My 1999

"Okay, add $500,000 to the signing bonus and general investment, and add 0.1 percentage point to local procurement."

After seeing no new quotes for half a minute, Xu Liang said decisively.

Andrew nodded and followed his instructions.

"Unocal, $6.2 million signing bonus, $58.5 million one-time investment, 40.1% local procurement."

Seeing their bidding information again, everyone was still a little hesitant. But those who had received a reply from the headquarters did not raise the price again.

In fact, even Petrobras and the Brazilian Petroleum Administration were surprised by Unocal's persistence in the deepwater blocks in North Korea.

But no matter what, someone is willing to spend money to contribute to Brazil's oil exploration and development, and they are happy to see it happen.

After another minute, when there were no new competitors, Roberto Muric made the final decision.

"Congratulations to Unocal for winning the exploration and development rights for Block 15."

"Thank you very much for the support of all the distinguished guests present today. The sixth round of deep-sea oil exploration bidding of the Brazilian Petroleum Administration has ended, and all 15 oil exploration blocks have been auctioned. Thank you all."

After warm applause.

"To express our gratitude and to celebrate the successful completion of today's oil bidding, we specially set up a dinner at the Sofitel Ipanema Hotel tonight to entertain all the distinguished guests. Please be sure to come before 7 pm."

At this point, today's oil bidding officially ended.

Everyone packed up and prepared to leave.

"Mr. Xu, I didn't expect Unocal to be so optimistic about the exploration blocks in the ultra-deep sea area, and took over all three blocks 13, 14, and 15." John Watson smiled.

For the first time, Xu Liang felt that this guy was not only smart and thoughtful, but also quite annoying.

"If I had Mr. Watson's courage, the financial resources and connections of ChevronTexaco, I would have won Block 6 long ago. Why would I try my luck in the three ultra-deepwater blocks?"

"Unocal has Mr. Xu behind it. You are much more financially powerful than ChevronTexaco.

And I don't think Mr. Xu is trying his luck."

Facing the other party's gaze that was staring at him, Xu Liang smiled faintly.

"Unocal is Unocal, and I am me.

Companies and individuals cannot be confused.

This is also the rule of the business world.

As for the bidding for the three ultra-deepwater blocks, if it wasn't a matter of luck, I believe that with ChevronTexaco's connections in Brazil, they would have obtained the information before us."

After a faint smile.

"Mr. Watson, goodbye."

"Please wait a moment. ...Will Mr. Xu attend the dinner tonight?"

After a little consideration, Xu Liang nodded.

"I can't let the host down."

"Haha, I'm looking forward to meeting Mr. Xu tonight."

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye!"

Looking at the other person's back, John Watson's smile slowly disappeared and his brows gradually frowned.

Although countless evidences prove that Unocal's bid for the ultra-deepwater block is just a gamble.

But his intuition always reminds him that there are things hidden behind it that he doesn't know.

However, it's just intuition.

He can't rely on intuition to convince the company's top management to invest in the Brazilian ultra-deepwater block, which has little hope but is huge.

...

Leave Rio de Janeiro City Hall with Unocal employees.

"Andrew, I'll leave the payment and formalities to you."

"Okay."

"Have the company's exploration equipment arrived?"

"We have already allocated nine semi-submersible drilling platforms and six survey ships, which will arrive at the port terminal of Rio de Janeiro the day after tomorrow."

"Rented from Brazil?"

"Yes. Equipment provided by Petrobras."

Xu Liang nodded. The bidding conditions included 40% local procurement.

If Unocal does not want to breach the contract and have its exploration block taken back, this condition must be met.

After a simple lunch, I dealt with some work in the afternoon. In the evening, I changed my clothes and left the villa with Li Jinling, Zhang Hongwei, Huo Gang and others.

Sofitel Ipanema is one of the best five-star hotels in Rio de Janeiro.

The top-notch decoration and luxurious accommodation conditions here have always been the preferred place for celebrities to stay when they come to Brazil.

Tonight, the Sofitel Ipanema Hotel is particularly dazzling. In order to welcome the executives from the world's top oil giants, the hotel specially prepared a red carpet and turned on all the neon lights in the hotel to show its solemnity.

No wonder they are like this. Among all industries in the world, in terms of influence, the only ones who can compare with the oil giants are probably the bankers in the financial field.

When the oil giants stamp their feet, the global energy price will tremble.

The rise and fall of energy prices affect the revenue of all companies and the lives of almost everyone.

Oil is the lifeblood of the global economy.

After getting off the car, Xu Liang took a simple look at the appearance of the hotel and walked in along the red carpet.

He didn't come early. When he stepped into the hotel banquet hall, there were already quite a few people here.

He called the waiter, took a glass of champagne, and walked to the seat next to him and sat down.

There were people he knew at the scene, but most of them were nodding acquaintances, and many of them were not even nodding acquaintances.

