tc.redstormrising-第4节

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ted　a　highly　sophisticated　act　of　sabotage。〃
〃Who　were　they？〃　the　Defense　Minister　asked　sharply。
〃We　only　have　identification　for　two　of　them。　One　of　the　bandits　was　a　staff　electrician。　The　third〃…Sergetov　pulled　the　ID　card　from　his　pocket　and　tossed　it　on　the　tablewas　Senior　Engineer　I。M。　Tolkaze。　He　evidently　used　his　expert　knowledge　of　the　control　systems　to　initiate　a　massive　fire　which　spread　rapidly　before　high　winds。　A　security　team　of　ten　KGB　border　guards　responded　at　once　to　the　alarm。　The　one　traitor　still　unidentified　killed　or　wounded　five　of　these　with　a　rifle　taken　from　the　building　guard；　who　was　also　shot。　I　must　say；　having　interviewed　the　KGB　sergeant…the　lieutenant　was　killed　leading　his　men…that　the　border　guards　responded　quickly　and　well。　They　killed　the　traitors　within　minutes；　but　were　unable　to　prevent　the　plete　destruction　of　the　facility；　both　the　refinery　and　production　fields。〃
〃And　if　the　guards　responded　so　fast；　how　then　did　they　fail　to　prevent　this　act？〃　the　Defense　Minister　demanded　angrily；　He　examined　the　photographic；　pass　with　palpable　hatred　in　his　eyes　〃What　was　this　black…ass　Muslim　doing　there　in　the　first　place？〃
〃rade；　work　in　the　Siberian　fields　is　arduous；　and　we　have　had　serious　difficulties　in　filling　the　posts　we　have　there。　My　predecessor　decided　to　conscnpt　experienced　oil…field　workers　from　the　Baku　region　to　Siberia。　This　was　madness。　You　will　recall　that　my　first　remend　last　year　was　to　change　this　policy。〃
〃We　have　noted　it；　Mikhail　Eduardovich；〃　the　Chairman　said。　〃Go　on。〃
〃The　guard　post　records　all　telephone　and　radio　traffic。　The　response　team　was　moving　in　under　two　minutes。　Unfortunately；　the　guard　post　is　located　adjacent　to　the　original　control　building。　The　current　building　was　constructed　three　kilometers　away　when　new　puterized　control　equipment　was　obtained　from　the　West　two　years　ago。　A　new　guard　post　was　also　supposed　to　have　been　built；　and　the　proper　materials　were　allocated　for　this　purpose。　It　would　appear　that　these　building　materials　were　misappropriated　by　the　plex　director　and　local　Party　secretary；　for　the　purpose　of　building　dachas　on　the　river　a　few　kilometers　away。　Both　of　these　men　have　been　arrested　by　my　order；　for　crimes　against　the　State；〃　Sergetov　reported　matter…of…factly。　There　was　no　reaction　around　the　table。　By　unspoken　consensus；　those　two　men　were　sentenced　to　death；　the　formalities　would　be　worked　out　by　the　proper　ministries。　Sergetov　continued：　〃I　have　already　ordered　greatly　increased　security　at　all　petroleum　sites。　Also　on　my　orders；　the　families　of　the　two　known　traitors　have　been　arrested　at　their　homes　outside　Baku　and　are　being　rigorously　interrogated　by　State　Security；　along　with　all　who　knew　and　worked　with　them。
〃Before　the　border　guards　were　able　to　kill　the　traitors；　they　were　able　to　sabotage　the　oil…field　control　systems　in　such　a　way　as　to　create　a　massive　conflagration。　They　were　also　able　to　wreck　the　control　equipment　so　that　even　if　the　guard　troops　had　been　able　to　get　a　crew　of　engineers　in　to　restore　control；　it　is　unlikely　that　anything　would　have　been　saved。　The　KGB　troops　were　forced　to　evacuate　the　building；　which　was　later　consumed　by　the　fire。　There　was　nothing　more　they　could　have　done。〃　Sergetov　remembered　the　sergeant's　badly　burned　face。　the　tears　flowing　down　over　the　blisters　as　he　told　his　story。
〃The　fire　brigade？〃　the　General　Secretary　asked。
〃More　than　half　of　them　died　fighting　the　fire；〃　Sergetov　replied。　〃Along　with　over　a　hundred　citizens　who　joined　the　battle　to　save　the　plex。　Truly　there　is　no　blame　to　be　assessed　here；　rade。　Once　this　bastard。　Tolkaze　began　his　devil's　work；　it　would　have　been　as　easy　to　control　an　earthquake。　For　the　most　part；　the　fire　has　been　put　out　by　now；　due　to　the　fact　that　most　of　the　fuels　stored　in　the　refinery　were　consumed　in　about　five　hours；　also　because　of　the　destruction　of　the　wellheads　in　the　oil　field。〃
〃But　how　was　this　catastrophe　possible？〃　a　senior　member　asked。　Sergetov　was　surprised　by　the　quiet　mood　in　the　room。　Had　they　met　and　discussed　this　affair　already？
