Back in the 2nd-3rd century BC. There are known cases of using natural gas in the national economy. For example, in ancient China gas was used for lighting and heat. Gas was supplied from fields to consumers through bamboo pipes due to the pressure of the gas source, i.e. "by gravity." The pipe joints were caulked with tow. Gas pipelines in the modern sense of the word began to widely appear at the beginning of the 19th century and were used for lighting and heating needs, as well as for technological needs in production. In 1859, a gas pipeline with a diameter of 5 cm and a length of about 9 km was built in the American state of Pennsylvania, connecting the field and the nearest city of Titesville.
Over the course of a century and a half, the need for gas has grown hundreds of times, and along with it the diameter and length of gas pipelines have increased.
Today, main gas pipelines are pipelines designed to transport natural gas from production areas to points of consumption. At certain intervals, gas compressor stations are installed on the pipeline to maintain pressure in the pipeline. At the final point of the main gas pipeline there are gas distribution stations where the pressure is reduced to the level necessary to supply consumers.
Currently, from an efficiency point of view, the maximum diameter of a gas pipeline is considered to be 1420 mm.
Russia
Today, Russia ranks first in the world in terms of proven gas reserves (25% of global reserves), and the Russian gas transportation system is the largest in the world. The average gas transportation distance today is about 2.6 thousand km for supplies for domestic consumption and approximately 3.3 thousand km for supplies for export. The length of main gas pipelines in Russia is 168.3 thousand km. This length is enough to circle the Earth four times.
The main part of the Unified Gas Supply System of Russia was created in the 50-80s of the 20th century and, in addition to the gas pipeline system, includes 268 linear compressor stations with a total capacity of 42 thousand MW, 6 gas and gas condensate processing complexes, 25 underground storage facilities.
Today, the owner of the Russian segment of the UGSS is OJSC Gazprom.
On September 15, 1943, a gas pipeline with a diameter of 300 mm Buguruslan - Pokhvistnevo - Kuibyshev with a length of 165 km and a capacity of 220 million cubic meters per year was put into operation. On this day, the first gas arrived at the Bezymyanskaya CHPP and industrial enterprises of Kuibyshev. It is with this gas pipeline that the history of the development of our country’s gas transportation system begins.
Today the largest gas pipelines in Russia are:
Gas pipeline "Urengoy - Pomary - Uzhgorod"- a main export gas pipeline built by the USSR in 1983 to supply natural gas from the fields of the north of Western Siberia to consumers in the countries of Central and Western Europe. Throughput capacity - 32 billion m³ of natural gas per year (design). The actual capacity is 28 billion m³ per year. Pipeline diameter - 1420 mm. The total length of the gas pipeline is 4451 km. An export pipeline project was proposed in 1978 from the Yamburg fields, but was later changed to a pipeline from the Urengoy field, which was already in production.
Gas pipeline "Union"— export gas pipeline. The diameter of the gas pipeline is 1420 mm, the design pressure is 7.5 MPa (75 atmospheres), the throughput capacity is 26 billion m³ of gas per year. The main source of gas for the pipeline is the Orenburg gas condensate field. Gas pipeline "Union" accepted for service on November 11, 1980. Gas pipeline "Union" passes through the territory of Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine along the route: Orenburg - Uralsk - Aleksandrov Gai - GIS "Sokhranovka" (border of Russia and Ukraine) - Kremenchug - Dolina - Uzhgorod. The total length of the gas pipeline is 2,750 km, including 300 km through the territory of Kazakhstan and 1,568 km through the territory of Ukraine.
Gas pipeline "Yamal - Europe"- transnational main export gas pipeline, commissioned in 1999. Connects gas fields in the north of Western Siberia with consumers in Europe. The gas pipeline has become an additional export corridor, increasing the flexibility and reliability of Russian gas supplies to Western Europe (through the YAGAL-Nord and STEGAL - MIDAL - Reden UGS gas transportation systems).
It originates in the gas transportation hub in the city of Torzhok (Tver region). It passes through the territory of Russia (402 km), Belarus (575 km), Poland (683 km) and Germany. The western end point of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline is the Malnov compressor station (near Frankfurt-on-Oder) near the German-Polish border. The total length of the gas pipeline exceeds 2000 km, diameter - 1420 mm. Design capacity is 32.9 billion m³ of gas per year. The number of compressor stations on the gas pipeline is 14 (3 in Russia, 5 in Belarus, 5 in Poland and one in Germany).
"Nord Stream"- a main gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Gas pipeline "Nord Stream"- the longest underwater gas export route in the world, its length is 1224 km. Owned and operated by Nord Stream AG. Pipe diameter (external) - 1220 mm. Working pressure - 22 MPa.
The project involves Russia, Germany, the Netherlands and France; Russian gas transit countries and the Baltic countries opposed its implementation. The goals of the project are to increase gas supplies to the European market and reduce dependence on transit countries.
Pipeline construction began in April 2010. In September 2011, filling of the first of two lines with process gas began.
On November 8, 2011, gas supplies began along the first line of the gas pipeline. On April 18, 2012, the second line was completed. On October 8, 2012, gas supplies began on two lines of the gas pipeline in commercial mode.
