Rebirth of the Industrial Tycoon

When Li Weidong was working on second-hand machinery and equipment in his last life, he knew a Malaysian owner of Chinese descent. This boss was in the oil-related business. He not only had a small oil refinery, but also three private drilling teams.

The boss is very good at speculation. During the Asian financial crisis, instead of losing money, the boss made a fortune in the futures market, which is considered to be drinking soup behind Soros' ass.

Perhaps because he made money in the futures market, the boss invested all his assets in the futures market.

At that time, it coincided with the change of the US president. The newly appointed George W. Bush was inextricably linked with oil companies. The boss believed that oil futures must be promising, so he invested all his wealth.

At that time, he also invited Li Weidong to do oil futures together, claiming to make a lot of money, but Li Weidong didn't dare to enter because he didn't understand futures.

A few years later, when Li Weidong met the boss, he had lost money and didn't even know his mother. He owed a lot of debt and wanted to sell the second-hand equipment of the drilling team to Li Weidong so that he could repay the debt.

During the conversation with the boss, Li Weidong learned some information, including Mobil's concealment of the Tabasco oilfield.

According to the boss, after Mobil obtained the exploration rights of Block 521, it soon discovered that there is a large amount of oil under this area, which is a super-large oil field with reserves of one billion barrels.

However, Mobil did not announce it to the public, but hid the news. It was not until the 21st century, when the United States replaced the president who had no relationship with the oil industry, that Mobil announced the news of the Tabasco oil field.

At that time, it was not just the Mobil family that did this. For example, the Jingma oilfield discovered by BP in the deep sea area was only announced after the US changed its president in 2000.

The discovery of such a super-large oil field will naturally affect the international crude oil futures market, and the Malaysian boss has lost more than half of his fortune as a result.

As for why Mobil concealed the news of the super-large oil field, the Malaysian boss did not introduce it, but everyone knows that Mobil must do this to gain more benefits.

According to Li Weidong's analysis after the incident, Mobil's intentional concealment of the news of the super oilfield can be regarded as serving multiple purposes.

First, international oil prices in 1992 have been on a downward trend.

After the end of the Gulf War, the oil supply in the Middle East has become stable, coupled with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the oil oligarchs in Russia are frantically selling oil, all of which have led to a drop in international oil prices.

Mobil probably thinks that it is more cost-effective to import oil from the Middle East than to exploit offshore oil, so it is better to seal up the offshore Tabasco oil field and wait until the oil price is high in the future.

In addition, Mobil has concealed information about super-large oil fields in the offshore area, and has also succeeded in confounding competitors.

At that time, it was not just a Mobil company that explored oil in the Gulf of Mexico, but also other oil giants such as Chevron, ConocoPhillips, British BP, and Shell. Among them, the strongest offshore exploration technology is not Mobil and Chevron, but British BP.

BP and Shell have many years of experience in drilling oil in the North Sea. In the late 1980s, the two companies were in the deep water area of ​​the Gulf of Mexico,

A large oil field with reserves of more than 500 million barrels has been mined.

Mobil did not announce the news of the offshore exploration of large oil fields, which also led BP and Shell to believe that oil could no longer be found in the offshore areas of the Gulf of Mexico.

For example, BP has upgraded the deepwater drilling technology from 5,000 feet to 10,000 feet. This is not very deep in the eyes of future generations, after all, there will be 30,000-foot drilling rigs in the future. But at the time, it was definitely the top drilling depth.

However, after BP improved its technology, it really found two super-large oil fields in the deep-sea area of ​​the Gulf of Mexico, namely the "Shocking Horse" oil field and the "Mad Dog" oil field.

Mobil successfully fooled BP and Shell into offshore areas to dig for oil, but it went to another path, that is, to study the technology of shale oil extraction.

What happened later is clear to the whole world. After the shale oil revolution in the United States, Exxon Mobil became the biggest winner in the shale oil industry!

The timing of Mobil's announcement of the Tabasco field is also intriguing. At that time, in addition to the replacement of the old and new presidents, it was also the time when Exxon and Mobil completed the merger and integration.

