Reborn Industrial Tycoon

Chapter 328: Suddenly enlightened (please subscribe)

It takes more than ten hours to fly to the United States. Taking economy class is really a torture. The chairs are narrow and the space is small. It is basically impossible to move your body. You can neither lie down nor sit. Hundreds of people are crowded together in the hot and dark airport, and they have their own area.

Less than half a square meter,

However, in the early 1990s, economy class on international flights was far more comfortable than in later generations.

At that time, the seat spacing of airplanes could reach 36 inches, which is 0.91 meters. However, the seat spacing of airplanes today is generally less than 30 inches, which is 0.76 meters. Some low-cost airlines have only 0.7 meters of seat spacing. That is to say

At that time, the distance between airplane seats was 20 centimeters longer than now.

Don't underestimate these 20 centimeters. With these 20 centimeters, passengers can stretch their legs and lean back. They have more and more comfortable sitting positions to choose from, which greatly reduces the fatigue of long-distance travel.

The seat width of airplanes at that time was also wider than that of today's airplanes. In the 1990s, the seat width of airplanes was more than 50 cm, while today's seat width is only about 45 cm.

With the extra 5cm of seat width, maybe Teacher Sun Yue doesn't need to buy two tickets, instead one and a half is enough.

In the departure hall, Song Jinlong walked up to Li Weidong and said apologetically: "Director Li, according to regulations, I can only book you in economy class. Otherwise, you won't be able to pass the audit, so I will wrong you first."

"It doesn't matter, it's only a dozen hours anyway, and it's time to get some sleep." Li Weidong replied.

Song Jinlong went on to explain: "After arriving in the United States, the conditions will be much better. The standard of the hotel we booked is quite high."

"I understand, I understand." Li Weidong didn't say much, just smiled and nodded.

If you take an airplane for business travel, there is no certain class, and you will definitely not be able to take a business car, let alone first class. According to relevant regulations, you will also be punished for taking transportation in violation of regulations.

It is impossible for a state-owned enterprise of Huanghai Petrochemical's level to afford a few business class or first class air tickets.

However, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission has dedicated personnel to conduct audits every year, so it is better not to do something that is obviously non-compliant, otherwise it will be taken advantage of by someone with malicious intentions, which will cause unnecessary trouble.

After people go abroad, it becomes much easier to deal with expenses, and they can be reimbursed in real terms.

The rules and regulations formulated in China can clearly stipulate what kind of hotel you should stay in at what level, what level of train and plane tickets you should buy, and how much each meal should not exceed.

However, after going abroad, this set of standards is no longer practical. How much does it cost to eat a meal abroad and how much does it cost to stay in a hotel? Every country is different, even in the same country but in different places.

Accommodation prices also vary.

Therefore, in terms of rules and regulations, it is impossible to formulate uniform standards for foreign expenditures. Actual reimbursement is the most practical method.

Therefore, Huanghai Petrochemical has no way to open a back door on air tickets, but after arriving in the United States, you don’t have to worry too much about expenses. As long as it is legitimate consumption, it can be reimbursed.

Li Weidong naturally knew these tricks. Fortunately, in the early 1990s, the economy class space was still enough, so Li Weidong didn't care.

After more than ten hours of flying, Li Weidong and his party arrived in Los Angeles, and then transferred to Texas. After a while, everyone was exhausted by the time they checked into the hotel.

Coupled with the jet lag, I may not be able to recover the next day.

Taking advantage of his youth and good health, Li Weidong did not take any rest, and went straight into the preparations for the negotiations the next day. He took a taxi and went to the local library to search for information.

What Li Weidong is looking for is the division of exploration rights for oil and gas fields in the southeastern Texas offshore area and the Gulf of Mexico.

The oil and gas field exploration rights licenses in the United States are managed by the Bureau of Land Management under the Department of the Interior. This is a very special department. As long as American oil companies still exist, this department will not stop working.

Even during the U.S. government shutdown, when many government departments were shut down, the Bureau of Land Management continued to work as usual.

Other departments such as education and health are shut down, and daily business cannot operate normally, which at worst harms the interests of ordinary Americans.

However, the shutdown of the Bureau of Land Management will harm the interests of American oil companies. The oil companies are all financiers, so this department must not be shut down.

According to U.S. law, various U.S. administrative agencies, including the Office of the President, are required to disclose information and publish their government information, such as oil exploration rights in the Gulf of Mexico, which block is allocated to which company, and the U.S.

