Russian SYNTH Oil Plant

[ssiviour]

I am curious know if anyone ever builds the Russian SYNTH Oil

While USSR has a lot of Oil most of it, except Perm, is located in the south. A powerful Barbarossa blow with long range NAVs patrolling the Caspian can cut this off. I have often considered building this unit early game as a just in case insurance.

Does anyone ever build it?

[Ian R]

Yes I have built it (with US donated BPs, in effect) and placed it in the depths of Siberia, for the reasons you mention. At a production multiple of 1.5 or 1.75, it does not take long to repay the investment.

[ACMW]

Powerful BARBAROSSA? German NAVs in the Caspian? I wouldn't like to be the People's Commissar for Heavy Industry who put that paper across Stalin's desk.

[Centuur]

ORIGINAL: ACMW

Powerful BARBAROSSA? German NAVs in the Caspian? I wouldn't like to be the People's Commissar for Heavy Industry who put that paper across Stalin's desk.

It can happen if the turns are long in summer and the winter is mild in the first year of Barbarossa. I've seen the Soviets pulling back to the Caucasian mountains and the Urals in such a case. The Condors have a very long range too...

[Admiral Delabroglio]

One time, when playing the board game, I was tempted to build it, but it's a huge gamble. If you manage to avoid a 1941 Barbarossa, I believe it would help : 9 BP lost in 1939 versus 1 extra resource from N/D 1940 to, say, M/A 42, so 7 turns with a 0.5 production multiple and 2 turns with a 1 production multiple (0.75 + 0.25 for the cities), 5.5 build points plus the later benefit of the extra oil.
On the other hand, those "lost" BP would hinder the USSR during a 1941 Barbarossa.

If playing the board game with the extra buildable Oil in Siberia, they are cheaper : 7 PB and 4 turns for the oil in Omsk of Novosibirsk, so the Synth Oil is probably not a good idea.

The other players on my team considered it a bad decision, so I think I did not build it after all.

Best Regards

[brian brian]

ORIGINAL: ACMW

Powerful BARBAROSSA? German NAVs in the Caspian? I wouldn't like to be the People's Commissar for Heavy Industry who put that paper across Stalin's desk.

Tangential to this thread entirety, but this is something I have always felt about an initial Russian defense largely deploying behind the Dnepr, rather than attempting to defend the newly seized territories to the west. Just not something the invincible Red Army could suggest to the father of the Motherland, in the real world.


A wise Russian puts four convoy points in the Caspian Sea and prepares for the day all their black print ground units get vaporized by white print Wehrmacht units drawing on 10 Axis HQs while their so called “Allies” in the West amuse themselves building aircraft carriers. Some move factories to Baku but those are safer in Siberia, near the big Soviet oil storage depots. An interesting way to help defend the Caspian is to put a Cruiser in it (WiF magic), and maybe build a NAV2, or even 2 of them, to serve as patrol planes - can help boost Soviet surprise points, and probably serve in the Black Sea as well.


I have never built the Russian SYNTH, though probably a good idea in 1943.