The Chaebol Who Flies From Space - Chapter 50



Only Noblemtl

50. Oil drilling (1)

In a hurried effort, the probe was modified, equipped, and towed to the Caribbean.

“They say the weather is nice in the Caribbean, but it’s completely different here.”

As I feel the sea breeze on the deck of the exploration ship, I find myself saying that this is the Caribbean, a famous resort area.

“This is a nobleman. If the weather is bad, it’s not a big deal. If you stay on the platform for a while, you’ll see that the weather is bad in the North Sea.”

The captain of the exploration ship dispatched from Hersa pointed to the oil field visible in the distance while enjoying the sea breeze.

“They say the Cantarell oil well is drying up, but there are still a lot of ships passing by.”

“Until last year, the oil wells were producing one million barrels of oil a day. That’s a huge amount, but this year, production has been cut in half to five hundred thousand barrels. Here,

There are also many ships that carry crude oil that has undergone simple refining.”

“They say tankers are getting bigger and bigger. They’re huge.”

“It’s trendy to make ships as big as possible to fit through the Panama Canal. They say it reduces shipping costs and all.”

“Because the canal usage fees collected per vessel are not cheap.”

“I have installed all the equipment as you said, but what is it for?”

“This is equipment for exploring the underwater terrain.”

“It doesn’t look like your average MBES device, does it?”

“It’s a special piece of equipment. It simulates the underground terrain of the seabed in great detail.”

“Come inside. The work is done, so why don’t you have a cup of tea?”

“I guess so. The wind is cold and my body is shivering.”

“If you wait while having a cup of tea, we will arrive at the designated coordinates.”

After estimating the seafloor topography through simulation, Iriel begins exploration from the point where the crude oil is predicted to have moved.

We aim to draw a map of the ocean floor with the widest possible radius by continuously intersecting the same points.

Even after drilling and discovering oil, Pioneer planned to continue to survey the surrounding waters.

From three months onwards, we planned to travel around the west coast and explore the underwater terrain of the three mines.

***

Herr’s veteran exploration team leader, Brown Clark, was astonished at the volume of data coming in from equipment he had never seen before.

Even with the best equipment, it is not easy to identify the seafloor topography. It is difficult to properly analyze it because there is so much noise mixed in.

There is a reason why an experienced, seasoned analyst earns a salary comparable to that of a CEO. Furthermore, Brown Clark was the owner of a 70% stake in the resource exploration company Herr.

The turning point in his life, which had been marked by success, was the failure of the development of the Cantarell oil field.

Clearly, based on the data, it was right that the oil field should exist in an area close to the existing oil well.

It was believed that there was a mammoth oil field of enormous size, but no oil came out even after drilling holes.

The result of his persistence was disastrous.

Herga, once renowned as a world-class resource exploration company, was shaken.

The collapse of the IT bubble at the same time caused a financial crisis, and the failure of oil exploration also led to the withdrawal of investment funds.

Fortunately, the crisis passed as a new investor invested a huge amount of money into the company, but just thinking about it makes me break out in a cold sweat even when I’m sleeping.

There was also a rift between him and his friend Kenner, who was in charge of management.

Now we don’t even speak to each other.

Even if I lost a tenth of the company shares I had, the company would have survived.

“Team leader, the data is coming in properly.”

John, a subordinate who was wearing headphones and checking the signals coming from the equipment, sent a signal.

“I really like the data storage device. It’s the latest model.”

They are veteran team members who have been working together for over ten years.

John and Harry were both seasoned professionals who found their way into the work without any nagging, so Brown didn’t have much to do.

“This equipment is unique. It’s not a device that uses ultraviolet rays, and it can detect very deep places. It would be noisy if people outside knew about it.”

“Could you tell me what the latest equipment is?”

“That’s right. They say that they encrypt and store incoming information, but the processing speed is faster than I thought.”

“They said it had anti-noise technology, and it was true. There’s a lot less noise coming in.”

When you analyze the underground, you hear all sorts of noises. The ocean floor is even noisier.

The more advanced the equipment is, the more noise is heard. It is important to filter out the unnecessary parts.

Data storage devices are not infinite.

The resource exploration team is full of people who look like they could beat up a bull. In fact, Brown’s team members are all former military personnel.

Since the job involves mainly traveling to remote areas, those who are not used to the rough life cannot endure it and end up dropping out.

However, analyzing data using advanced electronic equipment is not something that can be done without a good head.

An ironic job that requires both a good body and a good head.

The price of skilled resource explorers is bound to be high.

Pioneer was converted from a container ship and is relatively large for an exploration vessel, and it has ample space to carry exploration and measurement equipment.

For explorers who spend a long time at sea, it is a hotel-like environment.

“If the owner is there, shouldn’t the team leader go and flatter him?”

The vacation was long, but when we were working, we had to be together day and night without any distinction. That means we were close enough to joke around with each other without any hesitation.

“I’m done with it, so why don’t you go and try to flatter me?”

“Me too. I’m the type of person who can’t be flattered by nature.”

Unlike the blunt John, Harry was a talkative person.

It was surprising that the two of them got along so well because their personalities were so different.

“Team Leader, aren’t you sad? You said you handed over most of the company’s shares. If you were successful this time, you could have become rich.”

“I was rich before, you idiot.”

Although he had a high-paying job, Brown Clark was not born into wealth.