Europe
One of the world's longest underwater gas pipelines runs between Norway and the UK along the bottom of the North Sea. Main gas pipeline "Langeled" connects the Norwegian gas field Ormen Lange with the British terminal at Easington. Its length is 1200 km. Construction began in 2004 and the official opening took place in October 2007 in London.
Near East
Gas pipeline "Iran - Türkiye", 2577 km long, runs from Tabriz through Erzurum to Ankara. Initially a gas pipeline "Tabriz - Ankara" with a throughput capacity of 14 billion m³ of gas per year was supposed to become part of the pipeline "Pars", which would connect European consumers with the large Iranian gas field South Pars. However, due to sanctions, Iran was unable to begin implementing this project.
Asia
Chinese gas pipeline "West East", with a length of 8,704 km, connects the basic northwestern resources of the Tarim Basin - the Changqing field, whose reserves are estimated at 750 billion cubic meters of gas - with the economically developed eastern coast of the Middle Kingdom. The gas pipeline includes one main line and 8 regional branches. The pipeline's design capacity is 30 billion m³ of natural gas per year. Thousands of kilometers of pipes stretch across 15 provincial-level regions and pass through various natural areas: plateaus, mountains, deserts and rivers. Pipeline "West East" is considered the largest and most complex gas industry project ever implemented in China. The goal of the project is the development of the western regions of China.
Gas pipeline "Central Asia - Center", with a length of 5000 km, connects the gas fields of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan with industrialized areas of central Russia, the CIS countries and foreign countries. The first stage of the pipeline was put into operation back in 1967. For the first time in the history of the global gas industry, pipes with a diameter of 1200–1400 mm were used. During construction, underwater crossings of the main gas pipeline were carried out through the largest rivers in the region: Amu Darya, Volga, Ural, Oka. By 1985 the gas pipeline "Central Asia - Center" has turned into a multi-line system of main gas pipelines and gas branch pipelines with an annual throughput capacity of 80 billion m³.
Gas pipeline "Turkmenistan - China" passes through the territory of four countries (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and China) and has a length of 1833 km. Construction of the pipeline began in 2007. The official opening ceremony of the gas pipeline took place on December 14, 2009 at the Samandepe field (Turkmenistan). Pipe diameter – 1067 mm. The design capacity of the gas pipeline is 40 billion m³ of natural gas per year.
North America
The first and longest American gas pipeline to date "Tennessee", built in 1944. Its length is 3300 km, and it includes five lines with a diameter of 510 to 760 mm. The route runs from the Gulf of Mexico through Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Pennsylvania to West Virginia, New Jersey, New York and New England.
American high pressure gas pipeline "Rockies Express", 2,702 km long, laid out its route from the Rocky Mountains (Colorado) to Ohio. The last line of the gas pipeline was launched on November 12, 2009. The diameter is 910 - 1070 mm and consists of three lines that run through eight states. The pipeline's throughput capacity is 37 billion m³ of gas per year.
South America
Gas pipeline "Bolivia-Brazil" is the longest natural gas pipeline in South America. The 3,150-kilometer pipeline connects the gas fields of Bolivia with the southeastern regions of Brazil. It was built in two stages, the first branch with a length of 1418 km began work in 1999, the second branch with a length of 1165 km began work in 2000. The diameter of the gas pipeline is 410 - 810 mm. The pipeline's throughput capacity is 11 billion m³ of gas per year.
Africa
Main gas pipeline "TransMed", with a length of 2,475 km, laid its route from Algeria through Tunisia and Sicily to Italy, then the expansion of the pipeline supplies Algerian gas to Slovenia. The diameter of the ground part is 1070-1220 mm. The pipeline's current capacity is 30.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. The first stage of the gas pipeline was built in 1978-1983, the second stage was put into operation in 1994. The gas pipeline includes the following sections: Algerian (550 km), Tunisian (370 km), underwater passage from the African coast to the island of Sicily (96 km), land Sicilian section (340 km), underwater passage from the island of Sicily to mainland Italy (15 km), a land section through the territory of Italy with a branch to Slovenia (1055 km).
Main gas pipeline "Maghreb-Europe" connects the giant Hassi-Rmel gas condensate field in Algeria - through the territory of Morocco - with the gas transmission system of Spain and Portugal. From the Spanish city of Cordoba, Andalusia region, the gas pipeline goes through the Extremadura region to Portugal. The main supplies of natural gas through the pipeline go to Spain and Portugal, with significantly smaller supplies going to Morocco. Construction began on October 11, 1994. On December 9, 1996, the Spanish section began operating. The Portuguese section was opened on February 27, 1997. The total length of the gas pipeline is 1,620 kilometers and consists of the following sections: Algerian (515 km), Moroccan (522 km), and Andalusian (269 km) sections with a diameter of 1,220 mm, an underwater section (45 km) with a diameter of 560 mm, and a Portuguese section ( 269 km) passing through the Spanish Autonomous Region of Extremadura (270 km) with a diameter of 28 and 32 inches.
Australia
Main gas pipeline Dampier-Bunbury, commissioned in 1984, is Australia's longest natural gas pipeline. The length of the gas pipeline, whose diameter is 660 mm, is 1,530 km. It originates on the Burrup Peninsula and supplies gas to consumers in southwestern Australia.