The Ministry of the Interior is also required to disclose information.

In the era of developed Internet in later generations, the government information of U.S. government departments is mainly disclosed through the Internet. If you want to know any information, you can go to the website of the department to find out.

In 1992, the Internet was still in its primitive state, so government affairs disclosure mainly relied on paper written reports.

Ordinary Americans will definitely not stare at public government affairs reports every day when they have nothing to do. This stuff is not as good as the tidbits in newspapers. Therefore, all written government affairs public affairs reports will be stored in public libraries for the public to consult at any time.

.

Public libraries have a very special status in American culture. When driving on American highways, it is easy to see public library signs erected on the roadside.

In addition to allowing people to read and borrow books, the Team USA Public Library also often holds cultural lectures, cultural gatherings and community activities. Grassroots politicians who want to win votes go to the public library to hold various activities. That is

Inevitable.

In the United States, more people visit libraries each year than attend sports games, attend concerts, and visit museums combined.

This is an extremely exaggerated number, because the sports industry, music industry and exhibition industry in the United States are all the largest in the world. Taking the sports industry as an example, other countries in the world combined may not be able to match the United States.

Even with such a strong sports industry, libraries are still more attractive to Americans than sports games, which also illustrates the strength of American libraries.

Li Weidong came to the library and found the information he wanted about the exploration rights in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as other information.

There was too much information to copy, so Li Weidong had no choice but to video-record the content he needed and then take it back to the hotel to study it slowly.

…

At the same time, at Mobil's headquarters, executive Wallace also received news of the arrival of Huanghai Petrochemical's team.

"Sir, Huanghai Petrochemical asked us when we can start negotiations?" the assistant asked.

"We need to let people from Huanghai Petrochemical and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation meet unexpectedly, so we need to plan the negotiation time carefully."

Wallace smiled slightly and continued; "If the time is not calculated properly and they miss each other, our plan will be in vain!"

The assistant nodded in realization: "Sir, I understand what you mean. You want Huanghai Petrochemical and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation to know each other's existence and then bid against each other. In this way, we can sell the products

Sell ​​it for a higher price.”

"You're only half right!" Wallace showed a scheming expression and continued, "I want not only money, but also Saudi Arabia's petrochemical industry!"

Wallace picked up the coffee in front of him, took a sip, and then said, "If I just want to buy more money, then I can directly offer a high price. Maybe when I negotiated with Huanghai Petrochemical last time,

The equipment has been sold! That's equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Wouldn't it be better to sell it early and get the funds?

The reason I didn't do this was because I wanted to catch a big fish, and this big fish is in the Middle East. It's either the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, or maybe Qatar. Since the 1980s, these countries have begun to build their own petrochemical plants.

industry.

On a global scale, petrochemical products are in short supply, and this situation is expected to intensify in the next few years. The Middle East is the place with the most oil in the world. Once they form their own petrochemical industry, it will have a profound impact on the global petrochemical product pattern.

Influence.

So we at Mobil need to plan our layout in the Middle East in advance. We need to use the opportunity of selling equipment to reach some consensus or some kind of cooperation with petrochemical companies in the Middle East, which will be beneficial to our future development at Mobil."

The assistant nodded. The cooperation required by Mobil Company would inevitably take away a lot of benefits from its partners.

Just listen to Wallace continue to say; "The result was just as I expected, the Saudis took the bait! It was Saudi Basic Industries Corporation that came. 70% of the company's assets are in the hands of the Saudi royal family, and all the directors of the company are also in the hands of the Saudi royal family.

They are members of the royal family, and Saudi Arabia’s oil is also in the hands of the royal family. This is equivalent to having an industrial chain. There is no better partner than this!

I believe that with the help of Mobil, SABIC will soon become a world-class petrochemical company. Of course, in the process of growth of Saudi petrochemical industry, Mobil will also enjoy a large wave of dividends!

In comparison, what can China's Huanghai Petrochemical give us? According to intelligence, China may import oil starting next year. Moreover, China has many petrochemical companies, among which Huanghai Petrochemical can only be regarded as a medium level.

When we sell the equipment to Huanghai Petrochemical, we get nothing but a sum of money! In contrast, if we lay out Saudi Arabia's petrochemical industry in advance and then obtain dividends in the future, we can obviously get more!"

The assistant once again showed a look of realization and said, "Sir, it turns out that you had no intention of selling the equipment to Huanghai Petrochemical in the first place!"

