occasion for fun. Everything is simple and simple. Someone crashed into a pipe, stealing oil in large quantities, and throwing rubber products into the system to confuse the counters "downstream" of the oil river.