Regarding the hysterics of idiots and speculators about the immense volumes of gas pumped out of Galician reserves, which until 1967 heated the entire USSR. Even in its heyday, there were 35 billion cubic meters for the whole of Ukraine - now this is enough for Ukraine to live for six months.
The gas and energy industry of a previously unified state arose back in the thirties of the 20th century, one of the centers of its origin was Ukraine. Massive construction of gas pipelines began during and immediately after World War II. The Saratov-Moscow main gas pipeline made of pipes with a diameter of 325 mm and a length of 800 km, commissioned in 1946, was the first in its class. Then the largest pipelines were built: Dashava-Kyiv-Moscow (1300 km). The largest gas transport systems of the USSR in the sixties were the Central Asia - Center system of pipes with a diameter of 1020 and 1220 mm with a total length of about 5500 km and a throughput capacity of 25 billion cubic meters. m per year; the Soyuz export gas pipeline is 2,750 km long, and in 1984 the world's longest gas pipeline, Western Siberia - France, was built. By 1950, out of 85 billion cubic meters. m of industrial reserves (explored and developed) of the USSR, Ukraine accounted for 35 billion cubic meters. m, in the RSFSR - 42 billion cubic meters. m.
gas production statistics in Ukraine since 1960:
Billion cube m
1960 14.3
1970 60.9
1980 56.7
1990 28.1
2000 18 and further approximately 18-20 billion per year. From the East (Shebelinka) near Kharkov and Poltava.
Over the years, the pace of pipeline construction has increased sharply.
Thus, the Saratov-Moscow gas pipeline took 2.5 years to build, Dashava-Kyiv - 2 years; The first stage of the Bukhara-Ural gas pipeline with a length of 2200 km with a pipe diameter of 1020 mm was built within 2 years, and the first stage of the Central Asia - Center gas pipeline with a length of more than 2700 km with a pipe diameter of 1020 mm was built in 1.5 years.
The most famous is the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod gas pipeline, which was built in 1983. The length of this main gas pipeline is 4,451 km, 1,160 km of which pass through the territory of Ukraine. Its capacity is 27.9 billion cubic meters. m of gas per year (design capacity - 32 billion cubic meters per year). There are nine compressor stations along the gas pipeline route.
Now general attention is drawn to the Yamal project, which is linked to the Belarusian gas system. The Yamal-Europe gas pipeline was conceived as a strategic one, designed to create a flexible scheme for transporting Russian gas to Europe. The length of the export route should be 4.1 thousand km (from the Yamal fields through Ukhta and Torzhok, through the territory of Belarus and Poland to Germany), and the capacity by 2010 is planned to be increased to 65.7 billion cubic meters. m of gas per year, 29 compressor stations are designed.
By 1999, sections of the gas pipeline in Poland, Germany and Belarus were put into operation, and in October 2001 the first Russian gas arrived in Holland. It is planned to extend the Bovanenkovo-Ukhta-Torzhok highway through Belarus and the eastern border of Germany. The final cost of the project is about 36 billion dollars.
The total length of main gas pipelines in the USSR by 1970 reached 70 thousand km. Powerful gas pipelines are highly cost-effective, so the trend has been to increase their diameter. If by 1968 the maximum pipe diameter used in the USA was 1067 mm, in the USSR - 1420 mm, the average diameter in the USSR was 674 mm, in the USA - 410 mm. The construction of powerful gas pipelines required the organization of gas fields with an annual gas production of 50-100 billion cubic meters. m. The daily productivity of the well was 2-3 million cubic meters. m. At the same time, it should be noted that the pace of development of main gas transport and the development of new fields has decreased in the last decade: for example, only a section of 117 km was introduced on the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline in 1996, and 67 km in 2002.
The gas transportation system of all CIS countries in total terms is approximately half as powerful as the Russian gas transportation system (77.7 thousand km of gas pipelines versus 150.2 thousand km). However, almost all CIS countries have gas pipelines through which gas is pumped from fields to consumers in third countries.
Therefore, without using the gas transportation system of the CIS countries, OJSC Gazprom deprives itself of a large part of the foreign market. This transit potential of the CIS countries explains Gazprom’s interest in them.
Ukraine's gas capacities are also of independent interest to Gazprom: domestic gas consumption in Ukraine is about 75 billion cubic meters annually. m. Gas accounts for 41% of the energy balance of this country. Of the total consumption, industrial facilities account for about 60%. The remaining 40% is the share of the population and household consumers. In total, more than 85 thousand enterprises and organizations and 16.1 million apartments have been gasified in the country. The gas balance of Ukraine for 2005 consists of 20.1 billion cubic meters. m of own production, more than 36 billion cubic meters. m of supplies from Central Asia (mainly Turkmenistan) and about 23 billion cubic meters. m supplied by Gazprom. 5 billion cubic meters m of gas Ukraine exports itself.
