The Chaebol Who Flies From Space - Chapter 51



Only Noblemtl

51. Oil drilling (2)

Although the oil drilling was successful, there was a lot of work to be done afterwards.

In the captain’s room where everyone was gathered, Kenner and Clark tried to calm their trembling hearts. Even I, who was watching after knowing the result, was trembling, so I wondered how these two people must have felt.

The reason Herga went bankrupt and came into my hands was because of dozens of failed drillings.

It was the result of Kenner, the owner and exploration team leader, repeatedly drilling after realizing that there was oil here.

Even though there were many unfortunate events, the fact that we finally found the crude oil we had been desperately looking for is a matter of mixed emotions.

The best elixir to calm their excitement was put into their hands.

We tried to calm our excitement and discussed what to do next.

“We need to verify the reserves again and also negotiate a stake sale with major companies.”

“Perhaps the target will be Exxon.”

Exxon, which is based in Texas and close to the Cantarell area where crude oil is produced, had an easy time. The estimated reserves are 2 billion barrels, but the important thing is how much of the recoverable reserves can be extracted. With the current technology, the average is only 35%. It seems that the technology will improve in the next 10 years and increase it to half, but that is the current technology.

If I had the technology, I could almost pull out all the reserves, but I had no intention of revealing the technology yet.

We should use the technology after we have secured a bit more genetic resources.

“I’m worried about how much reserves there will be.”

“I don’t think there’s any need to worry. The reserves won’t decrease significantly. Geographically, the crude oil is concentrated in one place, so it doesn’t seem like there’ll be a lot of additional costs.”

“If there were scattered oil deposits in the subsea terrain, it would be expensive, but since they are all in one place, I think there will be no problem drilling additional wells.”

President Kenner’s face turned bright red, perhaps reassured by Clark’s words as he was an oil exploration expert.

A windfall is waiting right before your eyes.

Although Kenner was the salaried president, he still owned over 3% of the company’s shares.

Half of the 2 billion barrels are owned by Herre, which has exploration and drilling rights.

“Something like Exxon would be a good shield to block pressure from the Mexican government.”

With the rise of resource nationalism, the power of the major oil companies is still strong, even if they are not as powerful as before. They will not be pushed back in a contest with the Mexican government, which is sure to claim unfairness in the contract and seek the crude oil they have discovered.

“It’s a shame, but this oil field is a problem that needs to be resolved through a confrontation with the Mexican government, so there’s nothing we can do. We won’t hand over our shares for cheap.”

“I will leave the stock sale negotiations to President Kenner. Something important is waiting for me.”

“I’m talking about the exploration of the 3rd mine on the west coast. I heard before that the possibility of drilling is low. They said that several companies had searched before but had not found any usable mines.”

I shook my head at President Kenner’s words, which seemed to be filled with worry.

“It’s more likely than you think. We’ve already conducted basic exploration and have identified several areas that are likely to produce oil.”

“If it’s a promising area, are you sure there will be oil?”

“I’m not sure how much is in reserve, but it will come out.”

“If genetic development is successful in Korea, it will be a new record.”

“The Korean government tried several times, but ultimately failed to find it. This time it will be different.”

Korea was a country that was known as a resource-hungry country.

The problem is that the Korean Peninsula has a considerable amount of natural resource reserves, but they are all located in the northern region. Since the division of North and South Korea, the underground resource reserves in the South have been significantly smaller than those in the North.

It was a country with no underground resources, except for coal, which was already becoming obsolete.

Kenner, whose excitement had subsided and whose composure had returned, looked closely at the bottle.

“What kind of alcohol is this? It tastes amazing. Is it because it tastes like success?”

Kenner was impressed after drinking the Maehrt I brought.

“It’s a liquor made by the liquor company I own. It’s a rare liquor sold only to a select few.”

“It tastes so good! Why didn’t I know about this?”

I like alcohol, so I’ve tried expensive liquor here and there, but the liquor I gave Kenner was a type of liquor he’d never tasted before.

“The price of alcohol is 10,000 dollars. But it’s still a factory price.”

“This is it?”

“Because production is limited, it is only exported to China and Russia. Mr. Kenner is the first American to drink it.”

“Is this that liquor? I’ve heard rumors about it too.”

“What’s the rumor?”

“Everyone who tried it raved about it, saying it was a $10,000 whiskey.”

For people who like alcohol, alcohol seems to have the power to change the mood.

After hearing that it was a precious drink, I started drinking it at a slower rate.

If the drilling is successful, I brought three bottles to drink, but the tariffs were enormous.

“I’ll give the rest to you two. Think of it as a success fee.”

Team Leader Clark, who had been pouring his drink in silence, nodded.

“This amount of alcohol is a very valuable gift as a success bonus.”

“Of course, there will be additional compensation. We also need to pay bonuses to the hard-working employees.”

Kenner and Clark’s expressions brightened when they were promised a large reward. If the fortune teller is stingy, the employees will not be excited either.

Not knowing how big my hand was, the two of them couldn’t help but be suspicious.

Owning shares in a company and receiving a bonus are two different feelings.

While we were talking about this and that and suppressing the joy of successful drilling, Clark asked.