The announcement of a billion-barrel mega-field just after the two oil majors completed their merger has a lot to offer.

It can be seen that deliberately concealing the Tabasco oil field is an important step for Mobil, and it involves Mobil's future strategic deployment.

So when Song Jinlong mentioned that he wanted to buy petrochemical equipment from Mobil, Li Weidong immediately realized that he could use the Tabasco oilfield to force Mobil to sell the equipment to Huanghai Petrochemical.

But the information in Li Weidong's hands is too little after all. He only knows the name, general location and oil reserves of the Tabasco Oil Field. He needs more information to bluff Mobil.

So when he came to the United States, the first thing he did was to go to the library and inquire about the oil exploration blocks issued by the Bureau of Land Management.

The name of the Tabasco oil field comes from the Tabasco sauce, which is produced on an island south of New Orleans. After inquiring, Li Weidong found that around the island, there happened to be an exploration block of Mobil, which was Block 521.

Except for block 521, the other blocks in the hands of Mobil are too far from the island of Tabasco hot sauce, so Li Weidong easily determined that block 521 is where the Tabasco oil field is located.

Then Li Weidong began to collect data on other oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico. Including Mobil's various smoke bombs, saying that large oil fields can no longer be found in the offshore area of ​​the Gulf of Mexico, BP has begun to vigorously develop offshore exploration technologies, and so on.

When all the information was gathered together, Li Weidong came to a conclusion that Mobil was using the Tabasco oil field for a strategic layout.

Throughout the 21st century, only five mega-oil fields with reserves of one billion barrels have been discovered in the world. As an oil field with reserves of one billion barrels, the Tabasco field is indeed worthy of Mobil's big game.

The next thing is much simpler. Li Weidong used the information in his fingers to bluff Mobil.

And this trick is really effective. Wallace was really stunned by Li Weidong. He didn't know how much Li Weidong knew. But what is certain is that Li Weidong is asking for hush money.

Wallace fell into silence, while Li Weidong looked at him with a smile.

Finally, Wallace said, "Mr. Li, you must know that divulging trade secrets is a crime, and we, Mobil, can sue you!"

Wallace decided to scare Li Weidong first in order to gain the initiative in the next negotiation.

Li Weidong saw through Wallace's intentions instantly, he smiled calmly: "Mr. Wallace, if Mobil wants to sue me, you must have the evidence. First of all, you have to prove that I know the business of your Mobil company. confidential.

Secondly, you have to prove that if Mobil's trade secrets were really leaked, it was me who did it. Third, I am not an American. I can book a flight ticket to return to China tomorrow. Are you sure that the laws of the United States can govern the territory of China? "

The intimidation was unsuccessful, and Wallace's face turned ashen.

Li Weidong took another sip of coffee and then said, "Mr. Wallace, I am here with sincerity, and my request is not outrageous, but I just hope that you will sell the equipment to Huanghai Petrochemical, of course I hope it will be a reasonable one. price.

Your Mobil Company was originally a manufacturer of petrochemical equipment. Huanghai Petrochemical, as a customer, bought equipment from you at a normal price. You did not lose money, but still made huge profits.

At best, the asking price of Huanghai Petrochemical is not as high as that of the Saudis, which makes you a little less profit, but even if it is calculated according to the normal market price, you can still explain to the shareholders. "

"Sounds good, less profit is a loss!" Wallace secretly said in his heart.

But Wallace also knew that what Li Weidong said was the truth. Even if the equipment was sold at the normal market price, the profit of the petrochemical equipment would still show a series of very beautiful profit figures on the financial statements, which would definitely make shareholders and Investors are satisfied.

Seeing that Wallace fell into silence again, Li Weidong continued: "Actually, it is not only Mobil that sells petrochemical equipment, Huanghai Petrochemical can also buy equipment from channels, if you buy equipment at the same time, and attach some intelligence. , said there is still a discount!"

Hearing this sentence, Wallace finally couldn't stand it any longer. Li Weidong's subtext was to use the information of the Tabasco Oilfield in exchange for benefits from other petrochemical equipment manufacturers.