The total length of gas pipelines in Ukraine is 283.2 thousand km, of which 246.1 thousand km are distribution networks and 37.1 thousand km are main pipelines, including 14 thousand km are pipelines of the largest diameter (1020-1420 mm ). The system combines 72 compression stations (122 compressor shops) and 13 underground storage facilities with the largest active volume of gas in Europe after Russia - more than 32 billion cubic meters. m, or 21.3% of the pan-European active capacity. Ukrainian gas pipelines are connected to the main networks of all neighboring countries: Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. The system's inlet capacity is 290 billion cubic meters. m per year, output - 175 billion cubic meters. m. Through the gas pipeline system of Ukraine, Russian gas is transited to European countries, as well as to the southern regions of Russia. In 2007, 120 billion cubic meters were pumped through Ukrainian gas pipelines to Europe. m of Russian gas.
In addition to Ukraine, the main transit countries through whose territory Russian gas reaches consumers include Belarus and Georgia. About 225 billion cubic meters are supplied through them. m of gas. That is why Gazprom is interested in establishing control over gas transportation systems to ensure supplies. Over the next 5 years, export volumes will double due to eastern directions, and then sea pipelines to the south and west. Only one liquefied gas plant in the Far East immediately captured 7% of the world market.
The total length of gas networks in Belarus is more than 30 thousand km (before 1992 the length was 14 thousand km). 7.1 thousand km of main gas pipelines and gas branch pipelines, two underground gas storage facilities with a capacity of 1 billion cubic meters are in operation. m, more than 30 thousand km of networks, six compressor and seven measuring stations. Over the past 10 years, 50 regional centers have been gasified in Belarus, including 13 centers in those contaminated due to the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, 40 cities, 39 urban villages, and the total length of gas networks has more than doubled, the annual increase in gas pipelines is up to 1. 6 thousand km. The share of residential gasification with natural gas in Belarus is now 58.2%. Over 2 million apartments are gasified with natural gas, but the share of gasification in cities is 90%, and in rural areas only 10%.
The Ukraine-Russia gas system was built in the 50-70s of the last century as a single whole; its isolation leads to a deterioration in the parameters of the system and a decrease in the reliability of natural gas exports to Europe. Natural gas prices are a product of political agreements in which energy security plays a paramount role. And having annual squabbles is deadly for the dependent party.
Now even a schoolchild knows that the main source of gaseous hydrocarbon raw materials in our country are the deposits of the Far North, located mainly in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. And in the face of this power of Gazprom, the fact that for the first time large-scale production of natural gas, followed by long-distance transportation via pipeline, was organized not in Siberia at all, but in the Middle Volga region, was almost forgotten.
"Second Baku"
In the 30s of the twentieth century, industrial development of the huge oil-bearing region of the USSR between the Volga and the Urals began. With the light hand of theoretical geologists, this territory received the unofficial name “Second Baku”. Already at the very beginning, refiners were faced with one important problem: how to utilize petroleum gases, which are always present in underground rocks, and when the formation is opened, they rush to the surface along with liquid components.
At different fields, the percentage of gas in oil was always different. Basically, its concentration was quite small, and it did not interfere with the extraction of black gold. However, in some fields, the volumes of natural gas in the formations turned out to be so enormous that it simply did not allow oil to leave the well. Such fields were recorded in geological maps as oil and gas fields. Moreover, in the 1930s, for many years they were practically not used at all, being in a mothballed state.
As for associated natural gas obtained during the development of oil fields, at that time it was considered a production waste and was simply burned in flares, which can sometimes still be seen near our oil refineries.
True, in the 1930s, in some fields of Azerbaijan there were attempts to use this mineral as fuel, for which small in-plant gas pipelines were built, but such experience did not have industrial significance at that time. Already in those years, geologists and petrochemists more than once tried to draw the attention of industrial leaders to the fact that the rational use of natural gas could bring the country no less income than oil refining and coal mining. However, for a long time no one listened to the opinion of experts - until severe necessity forced them to do so. The Great Patriotic War began.
No one needs natural gas
Previously, natural gas was simply burned
During the first war months in Kuibyshev (now Samara), which at that time had the status of “the second capital of the USSR,” the problem of speedy gasification of industrial enterprises, as well as the entire social sphere of the city, became acute. The fact is that due to the Nazi occupation of Donbass, the supply of Donetsk ASh grade coal to the Kuibyshev State District Power Plant and Bezymyanskaya Thermal Power Plant stopped. And although since November 1941 both enterprises switched to supplying coal mined in the Karaganda region, it soon became clear that this fuel did not meet the technological requirements placed on it by power plants.
In particular, Kazakhstani coal contained too much waste rock, and besides, it arrived in open cars, which is why it ended up frozen and mixed with snow. Therefore, the leadership of the Special Construction Directorate of the NKVD of the USSR (abbreviated UOS, or Osobstroy), located in Kuibyshev, whose main task was the construction of large aircraft factories and other defense enterprises in Bezymyanka, was constantly distracted from the construction of these facilities. Large teams of prisoners were sent to the railway station, who used picks and crowbars to break up the frozen mass of coal in the cars - otherwise there was no way to unload them.
These and other difficulties at the end of 1941 - beginning of 1942 forced the management of the Soviet aviation industry, which included the most important Kuibyshev factories, to look for alternative sources of energy supply to industrial enterprises. A solution was found in converting the Kuibyshev State District Power Plant and BTPP to burning natural gas, significant reserves of which had by that time been explored on the border of the Kuibyshev and Orenburg regions - in the vicinity of the cities of Pokhvistnevo and Buguruslan.