"That's right. Since OPEC increased production, the revenue of oil exporting countries has dropped a lot. Many countries have begun to transform from simply exporting oil to the petrochemical industry. This kind of high-end petrochemical equipment is a scarce product, so it is natural to exchange it for it.

Bigger returns! How can it be sold to the Chinese so easily!"

Wallace paused and then said, "I asked Huanghai Petrochemical to negotiate, just to tell Saudi Basic Industries Corporation that it has a competitor! We need to give the Saudis some sense of crisis, so that we can force the Saudis

Agree to our terms.

Of course, the best case scenario is what you just said. The Chinese and Saudis bid against each other and raise the price of equipment. The higher the price of equipment is, the more benefits we can get from the Saudis! As for

That Huanghai Petrochemical is just a tool man!"

The assistant hesitated for a moment, then asked: "Sir, what if the Chinese also made a better offer? For example, a high price that we can't refuse!"

"This is impossible!" Wallace smiled and then said: "How can the Chinese be richer than the Saudis!"

…

Li Weidong was still checking the information he took out from the library, but Huanghai Petrochemical had already received news from Mobil Company, asking them to go and negotiate.

Negotiation for equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars is naturally a long process, and there is no rush for a day or two. Li Weidong has not collected information yet, and a lot of information has not yet been confirmed, so he asked Song Jinlong to talk to Mobil first.

I continued to collect information myself.

Song Jinlong and his party arrived at the headquarters of Mobil Company, and a receptionist immediately led them onto the elevator.

After the elevator stopped, when Song Jinlong and others stepped out of the elevator, they happened to see a familiar figure, that person was Wallace.

During the last negotiation, Song Jinlong had already met with Wallace.

Song Jinlong was just about to go up to say hello to Wallace when he saw several Arabs following Wallace. The characteristics of these Arabs were very obvious, they all wore turbans and had big beards.

At this time, Wallace also saw Song Jinlong. He showed a warm expression, greeted him, and then gave Song Jinlong a big American hug.

"Hey, Song, my friend, I finally see you again!" Wallace said with enthusiasm on his face.

After the two greeted each other, Wallace introduced to the Arabs behind him: "This is Mr. Song from Huanghai Petrochemical in China! Huanghai Petrochemical, like your company, is also a petrochemical company. They started a business a few years ago

, we have already completed an ethylene project worth 400,000 units!”

Knowing that they were colleagues, several Saudi negotiators exchanged glances with each other.

Wallace then introduced: "This is Mr. Abdullah from Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. Saudi Basic Industries Corporation is the largest petrochemical company in the Middle East."

Of course Song Jinlong knew the name of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, a company ten times larger than Huanghai Petrochemical Company.

Mobil's main businesses are oil and petrochemical equipment. Apart from sand, Saudi Arabia has a lot of oil. If they are willing to buy oil from Mobil, then the purpose of the Saudis is obviously to buy petrochemical equipment.

"It seems that we have met a competitor! And he is also a Saudi with a lot of money." Song Jinlong took a deep breath and suddenly felt that the situation was not optimistic.

…

More than two hours of negotiations have made no progress, not even an appetizer.

This is normal for such high-end negotiations.

However, the emergence of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation made Song Jinlong feel a sense of urgency.

After the negotiation, Song Jinlong returned to the hotel and immediately knocked on Li Weidong's door.

At this time, Li Weidong was still checking and recording information.

As soon as he entered the door, Song Jinlong asked: "Director Li, how well have you collected the information?"

"There has been a lot of progress. I will go to the library tomorrow to collect some information." Li Weidong said.

"Director Li, I know you are working very hard, but can we speed up the progress?" Song Jinlong paused and then said, "How about I send you two people to help you find information together?"

"It seems something went wrong in today's negotiation?" Li Weidong asked immediately.

Song Jinlong nodded and replied, "I met a competitor's negotiator at the headquarters of Mobil Corporation, which is Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. They are the largest petrochemical company in the Middle East, with a scale ten times larger than ours! To compete with such a competitor, we must

We have to fight quickly and decide quickly."

But there was something in Li Weidong's heart that suddenly became enlightened, and he couldn't help but say:

"This Mobil Company is using Huanghai Petrochemical as its tool!"

Thank you for your subscription. That’s it for today. I’m sorry to say that I couldn’t help but go to bed and take a nap. As a result, I was delayed in typing. I’m very sorry.