They had only met once at some charity receptions or industry conferences.

There's no need to take the initiative to approach.

With his current status, there is no need to actively expand his network at a banquet of this level.

When it comes to status, more than 95% of the people here are inferior to him.

However, he had no intention of taking the initiative to meet others.

Those who knew him wanted to use the opportunity to develop their own connections.

"Mr. Xu, do you mind sitting down for a while?"

"It turns out to be Mr. Watanabe, please have a seat."

"Thanks."

Sitting opposite Xu Liang, Watanabe Junichi briefly looked at the calm man opposite him and smiled.

"First of all, congratulations to Mr. Xu for getting what he wanted in the previous oil bid."

"You got what you wanted? I think Mr. Watanabe must have misunderstood.

The exploration blocks I really wanted were No. 2 and No. 6. But I didn’t have the financial resources of BP and ChevronTexaco, so I had to choose three ultra-deep water blocks. "

"I see.

Mr. Xu, the exploration of the three ultra-deep water blocks has a high demand for funds.

And we at Nikki Co., Ltd. have rich experience in the engineering field, especially in offshore exploration.

If Mr. Xu doesn’t mind, we are willing to cooperate with Unocal to jointly carry out the exploration and subsequent development of Block 15. "

Looking at this smiling, short Japanese man with gold-rimmed glasses, who seemed as gentle and submissive as a good gentleman, Xu Liang sneered.

This guy is really cunning.

Until now, I am testing my attitude towards ultra-deep water blocks.

Of course, this is not surprising.

Who made his achievements in the business and financial world so dazzling.

When a shrewd and successful person suddenly makes a decision that seems stupid to ordinary people, the first thing people think about is not how stupid his decision is; but whether he has preemptively understood information that others do not know and obtained the maximum benefit. cake.

Although there is a lot of information to prove that Xu Liang's decision has no realistic basis to support it.

But these self-proclaimed smart people just don’t believe it.

And there is a high probability that this suspicion will continue for a long time.

It will not dissipate until Unocal has been working hard in three ultra-deep water blocks for half a year or a year and still cannot find oil.

Then this doubt turned into ridicule in the face of the reality of his failure.

There are people who hate people, but there are no people who laugh at them. It's nothing more than that.

“The development costs are only a few hundred million dollars, and Unocal can still afford it.

Moreover, Nikki Co., Ltd. certainly has good engineering capabilities.

But in the field of offshore oil exploration and development, Unocal's strength is not inferior even to ExxonMobil and BP.

I appreciate Mr. Watanabe's kindness. "

Watanabe Junichi's eyes flashed slightly. "That's such a shame.

Mr. Xu seems to be very confident in his choice? "

"My confidence comes from the fact that even a loss of $300-400 million in exploration expenses is not a big deal for Unocal."

After a pause, Xu Liang stood up.

"Sorry, I have a friend here, I have to say goodbye first."

"Mr. Xu, please help yourself."

Xu Liang smiled faintly and turned to leave.

He just couldn't be bothered to talk to this guy.

Looking at his back, Watanabe Junichi stared for a long time before slowly turning around and leaving.

"Mr. Parent, it's been a long time."

After leaving Junichi Watanabe, Xu Liang glanced briefly at the crowd at the party and walked over after seeing Pedro Parent of Petrobras.

"Mr. Xu."

Parent took the initiative and extended his right hand.

After the two shook hands briefly, Parent stretched out his hand and pointed at the bald middle-aged man next to him.

"Let me introduce, this is George Souness, chief operating officer of Shell Oil Company.

George, I don't think I need to introduce you to this one. "

"Of course, Mr. Xu is a globally renowned business leader and financial investor."

"Excuse me. Unocal is much worse than Shell."

After the two parties greeted each other politely.

"You two, why don't we find a quiet place to sit for a while? I just have something to talk to you about." Pedro Parent said.

"OK!"

No one is a fool, and no one will refuse the invitation from the Brazilian state-owned oil giant.

After searching around the sidelines, the three of them found a seat with relatively few people and sat down.

Everyone present was not blind. After noticing the movement of the three people, they invariably focused some of their attention on them.

“Both Shell and Mr. Xu’s Unocal are world-class energy suppliers and contractors.

Rich experience and strong capital.

Therefore, we at Petrobras hope to have more cooperation with Unocal and Shell. "

"Mr. Parent, do you mean new cross-border natural gas pipelines?" asked George Souness.

“In order to cope with the growing energy demand for Brazil’s economic development, the government hopes to build a natural gas pipeline that can connect coastal cities.

Connect two pipelines in Bolivia and Argentina to form a natural gas pipeline network connecting 50% of Brazil's major cities. "Pedro Parent nodded and said.

Xu Liang was moved and asked: "I wonder how long the natural gas pipeline that Mr. Parent mentioned connecting the coastal cities in Brazil is, exactly? What cities does it connect to?"

