Pasha Arushanov
From 1965 – Department Head at the External Relations Head Office of the Oil Industry Ministry of the USSR.
“Leader not just in title but also in his actions”
Storm
In the 1950s, more than a half of oil produced in Azerbaijan came from offshore fields, primarily from the Oil Rocks (Neft Dashlari) field. In 1957, an unprecedented storm with waves up to 11 meters high occurred at Oil Rocks.
The storm destroyed the platform from which an exploratory well was being drilled by the team of Mikhail Kaverochkin, who had discovered the field. All shift crew members and Mikhail Kaverochkin drowned. In the morning, a government commission headed by Mr. Orudzhev was sent to Oil Rocks. I was in the commission, too.
Attempt to moor
Back then, helicopters were not yet used to reach offshore fields, so we boarded a large ship. The ship could not be moored, and we had to change for a motor boat in a rough open sea. The motor boat was two meters from the shipboard, and the waves were up to five meters high. Sabit Orudzhev was the first to jump onto the motor boat, and other members of the commission followed him.
And it was always like this: Mr. Orudzhev was a team leader not just in title but also in his actions.
Attack
Vram Melik-Pashaev recalled how a gas blowout in the town of Surakhani had been tamed under the lead of Mr. Orudzhev. There was the Great Patriotic War going on, and it was critical to prevent the blowout from catching on fire, as flame would be seen by Nazi airplanes. A group of workers was formed. After receiving a signal, they were to “attack” the blowout and stop it. However, there was some confusion in the group after the signal was given. Sabit Orudzhev was the first to rush to the drilling well, and the others followed him. The blowout was stopped.