At the end of the 1930s, large-scale geological exploration work was carried out to search for oil in the vast expanses of the Middle Volga region. However, in the Orenburg region, instead of black gold deposits, drilling rigs often uncovered underground layers with large reserves of natural gas. At that time, this natural raw material was of no interest to industry. All the wells in which no oil was found were plugged, and in the national economic plans the beginning of any exploitation of the Pokhvistnevsky and Buguruslan gas fields was postponed indefinitely.
Business executives had to remember this source of natural gas during the tense times of the Great Patriotic War. After discussing a number of options for the uninterrupted supply of fuel to Bezymyanka enterprises, it was decided to quickly build a gas pipeline, gigantic at that time, to supply raw materials to the reserve capital of the USSR from the western regions of the Orenburg region.
Stalin gave the order
Laying of gas pipelines was done manually. 1942
The issue of providing fuel to defense enterprises was decided at the level of the Chairman of the State Defense Committee of the USSR (GKO USSR) Joseph Stalin, who signed secret decree No. 1563c dated April 7, 1942 “On the construction of the Buguruslan-Kuibyshev gas pipeline.” According to this document, fuel transportation along the route was supposed to begin in the coming December. The initial throughput of the pipeline was determined at 150 million cubic meters of gas per year, but by the third quarter of 1943, producers were required to pump 220 million cubic meters through it.
In accordance with the above-mentioned government decree, on May 20, 1942, the Construction Department of the Buguruslan-Kuibyshev gas pipeline was created in the city on the Volga. However, despite all the efforts of the builders, it was not possible to put the route into operation in 1942. There was not enough labor, especially in the first months, and therefore 3,000 prisoners from the Bezymyanlag of the USSR NKVD, who had previously built aircraft factories in Kuibyshev, were transferred to lay the gas pipeline.
In the winter of 1942-1943, 800 qualified oil workers, who already had considerable experience in laying pipelines, were urgently sent from Baku to the Kuibyshev region. And in order to further increase the pace of construction of the most important facility, by order of the USSR State Defense Committee, dismantling of the Ishimbayevo-Ufa oil pipeline began in neighboring Bashkiria, pipes from which were then transported to Buguruslan and further distributed along the future route. The main section of the fuel line (Kuibyshev - Pokhvistnevo) with a length of 160 kilometers was put into operation on September 15, 1943. And at the end of December of the same year, a section of the route from Buguruslan to Pokhvistnev was also connected to the pipe, after which the total length of the gas pipeline reached 180 kilometers. This pipeline became the very first industrial gas pipeline in the USSR.
In parallel with the connection of power plants to the highway, construction was underway on another section of it, stretching to the Krasnoglinsky district, where many defense enterprises were also located. Already on December 31, 1943, a 5.6-kilometer section of the fuel line from Bezymyanka to Mekhzavod went into operation. In total, from September 1943 to July 1945, Kuibyshev’s energy enterprises received 260 billion cubic meters of natural gas through the new gas pipeline, which turned out to be equivalent to 370 thousand tons of coal.
The beginning of mass gasification
It was then calculated that thanks to this gas pipeline, the railway workers freed up 20 thousand cars from transporting coal, which in difficult times of war were urgently needed by the country for the transportation of defense cargo. In the second half of 1945, the Kuibyshevskaya State District Power Plant and the Bezymyanskaya Thermal Power Plant switched from gas fuel to burning crude oil, which by that time had begun to arrive here via an oil pipeline from the Zolny region. Even during the Great Patriotic War, after natural gas was supplied to the boilers of energy enterprises, mass gasification of residential buildings and social facilities in Kuibyshev and the region also began - even earlier than in Moscow and Leningrad. By 1950, the length of intracity networks in the region exceeded 200 kilometers. That year there were already about 10 thousand gasified apartments in the region. Thus, the Volga city became a pioneer of household gasification in the USSR.
Valery EROFEEV
Museum of the history of the world's first gas pipeline March 23rd, 2016
I already wrote that I was able to visit .
On the territory of the center there is museum
, dedicated history of the world's first gas pipeline
. The museum was created in 2012 and its exhibition presents documentary materials from the construction and operation of the first gas pipeline "Saratov - Moscow" and the country's first transcontinental gas pipeline system "Central Asia - Center". The museum also has interactive panels dedicated to the modern activities of Gazprom OJSC and Gazprom Transgaz Saratov LLC.
Let's take a look inside the museum. 
Before visiting the museum, let's get acquainted with history of this gas pipeline.
The world's first gas pipeline is the Saratov-Moscow gas pipeline. And it was created thanks to the discovery of an oil and gas field in the territory of present-day Elshanka in the 30s of the 20th century. Now part of Saratov is located there, but at that time this territory was a continuous steppe.
Here is the location of the deposit.
2.
Photo taken from mosgorshop.ru
In 1941, the first gas well was drilled in this area, and the second well appeared in June 1942. Both of them turned out to be highly productive, and this allowed scientists to conclude that a field with industrial reserves of natural gas had been discovered. And already in September 1942, a decision was made to develop the field. And the first cubic meters of gas were supplied through the newly constructed Elshanka - Saratov gas pipeline already in October 1942.