Pedro Parent glanced at him and smiled.

“From Porto Alegre, passing through Florianópolis, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Vitoria, Salvador, Aracaju, Maceió, Recife, João Pessoa, Natal, ending in Fortaleza.

It has a total length of 3,900 miles, an annual transport capacity of 10 billion cubic meters, and a total investment of US$4.5 billion.

Once completed, it will become a world-class natural gas pipeline.

At the same time, it will also bring amazing returns to investors.

...Mr. Xu, Mr. Souness, are you two interested? "

“Unocal is interested in projects that fit our business.

However, for such a large project, we also need to evaluate the risks before we can give Mr. Parent an accurate answer. "

Souness: "Same with Shell."

"It is necessary to assess risks, but I hope you two can give me an accurate answer within three months."

After the two nodded, Xu Liang asked: "If we invest, how should the shares be divided?"

“Of course they are divided according to their respective investment amounts.

However, in order to balance the interests of all parties, the equity of each company shall not exceed 40%. "

"What about the operating rights of the pipeline?" Xu Liang continued.

"An independent company will be established to operate and maintain the pipeline."

"In addition to Unocal and Shell, will Petrobras consider other partners?" George Souness asked.

“Of course, the natural gas pipeline around the Brazilian coast is an ambitious project with huge investment.

The investment is huge and the payback period is relatively long. In order to share risks, we need more collaborators. "

There was a pause.

"You two, think about it carefully. I'll excuse you now."

"Mr. Parent, walk slowly."

"goodbye."

After watching him leave, George Souness took a sip of red wine.

"Mr. Xu, how many people do you think will be involved in the pipeline matter?"

"I don't know, but BP definitely has a better chance than Unocal."

BP has been working in the oil field for many years and has deep roots in the political and business circles of South America. In comparison, although Unocal is not a newcomer, its foundation in South America is too shallow.

The key is that the boss of Unocal is now him, a Chinese.

In South America, especially Brazil, the old Americans are the landlords and the rich.

The slogan of the 'Monroe Doctrine' has been chanted for two hundred years, and it has long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

"That's not necessarily true. Unocal under Mr. Xu's leadership is no worse than any other oil company in the world."

Xu Liang smiled and said nothing more.

There are many rich people in the world, but the key is to be powerful.

…

"Bang bang..."

Xu Liang held his hand on the railing and looked at the survey ship not far away, hearing bursts of gunfire from time to time.

This is the sound of flanking machine guns.

When doing offshore oil exploration, the first thing to do is seismic survey.

The most common method of seismic measurement is to use flanking machine guns to shoot bubbles into the sea, and then use seismometers to analyze the geological conditions.

If it is an offshore area, heavy trucks can also be used to ram the ground.

Not far from the survey ship, there is a huge thing that is 100 meters long, nearly 80 meters wide, and nearly ten stories high.

This is the sixth-generation drilling platform Unocal purchased from Friede Goldman three years ago. It has a payload of 7,500 tons and a maximum construction depth of 3,000 meters in deep sea, which is enough to cope with the Santos Basin.

This semi-submersible drilling platform named "Lynx" is the main force of Unocal's exploration in Block 15.

Now the first preliminary exploration well is being laid here.

"It would be great if we could find oil if we drilled a well." Li Jinling sighed.

Xu Liang glanced at her, smiled and shook his head.

Although the knowledge he has mastered in his two lifetimes has nothing to do with oil exploration.

But this time he participated in the Brazilian oil block bidding, and he also gained a lot of knowledge in this area.

According to existing records, even in a very few areas with abundant oil resources, it is a legend that oil was found in the first oil exploration well.

It's like an anecdote, often told by oil workers, but no one has ever actually seen it.

As oil resources become increasingly scarce around the world, oil wells are drilled deeper and deeper and in increasingly remote locations, and the chance of wildcat wells hitting oil is close to non-existent.

However, wildcat wells will not work without drilling. No matter how advanced the rock assessment operation is, it cannot replace the drilling operation. The latter is often used to deny the former and then start the next round of drilling operations.

If Texas and the Middle East could obtain oil with ten preliminary wells in the last century, then in the 1990s, dozens or even hundreds of preliminary wells were needed to have any hope.

Therefore, even if there is oil in the three ultra-deep sea blocks, it will take a year or two to find it with a semi-submersible drilling platform.

Of course, this is still a case of good luck.

You must know that the total area of ​​these three blocks is close to 6,000 square kilometers.

However, if a single semi-submersible drilling platform digs a preliminary exploration well, it will be able to explore more than ten or twenty square kilometers. This probability is too low.

Of course, it is easy to complete the detection within three years, as long as you are willing to spend money.

When ten semi-submersible drilling platforms operate at the same time, the efficiency can be increased tenfold.

The more you rent, the higher the efficiency.

However, the daily rental price of US$300,000 to US$500,000 per drilling platform is not a small sum.