The Chaebol Who Flies From Space - Chapter 52



Only Noblemtl

52. Oil drilling (3)

Since we were all gathered here, we had to discuss the acquisition of Woo Dae-jo. I didn’t want to be criticized for not telling them in advance, and I also needed my grandfather’s help.

“I don’t know if you heard from Oh Soo-seok, but I’m thinking of taking over Woo Dae-jo Shipbuilding.”

Everyone was at a loss for words at my sudden announcement.

“You’re taking over Woo Dae-jo? That’s the first time I’ve heard of it. Are you thinking of taking over that company? Why all of a sudden?”

“We had a chance to talk at our last meeting. FPSO is essential for offshore oil field development. I was thinking of taking over the company and building it myself rather than ordering expensive offshore structures from someone else, but there was no word.”

The offshore structure that scoops out the drilling rig that has drilled the well is called an FPSO.

The Cantarell field also needed an FPSO.

“This won’t work! I thought there would be some discussion when I got back. I thought the conversation had progressed considerably, but if Grandpa didn’t know about it at all, it seems like he didn’t take my suggestion seriously.”

I was a little annoyed.

The technology to build the desired drill ship or FPSO is difficult to share with the outside world.

It was a cutting-edge technology that had to be kept top secret.

I realized after trying it that resource development was my calling. Unlike other jobs, I felt comfortable and happy.

So I was thinking of going all in on resource development for the time being, but no one around me was helping me.

I was thinking of quickly recruiting Osuseok, but soon changed my mind.

In any case, corporate takeovers are a game where the one who is hasty loses.

“If that doesn’t work out, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to acquire another foreign company.”

“What does that mean? If we want to do that, we have to take over a domestic company. How many shipyards failed during the IMF crisis?”

As soon as I finished speaking, my grandfather jumped up. My mother also took my side at my grandfather’s words.

“Yes, I think that’s not true. There are still so many unemployed people in the country. You, who have so much money, should take over the company and make it work properly. The government is not in its last term. And with the local elections overlapping, it seems like the atmosphere is not conducive to doing anything.”

The grandfather was lost in thought for a moment.

It was natural that my grandfather, who had been running the company for a long time, had a wide network of connections.

“I’ll meet with Oh Soo-seok tomorrow. The largest shareholder of Woo Dae-jo Shipbuilding is the Industrial Bank of Korea. I’ll also contact the president of the Industrial Bank of Korea. But is the acquisition urgent? Do you have to hurry? It looks like you’re going to use it for the oil field you developed. Do you really need that many FPSOs?”

“No, what I need right now is one. I need to extract the crude oil that I drilled. But I bought it used. If I were to take over a shipbuilding company, it would take a long time to build an FPSO, and it would be difficult to meet my needs with existing technology. It’s expensive, costing over $1 billion per ship, so I have to build it right the first time.”

For immediate use, we decided to purchase a used FPSO that was being used in an oil well where crude oil had been depleted.

If the development of the West Sea oil field was successful, additional drilling equipment would be needed.

Since the water depth in the West Sea is shallow, we planned to use fixed facilities that would be less expensive.

Then I remembered that I hadn’t heard any news yet about developing oil fields in the West Sea.

“The reason I came back so quickly is because Yujin was discovered in Seohae 3rd mine.”

My grandfather blinked at my words.

“Huh? What is this? Yujin from the West Sea?”

My aunt was fussing over my grandfather who just blinked his eyes.

“Yongwon! What are you talking about? Yujin? Are you saying that oil is coming out of the West Sea?”

“Hey, is that true? They say that oil doesn’t come from Korea’s terrain.”

It’s like a stone’s throw away.

Petroleum is a substance created from organic matter under high pressure and temperature deep underground.

The fact that oil was discovered in a specific area meant that the geographic structure there was designed to allow crude oil to accumulate well.

There needs to be a stopper that closes the structure like a lid, like a cap rock, so that the crude oil inside does not leak out.