Wallace realized that Li Weidong had to be stabilized, so he immediately said, "Mr. Li, the equipment transaction involves hundreds of millions of dollars. Such a matter of great importance, I need to discuss it with the company's top management!"

"No problem, but I hope to get a reply as soon as possible." Li Weidong paused, then continued; "After all, it is a super-large oil field with reserves of one billion barrels. I think it is also an oil service company like Zapata. Big business."

Hearing the name "Zapata", Wallace's expression became even more livid.

The "Zapata" in Li Weidong's mouth refers to the Zapata Offshore Oil Company, which is a company located in Texas. Its main business is the exploration and drilling of offshore oil. It is a service for large oil companies. company of.

The founder of this company is George Herbert Walker Bush, the 51st President of the United States, George W. Bush.

It is said that the Bush family started with oil. Strictly speaking, the real business of the Bush family is not to sell oil, but to provide supporting services for oil companies. In particular, the offshore generation of oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, which is the core business of Zapata Petroleum.

The Tabasco oil field is located in the offshore area of ​​the Gulf of Mexico. If it is to be drilled, how can it not be given to Zapata Oil Company?

To put it another way, once the Tabasco oil field is made public, it may not be the major companies that want to develop the oil field, but oil service companies like Zapata.

The technology earned by such oil service companies is the money for providing services. If oil companies hold large oil fields in their hands and do not develop them, then who will oil service companies turn to to provide services? How to earn service fee?

Therefore, if the Tabasco oilfield is released to the public, it will be necessary to immediately exploit it, and Mobil's overall strategy will also be broken.

...

Li Weidong left Wallace's office and went downstairs, where Song Jinlong was waiting.

"Director Li, how's the talk going?" Song Jin asked impatiently.

"Go back and wait for the news!" Li Weidong continued; "It won't be long before Wallace will take the initiative to contact you."

"What did you tell Wallace? And what do you mean by giving Wallace a bottle of chili sauce?" Song Jinlong asked again.

Li Weidong did not answer directly, but said, "This is not the place to talk, get in the car first, let's talk slowly."

After getting into the car, Li Weidong lowered his voice and said, "Director Song, go back and inform the people in your factory that the matter of chili sauce must be kept secret, and you can't mention it to others after you go back, let alone write it in your work report. .If this matter spreads, you won't be able to buy the equipment you want!"

It was about whether he could buy the equipment or not. Song Jinlong nodded immediately, but his face was full of confusion.

For the sake of Li Weidong's words, Song Jinlong didn't want to ask any more.

Li Weidong went on to say: "If Wallace mentions the chili sauce thing to you, you say that you don't know anything, and you don't understand anything, and you don't see it today."

Song Jinlong nodded again, although Li Weidong's instructions made it look like filming a spy war drama.

But in order to be able to buy equipment, let alone a spy war drama, Song Jinlong is willing to give it a try even if the FBI subtitles warn at the beginning of the blockbuster!

...

It is a good thing to be able to deploy in the Saudi petrochemical industry, but the foundation of Mobil is still in the United States after all.

For Mobil, entering Saudi Petrochemical is also the icing on the cake. Even if it does not succeed in the end, Mobil will have nothing to lose.

If the Tabasco oilfield is made public, it will directly affect Mobil's strategic layout in the next few years.

There is no doubt that Mobil knows how to choose.

Two days later, Mobil's high-level Dacheng reached a consensus, and Wallace took the initiative to contact Song Jinlong.

"Mr. Song, after careful consideration, we have decided to provide your company with the petrochemical equipment you need!" Wallace said.

"It really did!" The surprise flashed in Song Jinlong's eyes.

"This Li Weidong is really capable. We have been talking about Huanghai Petrochemical for so long, but there is no progress. He can get it done with a bottle of chili sauce? By the way, is that thing really chili sauce?"

Song Jinlong then thought: "Could it be that Li Weidong poisoned it, and after Wallace ate it, he was poisoned, and then Li Weidong used the antidote to blackmail Wallace! Could it be the Three Corpse Brain Pill? Or the Leopard Fetus Yijin Pill?"