And at the end of 1944, a decision was made to build an 843-kilometer gas pipeline "Saratov - Moscow". To provide the capital with gas.
July 11, 1946 - it was on this day that the gas pipeline, built in the shortest possible time, came into operation. A gas pipeline with a length of 843 km is laid across the territories of the Saratov, Penza, Tambov, Ryazan and Moscow regions. It was from this gas pipeline that the country's gas industry grew.
3. Scheme of the Saratov-Moscow gas pipeline 
The Elshansko-Kurdyumskoye field itself was depleted by 1967 and now our pipeline serves only for the transit of gas from Central Asia to the central part of Russia. Those. now the pipeline is part of the pipeline« Central Asia - Center» , passing through the territories of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia.
4. Scheme of the Caspian gas pipeline and the Central Asia - Center gas pipeline project 
But let's go back to the museum. Luckily there is something to see here.
The museum consists of 3 halls. First hall
dedicated to the 40-50s of the 20th century
and shows the history of the construction of the Saratov-Moscow gas pipeline " and showinghow the gas industry was born .
5.
In this room we can see the layoutElshanskaya tower.
6. Model of the Elshanskaya tower
7. Model of the Elshanskaya tower from the other side
8. A model diorama of the gas pipeline under construction is also shown here. 
The gas pipeline was built manually. First, furrows were made with hoes, and then a gas pipeline was built along the furrows. They worked day and night. Moreover, it was mostly young people who worked, in particular 16 and 17-year-old boys who were deceived and brought here instead of the promised front from Volyn (present-day Ukraine).
Already during the construction process, gas flowed with great difficulty, sinceWhen pressing the pipes, dirty water was used and this prevented the passage of gas.
9.
Also in this room you can see model of the GAZ AA car (in common parlance a lorry), which was converted to run on natural gas and made its flight from Elshanka to Saratov. The room is also presented with personal belongings, work documents, household utensils and other itemspioneer builders of the gas pipeline and the village of Elshanka. In particular, the main founders of the gas pipeline, Boris Andreevich Mozharovsky and I.I. Engurazova. Here you can see a reconstruction of the living room of an Elshanka resident from the 40s and 50s, all the things in which are real.
Living room of a resident of Elshanka in the 40s and 50s
10.
There are also stands with the most significant dates and information about the people who took the most significant action in the construction of the gas pipeline.
11.
12.
Next room
dedicated to the 60-70s
- years construction of the world's first transcontinental gas pipeline system "Central Asia-Center". Here you can see the tools that were used at that time in the process of servicing the gas pipeline. For example, you can see a telephone switchboard of that time, an adding machine (the prototype of a modern calculator), a gramophone and kerosene gas.
13.
Portraits
Of course, this room also displays personal belongings of the gas pipeline pioneers. "Central Asia-Center". Gifts and souvenirs are also displayed in the hall.from representatives of those Central Asian countries through whose territory the gas pipeline passes.
14.
15.
And a map diagram of the direction of gas movement from the sands of the Karakum to Moscow - how would we be without it in this room.
16. And here in the foreground is the same telephone switchboard. 
17. Another view of the gas pipeline diagram. 
The 3rd hall is real . The real history of the Gazpromtransgaz Saratov enterprise, and now Gazprom Transgaz Saratov. This room shows all the modern activities of the enterprise,gifts dedicated to significant dates of the enterprise, information about medical institutions.
18. LED panel “Dynasties” in the Modernity hall
There is also an electronic book of honor “Gazprom Transgaz Saratov”, which contains names that are especially significant for the company.
A special feature of the hall is an electronic guide designed for independent work by visitors. In this guide All information about the enterprise is presented: from past to present.
19.
The highlight of the museum is the amphitheater for showing various films. Amphitheaterconsists of 2 tiers: lower (these are seats) and upper (this is a drum with a timeline and with photo fragments about activities from the past and present of the enterprise).
20.
Here they not only show films, but also conduct various lectures, seminars and conversations intended for the company’s staff, as well as hold meetings with visitors.
21.
Thank you for the excursion
Currently, the main source of gaseous hydrocarbon raw materials in our country are the fields of the Far North, located mainly on the territory of the Yamalo-Nenets National District. However, not everyone knows that for the first time large-scale production of natural gas for the purpose of using it in industry and everyday life was organized not in Siberia, but in the territory of the Middle Volga region. And for more than 60 years, the Samara region has occupied a leading position not only in the development of gas fields, but also in the practical use of “blue fuel”.
The Great Patriotic War pushed the use of natural gas. Due to the Nazi occupation of Donbass, the supply of Donetsk ASh grade coal to the Kuibyshevskaya State District Power Plant and BTPP ceased. There is a need for alternative fuel.
No one needs natural gas
In the second half of the 30s of the twentieth century, industrial development of oil fields began in the Syzran region. Later, significant reserves of “black gold” were discovered on the territory of Samarskaya Luka and in the Kuibyshev Trans-Volga region. At the same time, at the very beginning, refiners were faced with one important problem: how to utilize petroleum gases, which are always present in underground rocks and, when the formation is opened, rush to the surface along with liquid petroleum components?