Crude oil exists everywhere on Earth, although it is difficult to find.

Father tilted his head.

“The 3rd mine in the West Sea region has already been explored several times, but the results came back negative. How strange. You weren’t fooled by a scammer, were you?”

There was considerable distrust of genetic engineering.

That is because in the past, there were many scammers who told people to invest in oil because it was so abundant.

“Unlike in the 1970s, drilling technology has advanced tremendously. The depth of the oil field discovered this time is 6,300 meters, so it would have been difficult to discover in the past.”

Until now, deep-sea drilling technology was limited to 5,000 meters.

Previously, it was not possible to properly drill to a depth of even 3,000 meters.

The planned drilling depth of the recently discovered oil field is over 6,000 m.

It was said that if it weren’t for the exploration vessel created by Ariel, the E-3 oil field in the 3rd mine would not have been discovered.

“There have been many people who have said ignorant things like crude oil has its limits. Oil is still being produced inside the Earth. If technology is developed to allow easy digging to depths of 10,000 meters, oil fields will be discovered all over the world.”

My family was convinced by my calm explanation.

My mother asked me the question she was most curious about.

“You’re saying that the depth of the West Sea oil field is very deep. So the size of the oil field is big? How much do you think it will produce?”

As soon as the issue of real interest came up, the noisy chatter stopped.

Even my younger siblings, who couldn’t fit in with the adults, pricked up their ears and listened to what I said.

“We have to see the exact size to know.”

My family members, who had been staring at me with tension, suddenly relaxed at my words.

“Hey, what’s that! I heard that this has happened before. They made a big fuss about finding oil, but it turned out to be oil from a drilling rig.”

There was a similar incident in the Pohang area. It was an incident that occurred because drilling technology was not developed.

As oil drilling technology developed, drilling depths became deeper.

I laughed at my younger sister Jeongyeon’s words.

“Do I look like a clumsy developer like those amateurs? I’ll have to drill to find out the exact amount, but it’s probably around 10 billion barrels. Since this is the result of running the simulation multiple times, the results should be similar.”

“huh?!”

“…..”

“…..”

My younger sister Jeongyeon blinked in surprise at what I said.

“Oh my! So you know how much that is?”

“Hey! I heard that my brother discovered oil, so I looked up some information at the university library. Then, brother, how much do you think he extracts in a day?”

“That’s the trader’s opinion. If you stick a thick straw into the oil field, you can extract a lot, and if you stick a small straw into it, you can extract a small amount. To put it simply, last year, they imported 2 million barrels of oil every day. That’s 600 million barrels imported every year. If you replace that, it’s a huge amount that can be replaced for about 8 to 9 years.”

“It’s nothing. I thought we found a huge oil field like Saudi Arabia because my brother was acting so cool. Once it comes out, it takes decades to extract it.”

I was so dizzy and my nose was blocked.

“I guess you’re starting to get the feel of it now that I say it like this. Should I change it to dollars? The price of oil is $3.2 billion for 100 million barrels. 1 billion barrels is $32 billion. 10 billion barrels is $320 billion. Are you starting to get the feel of it now? How expensive is the oil field that your brother discovered?”

I only understood after you explained it to me in dollars.

Everyone was shocked and speechless by the enormous amount of money.

“……”

“……”

It was refreshing to see people blinking in surprise.

I was frustrated that I couldn’t brag about the discovery of a giant mammoth in Mexico because of political issues, but I feel a little better now.

There was chaos.

They all boasted that Korea was now an oil-producing country.

“Brother, does that mean the price of oil is cheaper in Korea too? In Saudi Arabia, gasoline is cheaper than water.”

“Then what do I eat to live? That’s an area where water is expensive.”

He said something so ridiculous.

Since the distance is short, the transportation cost may be lower, so the price may be lower, but we had no intention of selling it at a lower price than the international crude oil price.

I’d rather start an oil company······.

No no this is going too far.

He shook his head and hit with his fist.