Song Jinlong probably read a lot of martial arts novels.

However, in the early 1990s, it was indeed a period when martial arts novels spread wildly in the mainland. Any bookstore that sells pirated books can find the works of two heroes, Jin Yong and Gu Long.

On the opposite side, Wallace asked, "Mr. Song, since Mobil has decided to provide equipment from Huanghai Petrochemical, what about Tabasco?"

"Tabas? Is that the bottle of chili sauce? Is Wallace here to ask me for an antidote?"

Song Jinlong complained in his heart, and then he remembered Li Weidong's previous advice, as long as it was about chili sauce, he didn't know anything.

So Song Jinlong immediately said, "What brother Tabas? I don't know!"

"That's what Mr. Li said yesterday when he gave me chili sauce." Wallace continued.

"Chili sauce? What kind of chili sauce? I haven't seen it before! Mr. Wallace, I don't understand what you said at all!" Song Jinlong denied again.

However, these words fell into Wallace's ears, and immediately made Wallace think that after Huanghai Petrochemical got the equipment, it was willing to abide by the promise and would not disclose the affairs of the Tabasco Oilfield, so Song Jinlong simply came to a meeting. Ask three I don't know.

Wallace sighed and said to himself, "It seems that the Chinese are still very trustworthy!"

...

Song Jinlong is naturally grateful for helping Huanghai Petrochemical solve the problem of purchasing equipment.

For Li Weidong, since the business has been done, it is time to take He Anan to play in the United States.

The United States is too big, and it is impossible to visit the United States in a short period of time, so Li Weidong chose to go to Los Angeles, which is a place where American attractions are concentrated, and Li Weidong also has to take a plane from Los Angeles to return to China.

Disneyland in Los Angeles is definitely a must-see attraction for men and women, and Santa Monica beaches are also worth a visit.

Li Weidong also watched a game of the Los Angeles Lakers. It is a pity that the Lakers are in an era of green and yellow this season. The star of the team is the aging James Worthy.

But Li Weidong's luck is better, the Lakers' opponent turned out to be the Chicago Bulls! Therefore, the ticket price for that game was also very high, and many fans rushed to see Mr. Qiao.

The Chicago Bulls in 1992 was the era when Jordan hit the first three consecutive championships. It was a great blessing to be able to see Mr. Joe playing.

What makes Li Weidong more regretful is that although he saw Michael Jordan, he did not see another Michael, that is Michael Jackson.

In fact, Li Weidong still prefers to see Michael Jackson's concert with his own eyes. After all, Jordan lived longer than Jackson. In the future, Jordan can be seen in the NBA All-Star Game every year, but the living Jackson will never be seen again.

It is a pity that Jackson is currently preparing for the "Journey to Danger" global tour. If Li Weidong has time, he may be seen in Tokyo, Bangkok or Singapore.

It's a pity that I didn't see a live Michael Jackson, but if you go to Hollywood for a walk, you might meet one or two big stars.

What's more, when you come to Los Angeles, Hollywood is a must-see attraction.

So Li Weidong took He Anan to Hollywood.

At the entrance of the Grauman Chinese Theater, the cement board is covered with the handprints and footprints of movie and television superstars. As the venue for the Academy Awards, many movie fans come here to make pilgrimages.

Of course, there are also many film practitioners with dreams.

"Roger, one day, I will stand inside and hold up a little golden man that belongs to me!" A slightly excited male voice sounded.

On the Hollywood Walk of Fame, there are countless actors standing next to the Walk of Fame, shouting to pick up the golden statuette, and everyone has already seen it!

Li Weidong turned his head subconsciously, wanting to see if this big-talking actor was handsome or not, and whether he had the potential to win an Oscar.

Then he saw a white man in his thirties, with a bald head, a shoehorn face, and compact features.

This face has nothing to do with handsome, and it can even be said to be a bit ugly!

However, Li Weidong felt that this shoehorn face looked familiar.

"Who is this here?"

Definitely not Mr. Motoyama!