The Ministry of the Petroleum Industry was an
all-Union ministry which administered the petroleum extraction, petroleum refining, and gas industries, the production of liquid fuels, the construction of installations for the petroleum and gas industries, the construction of petroleum-drilling machinery, and the marketing of petroleum products. The Ministry of the Petroleum Industry was headed by a minister who directed the entire work of the Ministry of the Petroleum Industry and of the enterprises and organizations under its jurisdiction. The Minister of the Petroleum Industry issued, within the limits of his competence, orders and directives based on, and in execution of, existing laws, as well as of decrees and regulations of the
Council of Ministers USSR, and he checked on their execution. The Minister of the Petroleum Industry appointed directors of main administrations, administrations, and divisions of the Ministry and of the enterprises and organizations under its jurisdiction; he organized enterprises and organizations in accordance with established procedures; he approved statutes on main administrations, administrations, and divisions of the Ministry as well as the statutes and charters of organizations and enterprises under the jurisdiction of the Ministry. A collegium was formed within the Ministry of the Petroleum Industry, consisting of the Minister (chairman), his deputies, and the supervisory personnel of the Ministry. The membership of the collegium was approved by the Council of Ministers USSR, upon recommendation of the Minister of the Petroleum Industry. The collegium of the Ministry of the Petroleum Industry, at its regular sessions, considered questions of practical supervision, of checking on the execution of decisions, and of selection of personnel, as well as the most important orders and directives of the Ministry; it hears the reports of the directors of main administrations, administrations, and divisions of the Ministry and of organizations and enterprises under its jurisdiction. The decisions of the collegium are carried out by orders of the Minister. The basic task, for the carrying out of which the Ministry of the Petroleum Industry is responsible, is to assure the development of the petroleum industry in accordance with plans approved by the USSR government, with the goal of completely satisfying the requirement of the rational economy for petroleum products and gas. This goal was to be achieved by the introduction of the most modern equipment, by mechanizing and automatizing production processes in the extraction and refining of petroleum and gas, by the construction of oil fields, refineries, gas plants, plants for the production of synthetic liquid fuels, pipelines and petroleum tanks by the development of petroleum machinery building, by the creation of permanent cadres of qualified workers, engineers, and technicians, by increasing labor productivity, and by improving the quality of production and reducing its costs. The Ministry of the Petroleum Industry prepares production plans (prospective, yearly, quarterly), plans for capital construction, marketing, and railroad and water transport, as well as for balancing income and expenditures. It submitted these plans for ratification by the Council of Ministers USSR in accordance with established procedure, and it takes measures toward the fulfillment of plans that have been ratified. ==Role==