At different fields, the percentage of gas in oil was always different. Basically, its concentration was small and could not interfere with the production of “black gold”, but in some fields the volumes of natural gas in the formations turned out to be so enormous that it simply did not allow oil to leave the well.
Such deposits were recorded in geological maps not as oil, but as oil and gas. Moreover, in the 30s, for a number of years they were practically not used at all, being in a mothballed state. As for the associated natural gas obtained during the development of oil fields, at that time it was considered an industrial waste and was burned in flares, which can still be seen in some Samara fields. True, in the 30s, in some fields of Azerbaijan there were attempts to use associated gas as fuel, for which in-plant gas pipelines were built, but this experience did not have industrial significance at that time.
Good reason
Already in those years, geologists and petrochemists more than once tried to draw the attention of industrial leaders to the fact that the rational use of natural gas could bring the country no less income than oil refining and coal mining. However, for a long time no one listened to the opinion of experts: until severe necessity forced this to happen - the Great Patriotic War began.
Even in its very first months in Kuibyshev, which at that time had the status of “the second capital of the USSR,” the problem of speedy gasification of industrial enterprises, as well as the entire social sphere, became acute. The fact is that due to the Nazi occupation of Donbass, the supply of Donetsk coal of the ASh grade to the Kuibyshev State District Power Plant and BTPP stopped. And although since November 1941 both stations switched to supplying coal mined in the Karaganda region, it soon became clear that this fuel did not meet the technological requirements of the thermal power plant. In particular, Kazakhstani coal contained too much waste rock, and it also arrived in open cars, which is why it ended up frozen and mixed with snow. Therefore, the leadership of the Special Construction Directorate of the NKVD of the USSR (abbreviated as UOS or Osobstroy), located in Kuibyshev, whose main task was the construction of large aircraft factories and other defense enterprises in Bezymyanka, was forced to constantly be distracted from the construction of these objects. Large teams of prisoners were sent to the railway station, who used picks and crowbars to break up the frozen mass of coal in the cars - otherwise there was no way to unload them.
These and other difficulties at the end of 1941 - beginning of 1942 forced the leadership of the region and the entire Soviet aviation industry, which included the most important Kuibyshev factories, to look for alternative sources of energy supply to industrial enterprises. A solution was found in converting the Kuibyshev State District Power Plant and Bezymyanskaya Thermal Power Plant to burning natural gas, significant reserves of which had by that time been explored on the border of the Kuibyshev and Orenburg regions - in the vicinity of the cities of Pokhvistnevo and Buguruslan.
At the end of the 30s, in these places, as in many other places in the Middle Volga region, exploration work for oil was carried out, but instead of “black gold”, drilling rigs here discovered underground layers with large reserves of natural gas. Then the wells were plugged, and in the national economic plans the beginning of any exploitation of the Pokhvistnevsky and Buguruslan gas fields was relegated to an indefinite future.
The first gas pipeline in the USSR
Business executives had to remember this source of natural gas during the most intense time of the Great Patriotic War. After discussing a number of options for the uninterrupted supply of fuel to Bezymyanka enterprises, it was decided to quickly lay a gas pipeline, gigantic at that time, through which gas could be supplied to the reserve capital of the USSR from the western regions of the Orenburg region.
The issue was resolved at the level of the Chairman of the State Defense Committee of the USSR (GKO USSR) Joseph Stalin, who signed secret decree No. 1563c dated April 7, 1942 “On the construction of the Buguruslan-Kuibyshev gas pipeline.” According to this document, fuel transportation along the route was supposed to begin in December 1942. The initial throughput of the pipeline was determined at 150 million cubic meters of gas per year, but by the third quarter of 1943, producers were required to pump 220 million cubic meters through it.
In accordance with the government decree, on May 20, 1942, the Administration for the Construction of the Buguruslan-Kuibyshev Gas Pipeline was created in the regional capital. But despite all the efforts of the builders, it was not possible to put the route into operation in 1942. There was an acute shortage of labor at the construction sites, especially in the first months, and therefore 3 thousand prisoners from the Bezymyanlag of the USSR NKVD, who had previously been employed in the construction of aircraft factories in Kuibyshev, were transferred to lay the gas pipeline. In addition, in the winter of 1942-1943, 800 qualified oil workers, who previously already had considerable experience in laying pipelines, were urgently sent from Baku to the Kuibyshev region. And in order to further increase the pace of construction of this most important facility, by order of the USSR State Defense Committee, dismantling of the Ishimbayevo-Ufa oil pipeline began in neighboring Bashkiria, pipes from which were then transported to Buguruslan and then distributed along the future route.
The main section of the fuel line between Kuibyshev and Pokhvistnev, 160 km long, was put into operation on September 15, 1943. From this day on, the first domestic gas transportation enterprise began its history, which today, after repeated name changes, is called Gazprom Transgaz Samara LLC. And at the end of December of the same year, a section of the route from Buguruslan to Pokhvistnev was connected to the pipe, after which the total length of the gas pipeline reached 180 km. At that time, this gas pipeline was the largest in the USSR.