〃My　report　of　December　20　described　the　dangers　here。　This　room　quite　literally　controlled　the　pumps　and　valves　for　over　a　hundred　square　kilometers。　The　same　is　true　of　all　of　our　large　oil　plexes。　From　the　nerve　center；　a　man　familiar　with　control　procedures　could　manipulate　the　various　systems　throughout　the　field　at　will；　causing　the　entire　plex　quite　simply　to　self…destruct。　Tolkaze　had　such　skill。　He　was　an　Azerbaijani　chosen　for　special　treatment　for　his　intelligence　and　supposed　loyalty；　an　honor　student　educated　at　Moscow　State　University　and　a　member　in　good　standing　of　the　local　Party。　It　would　also　seem　that　he　was　a　religious　fanatic　capable　of　astounding　treachery。　All　the　people　killed　in　the　control　room　were　friends　of　his…or　so　they　thought。　After　fifteen　years　in　the　Party；　a　good　salary；　the　professional　respect　of　his　rades；　even　his　own　automobile；　his　last　words　were　a　shrill　cry　to　Allah；〃　Sergetov　said　dryly。　〃The　reliability　of　people　from　that　region　cannot　be　accurately　predicted；　rades。〃
The　Defense　Minister　nodded　again。　〃So；　what　effect　will　this　have　on　oil　production？〃　Half　the　men　at　the　table　leaned　forward　to　hear　Sergetov's　answer：
〃rades；　we　have　lost　thirty…four　percent　of　our　total　crude　oil　production　for　a　period　of　at　least　one　year；　possibly　as　many　as　three。〃　Sergetov　looked　up　from　his　notes　to　see　the　impassive　faces　cringe　as　though　from　a　slap。　〃It　will　be　necessary　to　redrill　every　production　well　and　finally　reconstruct　the　pipelines　from　the　fields　to　the　refinery　and　elsewhere。　The　concurrent　loss　of　the　refinery　is　serious；　but　not　an　immediate　concern　since　the　refinery　can　be　rebuilt；　and　in　any　case　represents　less　than　a　seventh　of　our　total　refining　capacity。　The　major　injury　to　our　economy　will　e　from　the　loss　of　our　crude　oil　production。
〃In　real　terms；　due　to　the　chemical　makeup　of　the　Nizhnevartovsk　oil；　the　net　total　production　loss　understates　the　actual　impact　on　our　economy。　Siberian　oil　is　'light；　sweet'　crude；　which　means　that　it　contains　a　disproportionately　large　amount　of　the　most　valuable　fractions…those　which　we　use　to　make　gasoline；　kerosene；　and　diesel　fuel；　for　example。　The　net　loss　in　these　particular　areas　is　forty…four　percent　of　our　gasoline　production；　forty…eight　percent　of　kerosene；　and　fifty　percent　of　diesel。　These　figures　are　rough　calculations　I　made　on　the　flight　back；　but　they　should　be　accurate　to　within　two　percent。　My　staff　will　have　more　precise　figures　ready　in　a　day　or　so。〃
〃Half？〃　the　General　Secretary　asked　quietly。
〃Correct；　rade；〃　Sergetov　responded。
〃And　how　long　to　restore　production？〃
〃rade　General　Secretary；　if　we　bring　in　every　drilling　rig　and　operate　them　around　the　clock；　my　rough　estimate　is　that　we　can　begin　to　restore　production　in　twelve　months。　Clearing　the　site　of　wreckage　will　take　at　least　three　months；　and　another　three　will　be　needed　to　relocate　our　equipment　and　mence　drilling　operations。　Since　we　have　exact　information　for　well　locations　and　depths；　the　usual　element　of　uncertainty　is　not　part　of　the　equation。　Within　a　year…that　is；　six　months　after　we　mence　the　redrilling…we　will　begin　to　bring　the　production　wells　back　on　stream；　and　full　restoration　of　the　wells　will　be　achieved　within　two　more　years。　While　all　this　is　going　on；　we　will　need　to　replace　the　EOR　equipment　also…〃
〃And　what　might　that　be？〃　Defense　asked。
〃Enhanced　Oil　Recovery　systems；　rade　Minister。　Had　these　been　relatively　new　wells；　pressurized　from　underground　gas；　the　fires　might　have　lasted　for　weeks。　As　you　know；　rades；　these　are　wells　from　which　a　good　deal　of　oil　has　already　been　extracted。　To　enhance　production　we　have　been　pumping　water　into　the　wells；　which　has　the　effect　of　forcing　more　oil　out。　It　may　also　have　had　the　effect　of　damaging　the　oil　bearing　strata。　This　is　something　our　geologists　are　even　now　attempting　to　evaluate。　As　it　was；　when　power　was　lost；　the　force　driving　the　oil　from　the　ground　was　removed；　and　the　fires　in　the　production　fields　rapidly　began　to　run　out　of　fuel。　They　were　for　the　most　part　dying　out　when　my　flight　left　for　Moscow。〃
〃So　even　three　years　from　now　production　may　not　be　pletely　restored？〃　the　Minister　of　the　Interior　asked。
〃Correct；　rade　Minister。　There　is　simply　no　scientific　basis　for　making　an　estimate　of　total　production。　The　situation　we　have　here　has　never　happened　before；　either　in　the　West　or　the　East。　We　can　drill　some　test　wells　in　the　next　two　or　three　months　that　will　give　us　some　indications。　The　staff　engineers　I　left　behind　are　making　arrangements　to　begin　the　process　as　quickly　as　possible　with　equipment　already　at　the　site。〃
〃Very　well；〃　the　General　Secretary　nodded。　〃The　next　question　is　how　long　the　country　can　operate　on　this　basis。〃
Sergetov　went　back　to　his　notes。　〃rades；　there　is　no　denying　that　this　is　a　disaster　of　unprecedented　scale　for　our　economy。　The　winter　has　drawn　down　our　heavy　oil　inventories　more　than　usual。　Certain　energy　expenditures　must　remain　relatively　intact。　Electrical　power　generation　last　year；　for　example；　accounted　for　thirty…eight　percent　of　our　oil　products；　far　more　than　planned；　due