The foundation for starting the resource exploration company Her was also the money he inherited from his parents.

There was an attempt to buy the company for a lot of money during its heyday, but Clark refused.

“If I were rich like the team leader, I wouldn’t live like this.”

“Then how are you going to live?”

“Having a party every day and inviting girls over······. Hehe, that’s how I live.”

John chimed in on Harry’s talkativeness.

“Stupid Harry. You’d be rich if you didn’t give all your wages to the pub.”

“I’m better off being used by women than being ripped off by relatives like you.”

Even as they joked and criticized each other, their hands kept working.

***

“Don’t you think it’s strange?”

[Because the equipment looks normal. The incoming information will also appear normal to them. It’s just that it looks clearer than the existing equipment. The rest is encrypted and made to look like noise, so they have no way of knowing.]

Humans cannot accept something if it is shown too much.

If you show them a reasonable amount of information, they will assume it is a newly created, cutting-edge piece of equipment.

The data shown is from about 100 meters below the seabed.

Just seeing that level clearly is a new world.

In reality, they were observing and storing data up to 10 km underground.

“How does it compare to what you expected?”

[The seafloor topography is segmented as expected. The connected area is large, and the existing oil field area is small. It seems to be a larger oil field than initially thought.]

“Then that’s difficult.”

[Yes. If the oil field is too large, the Mexican government will try to get involved. There are only a few places where the poor government can get money. Does it make sense for the government to take over 70% of the profits? That means the oil field equipment is outdated and there is no progress in new oil field exploration.]

Basically, all of Mexico’s oil fields are developed and owned by the Mexican state-owned oil company.

The reason Mexico was granted permission to explore the Cantarell A-3 area was because it was hit by the IMF before Korea.

If it weren’t for the urgent situation where the country was on the verge of collapse, it would have been impossible to permit oil exploration, even through illegal means.

When a newly discovered genetic resource is confirmed to be mammoth-class, the Mexican government steps in.

“It should look like a reasonable size. Do you think that would be a reasonable point?”

[I can’t see a suitable spot yet, but it will come out. Judging by the small puddles here and there, I think we’ll be able to find a spot that looks like it’s less than 1 billion barrels soon.]

“Well, if it’s to that extent, even the government would hesitate to get involved. Damn it! They found a huge mammoth and can’t brag about it.”

[Considering the price, it is better to spread it later.]

“Huh? You said that the price of oil will rise slowly in the future?”

[That’s why, even if you find it, you have to pump it up moderately until the price goes up. I don’t know if those who are foolishly trying to increase production by pushing in seawater know that.]

“The Mexican government will soon give in. If things continue this way, the oil fields that can be developed without major investments will run out.”

There was talk of privatizing genetic stocks.

They will not be able to give up their existing stakes, so they will auction off the new exploration area. At that time, they will be able to reveal the mammoth oil field that they have just discovered.

Damn, I want to brag but I can’t!

The king’s ears are donkey ears.

“What is the estimated reserves here?”

[It seems bigger than Saudi Ghawar, the largest in the world. It looks to be over 80 billion barrels.]

What the hell! I have to hide this.

After a week on the ship, we found a suitable location to drill.

As the company began to bring in the company-owned drilling rig that was anchored in New Orleans and begin full-scale work, Herr’s president, Julian Kenner, also came running.

President Kenner and Team Leader Brown said they were friends, but when they saw each other’s faces, they didn’t say a word and just looked at each other awkwardly.

Although the president was Kenner, the real owner of the company was Team Leader Brown Clark.

The company was pushed to the brink of bankruptcy when the genetic exploration that Brown had pushed through ended in a huge failure.

The relationship between the two couldn’t have been better.

Whether the relationship is good or bad, what matters is that the drilling is successful.

I climbed on board the drilling rig and watched from a distance as the workers drilled the hole.

They were busy preparing to drill the first borehole.

The work required drilling pipes deep into the ground, and there was a high risk of explosion.

If the pressure released is too great, it may not be able to be controlled and may explode.

“There’s no way it’ll work the first time.”

“Don’t talk nonsense! You have that mouth, that’s the problem. How can you think of success first when you think of failure first!”

Team Leader Clark shut his mouth at Kenner’s sharp words.

They both look equally nervous and anxious.

I felt comfortable because only I knew the results.

A giant drill dug into the ground. Workers sent out signals to see how far it had penetrated.

“The pressure is too high! Inject stabilizer! Inject stabilizer!”

The drilling supervisor’s voice came over the radio, urgent.

“8000, 8300, still not stable.”

“Put more in, you idiot! Push it in before I talk!”

“Hey, put it in without holding back! More! More!”

The sound coming from the wireless became more urgent.

“Come out!”

“It’s coming out!”

I heard the sound of dry saliva being swallowed.

Black color that is clearly visible from a distance.

“It’s a success. We got oil!”

“Don’t yell at me you idiot, check the pressure!”

“What about gas emissions?”

The gas vent outside the drilling rig caught fire. Gas comes out of any oil field.

To deal with this, light a fire and put it out.

“Pressure stable 3,000, 3100. Stabilized.”

As soon as the stabilization sign appeared, those who had been watching anxiously all burst into cheers.

“Wow! Hurray for oil!”

“I finally succeeded!”

President Kenner and Team Leader Clark, who had been waiting anxiously for the results with their eyes tightly shut, hugged each other and cheered.

Success makes even bad friends friendly again.