“I’m talking about the 3rd light district. What are the odds?”

“I’m 99% sure. The underground structure of the area discovered through basic research is very good. The cap rock is solid and the underground space is wide, so I think the amount of oil collected is considerable.”

“Really? I’m looking forward to it.”

At first, I thought simply, “If it doesn’t exist, I’ll make it,” and jumped into it.

However, the preliminary survey conducted with a simple exploration tool has produced very promising observation results. The real results will have to be investigated by the exploration ship Pioneer, but the signs were good even before they started.

When I landed at Incheon Airport on my private plane, a warm welcome awaited me.

After failing domestically, he ventured overseas to develop resources, but he suffered defeat every time. I was the first successful case of overseas resource development.

Although they did not make a big fuss externally for fear of interference from the Mexican government, there was a celebratory atmosphere internally over the success of resource development.

In the VIP room, Senior Secretary Oh Kyung-jae gave a speech.

“It’s great to see you. The President himself wanted to come to the airport to greet me. You’ve done a great job. If you hadn’t asked me not to make a big fuss about it, I would have held a parade.”

The chief economic advisor who came out to greet the president spat out dry words about how delighted the president was to hear the news.

“But why are you telling us to keep our success in developing crude oil a secret?”

“In Mexico, oil fields are basically nationalized. It’s written in the law.”

“Okay, so does that mean this genetic engineering is illegal?”

“That’s not true. The exploration rights were bought by the American resource exploration company with money from the government. It’s complicated in many ways. I’m saying that there are many people who would be uncomfortable if we were to loudly talk about our success in resource development.”

“I understand what you mean, but it’s really a shame.”

Senior Secretary to the President Oh Kyung-jae expressed regret that one of the government’s achievements was being buried without a sound.

“Rather than that, this is where it gets real. We were exploring for oil on the west coast and discovered Yujin.”

“······.Is that true?”

“We will need to do further detailed exploration to determine the exact reserves, but it is certain that oil is coming out.”

“How much? No, no, I said we need to do a detailed investigation. I heard such a lot of talk, but I’m out of my mind.”

“Here, drink some water first.”

Oh Soo-seok’s face turned pale from the shock of hearing such outrageous words.

“Of course, it’s hard to say exactly how big it is, but it’s not usually that big. We’ll have to drill a well to find out, but it looks like it’s at least 10 billion barrels.”

At my words, Oh Soo-seok gulped down water repeatedly to calm his startled heart.

“I’m going crazy. My heart is racing so fast when I hear you say that.”

Oh Soo-seok sat blankly for a while to collect his thoughts.

“When can I hear more accurate information?”

“I think it could be done in a month.”

“It takes that long?”

“It takes a long time to get the exploration vessel from the Caribbean here. We also have to charter a drilling rig, and I don’t know if we can make it in time.”

Even if we were to move it to the West Sea and do further exploration work, there was no way to do it quickly.

This is something that other experts would say was lightning-quick, but Oh Soo-seok was in a hurry.

“The oil company has a drilling rig. Why don’t we use that?”

“I don’t know where you are right now, but is it possible?”

“Just wait a minute.”

Oh Soo-seok jumped up from his seat, took out his cell phone, and went outside.

After talking on the phone for a while, Oh Soo-seok came inside.

“They say it’s currently anchored in Ulsan. They can have it delivered within a week.”

“I will also hurry as much as I can.”

“I’ll tell the President. I’m sure he’ll be very pleased.”

No, you don’t have to, but what good would it do to become close to a president whose term is coming to an end?

As I was walking home tired, I suddenly got a call from my father.

When I got home, it was just so cold and desolate, so I ran to my parents’ house with a happy heart.

As I entered the house, all my relatives were gathered there.

“What day is it today? Everyone is home.”

“You little punk! If you have good news, you should tell your family first. Make me hear the news outside. Why can’t you go out when you have a son?”

I ran over there with a happy heart, but what I heard was my father’s scolding.

“Huh? What does that mean?”

“The company you acquired succeeded in oil drilling! Then you should be bragging about it. Why are you so quiet? You said it was big.”

“How did you know that?”

I thought you wouldn’t know since it wasn’t reported, but it was surprising.

“Hey, the chief economic adviser called and we talked for quite some time.”

Aha! So that guy was the culprit. Why was he so open-mouthed?

Unlike my father, who immediately attacked me, my grandfather quietly approached me and took my hand.

“Thank you, Yongwon.”

“What is it?”

“When I heard the news about you, the sorrow in my heart melted like snow.”

It was a completely incomprehensible statement.

“Father, if you get excited again, it will be harmful to your body. The doctor told me to be careful.”

The aunt tried to dissuade the excited grandfather.

“We have experienced the country being devastated by the 625 War, and when the country was starting to recover, we went through a series of oil shocks and suffered greatly. But now that you have succeeded in developing oil fields, I have no regrets even if I die.”

It was a difficult thing to understand. What is this fuss about oil?

“I don’t think it’s something to be excited about because it was developed overseas and I only own shares.”

My father clicked his tongue as he watched me not knowing English.

“You little punk, how is that nothing? You know the sorrow of a country without resources.”

How do I know that?