In parallel with the connection of the Kuibyshevskaya State District Power Plant and the Bezymyanskaya Thermal Power Plant to the gas pipeline, the construction of another section of it was underway, stretching to the Krasnoglinsky district, where many defense enterprises were also located. Already on December 31, 1943, a 5.6 km section of the fuel route from Bezymyanka to Mekhzavod went into operation. In total, from September 1943 to July 1945, Kuibyshev’s energy enterprises received 260 billion cubic meters of natural gas through the new gas pipeline, which turned out to be equivalent to 370 thousand tons of coal. At the same time, it was calculated that thanks to this gas main, railway workers in those years freed 20 thousand cars from transporting coal, which in difficult war times were urgently needed by the country for the transportation of defense cargo. But in the second half of 1945, the Kuibyshevskaya State District Power Plant and the Bezymyanskaya Thermal Power Plant switched from gas fuel to burning crude oil, which by that time began to arrive here via an oil pipeline from the Zolny region.
Even during the war years, after natural gas was supplied to the boilers of energy enterprises, mass gasification of residential buildings and social facilities in Kuibyshev and the region began - earlier than in Moscow and Leningrad. By 1950, the length of intracity gas networks in the region exceeded 200 km. That year there were about 10 thousand gasified apartments in the region. Their number began to grow at an accelerated pace after the 120 km long Mukhanovo-Kuibyshev gas pipeline was put into operation on December 27, 1957.
And the population was provided
As for connecting villages and villages of the Kuibyshev region to gas networks, in the 50-60s we practically did not carry out such work. Nevertheless, already at this time, an extensive network of supplying urban and rural consumers with bottled gas had developed in the region. At the end of the 60s, gas filling stations were already operating in almost all regional centers, where cylinders of various capacities were filled with a liquefied butane-propane mixture, and then they were distributed to villages. And in 1970, mass construction of local highways to supply network gas began in rural areas. At the same time, the first village where “blue fuel” came through the new networks was Belozerki, Volzhsky district, where on March 27, 1971, gas stoves were lit in 200 apartments at once.
Massive construction of gas pipelines to populated areas of the Kuibyshev region began in the late 70s. Network gas began to reach more remote regions only in the 80s.
In general, all villages in the Volzhsky region were connected to network gas already in the mid-70s. By that time, work had begun on laying local gas mains in Stavropol, Krasnoyarsk, Bezenchuk, Kinel, Sergievsky and a number of other districts of our region. The situation in providing “blue fuel” to villages and villages improved even more after the Orenburg-Kuibyshev gas pipeline was put into operation on February 17, 1974. Then additional resources appeared in our region for a significant expansion of rural gasification.
Since the late 70s, mass construction of gas mains began to the settlements of Krasnoarmeysky, Neftegorsky, Privolzhsky, Kinel-Cherkassky, Bolsheglunitsky, Shentalinsky and other regions. Network gas began to reach more remote places in the Kuibyshev region only in the 80s.
No risk of freezing
In the post-war years, fuel replacement at energy facilities in the Kuibyshev region continued at an accelerated pace: instead of coal, heavy oil fractions (fuel oil) and natural gas began to be burned more and more. In particular, on the basis of its own oil fields, on December 31, 1947, the first stage of the Syzran CHPP began its work, where one boiler and one turbine unit came into operation.
The next energy enterprise in the region operating on oil and gas was the Novokuibyshevskaya Thermal Power Plant, designed to supply energy to the Novokuibyshevsk Refinery under construction. The first stage of this thermal power plant was put into operation on October 1, 1951. At the same time, the oil refinery itself started operating a month after the launch of the thermal power plant. And the further construction of new heating capacities in Novokuybyshevsk was closely related to the growth of industrial production. In the early 60s, a synthetic alcohol plant came into operation here, and then the oil refinery began to expand and reconstruct. In 1964, a number of production facilities were spun off from its workshops, on the basis of which the Novokuibyshevsk Petrochemical Plant production association was then created. By that time, the construction of CHPP-2, also running on gas, had already been completed in the city.
In connection with the construction of large chemical and petrochemical enterprises in the area of Stavropol and Zhigulevsk, planned back in the early 50s, the construction of thermal power plants began here, in parallel with the construction of the Kuibyshev hydroelectric station. The first stage of the Stavropol Thermal Power Plant was put into operation on September 28, 1960, when a boiler with a capacity of 420 tons of steam per hour came into operation.
As for the regional center, by the beginning of the 70s, the growing city, whose population exceeded one million, was in dire need of new energy sources. A solution was found in the construction of the Kuibyshev Thermal Power Plant on Alma-Atinskaya Street, operating on gas fuel. Its first stage went into operation on November 1, 1972, and the rest over the next two years. During the same period, the Central and Station heating boiler houses, which also operated on natural gas, were already operating in Kuibyshev.
Over the past decade, there has not been a single large thermal power facility left in the Samara region that has not been switched to supplying “blue fuel”. At the same time, dozens of small boiler houses that were previously heated with fuel oil were closed across the region, and all consumers of heat previously supplied from these facilities were connected to large centralized sources. This decision, in addition to transferring the entire heating system of our region from heavy petroleum products to cheaper gas raw materials, by reducing emissions, helped to significantly improve the environmental situation in many cities and towns.
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