I’m already so busy, what kind of oil company is this?

But then, as if reading my thoughts, my uncle stepped forward.

“Yongwon, why don’t you go into the oil refining industry?”

“Who is it?”

“Can’t I do it?”

At my uncle’s words, the family’s eyes turned to me.

“What do you think, Grandpa?”

In this case, my grandfather’s will was more important than mine.

“The government will not allow new companies to enter the oil refining industry.”

“Even though we succeeded in extracting oil?”

“There will be a lot of opposition from the oil industry. They will compete, but they will also try to get the oil from nearby places.”

The Korean oil refining market is monopolized by four oil refining companies. All of them are affiliated with conglomerates and have strong lobbying power.

“It was an opportunity when Jeong Yong-ju was taken over. Aramco bought it.”

“No matter how much I think about it, it seems like it’s going to be difficult.”

The flour milling company run by my uncle has grown in size since I got involved, but it is not a very big business.

A thought crossed my mind as I looked at my dejected uncle.

“Let’s try it. It won’t work if you don’t interfere with domestic demand.”

“How can we run a company without interfering with the domestic market? Let’s refine oil and sell it somewhere.”

My father and uncle looked at me as if I was being ridiculous. As expected, my grandfather was better at this kind of thing.

“What do you think, Grandpa?”

“We can sell it to China. My gwansi and Yongwon’s gwansi in China are not bad these days. There’s no need to start big for a small child. If you build an export factory in Mokpo or Yeosu, the government will quietly give you permission. Even if it’s the end of the term, you still have power until the end.”

If you start a company without any experience, you will fail, but in this case, it is like swimming with your feet on the ground.

My father also agreed with my grandfather’s opinion.

“I think what my father said is right. What does that guy know that he would start a big oil company without thinking about it? It would be better to start a small business and run it stably. China is growing so fast these days, so the demand for petroleum products seems to be huge.”

My uncle’s spirit, which had been dead, came back to life.

Aside from the flour mill he inherited, he is now trying to run a proper business.

“Seokyu, Yongwon will push for it, and your father will step up and get the business permit.”

Grandfather laughed as if he felt empty.

“Okay, it’s my son’s business, so I’ll help you, but what are you going to do?”

“Me, I need to find people and set up a factory.”

Grandfather shook his head.

“You have the best fate. When you start a business, your father and nephew will help you. Why are you asking me to lend you money?”

“Would you like to? Father, could you lend me some money for my business?”

“This son of a bitch!”

My uncle smiled broadly and said to my grandfather, who was waving his hand.

“Father, I’m turning 50 soon. I have children to look after, so I hope you won’t hit me like you did when I was little.”

“I am proud of growing old to my old father. I am proud.”

After such a noisy dinner, I returned home late at night.

After moving several times, it was finally my sweet home where I settled down.

I tried hard to ignore the words telling me to go home and sleep, and came back because I had something urgent to do.

“Do I have to do this?”

[Master, the drill that goes deep into the mine has to be specially made. It requires special steel to make it.]

“It’s really annoying. It could be made easily if you just had a hologram printer.”

[How do you make it now? Use 3D printer technology while being grateful. Or make your own hologram printer.]

It was Ariel who was criticizing me for grumbling.

I had to put on my production goggles late at night, dragging my tired body along.

“Oh my god, I’m dying.”

When I came out after working all night, the sun was high in the sky.

I laid my tired body on the living room sofa and only then did I feel like I could live.

“Did you finish the work well?”

I forced myself to open my eyes when I heard a familiar voice, and Team Leader Oh from the security team was there.

“I didn’t see you yesterday. Maybe something came up?”

“I am a busy person.”

“That’s right. How busy must you be to run the country?”

“It’s a matter of state. I work for a security company.”

Team Leader Oh seemed taken aback by my words and hesitated.

“Hey, don’t say such obvious things. Where are you affiliated? The Agency for National Security Planning? No, I heard that they recently changed their name to the National Intelligence Service?”