Resource Tycoon Reborn

Chapter 201: General oil shortage

Yamamoto Ryuichi frowned, suppressed the anger in his chest, and patiently read these pages. His face had become very gloomy. He pondered for a moment, and then asked Sato Naka, who was standing respectfully aside.

: "Sato-kun, are you saying that before Iraq invaded Kuwait, someone foresaw that there might be turmoil in the Middle East, so they secretly purchased large amounts of Middle Eastern oil in August, September, and October?"

"Hai!" Sato Nakaichi said solemnly, "We have checked the records of the world futures trading market in detail. Four months before the outbreak of the war in which Iraq invaded Kuwait, dozens of accounts had been trading at low prices.

Purchase of oil, and the contract execution time is concentrated in August and September, with a smaller share in October. These accounts have been only buying but not selling these days. According to our incomplete statistics, with the current world crude oil price of three

At 12 US dollars per barrel, the value of the futures contracts held by these accounts is close to 20 billion US dollars. In addition, due to the turmoil in the Middle East in the past few days, countries are purchasing as much oil as possible for reserves. And everyone

It is also uncertain whether Kuwait Petroleum Company can actually fulfill the contract in the future, which has caused a serious shortage of crude oil supply in the market..."

"How much? Twenty billion U.S. dollars! Why so much?" Yamamoto Ryuichi exclaimed in surprise. Twenty billion U.S. dollars, even for Scomo Petroleum Co., Ltd., which ranks third in the Japanese oil industry, this is an extremely astonishing amount.

The number is up.

"Furthermore, according to our estimates, in the next three months, world oil prices are likely to rise, exceeding the historical record of forty dollars per barrel. Now in the world futures market, everyone is only buying but not selling.

, let alone the past three months, there are very few futures contracts even in November." Sato Nakaichi said with a frown.

Yamamoto Ryuichi took a breath. He did not expect that Iraq's sudden invasion of Kuwait would cause such an astonishing change in the price of the world's crude oil market. Since the ceasefire in the Iran-Iraq War, although Iraq and Iran have not yet signed a peace treaty

Treaty, but countries around the world generally believe that after eight years of fighting, the national strength of both Iran and Iraq has reached its limit, and the two countries can no longer sustain it. Moreover, Iraq and Iran have actively repaired their domestic oil supply since the ceasefire.

Industry, strengthen oil exports, exchange for foreign exchange, and repay the huge debt accumulated over the past eight years. This is also the main reason why world oil prices have continued to decline since the first half of this year. Therefore, the world is generally optimistic about the situation in the Middle East.

However, Iraq's undeclared war has once again plunged the situation in the Middle East into chaos. Although Iraq has occupied all of Kuwait, the occupation does not mean real possession. Judging from the reflection of the international community, Iraq's

This behavior is a severe condemnation, requiring Iraq to unconditionally withdraw from Kuwait territory and restore Kuwait's sovereignty and integrity. This means that it will take an extremely long time for Iraq to truly annex Kuwait. During this period, the United Nations is likely to

The imposition of severe economic sanctions on Iraq will not only prevent the shipment of Iraqi oil, but also the oil produced in Kuwait.

Although Iraq's oil reserves rank second in the world, the eight-year Iran-Iraq war caused an almost devastating blow to Iraq's oil production and exports. Since the ceasefire, although the Iraqi government has worked hard to repair it, the export volume is still small.

Poor. But Kuwait is different. With its reserves ranking fourth in the world, it is an important supplier of oil in the world oil market. If it cannot export oil normally, it will be bad news for the world oil market!

Sato Nakaichi wiped the sweat from his cheeks, arched his waist and said: "President, not only our company has been seriously affected, but also several major oil refining companies in our country. As far as I know, Japan's Shikoku Oil Co., Ltd.

The president of the club, Juichiro, is so anxious that he might jump off the building!"

"Huh? Why?" Yamamoto Ryuichi asked in surprise. Although the company name is Shikoku Oil Co., Ltd., its head office is in Tokyo. It is the sixth largest oil refining and sales company in Japan and has a long history.

, there are nearly 3,200 gas stations across Japan, with total assets of approximately US$15 billion last year. They are competing fiercely with Scomo Petroleum Company throughout Japan.

"President, you don't know. Among the crude oil sources of Shikoku Oil Co., Ltd., oil exported from Kuwait accounts for more than 60%. Now that Kuwait is occupied by Iraq, no one is sure whether the subsequent oil export contracts can be fulfilled.

.And in the world oil market, there is almost no price for 89-93 months of oil. President Shushita, he has great abilities, but it won’t work without enough crude oil.” Sato Nakaichi

He winked and said, "And it's not just Shikoku Oil Co., Ltd., Nippon Oil Co., Ltd., and Mitsubishi Oil. They are all worried about Kuwait's oil export share."

What is happiness? Happiness is seeing others more unlucky than oneself. At this moment, Yamamoto Ryuichi deeply understood the meaning of this sentence. He finally squeezed out a smile on his gloomy face and said: "Very good, it seems that at the beginning

Mr. Sato’s choice to advocate the import of oil from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is correct!”

"That's not under your wise guidance, President!" Sato Zhongyi said with joy, but he was sweating in his heart. He finally made the President think of himself. It seems that,

I guess I can barely pass this level.

Yamamoto Ryuichi pondered for a long time. He was angry, but he also understood that this incident cannot be entirely blamed on Sato Nakatou, but that Iraq's smoke screen was too good, and that group of people did too well. When everyone

When the danger of the development of the situation is perceived, it is already too late to try to remedy the situation. Is it difficult for this clever woman to make a meal without rice? Otherwise, Japan's major oil refining companies are now in the dilemma of lack of oil. Now, because everyone thinks that the development of the situation will

To further push up the price of oil, everyone who has oil in their hands is trying their best to hold on to it and wait for a better price. Even if Sato Nakaichi is kicked out and replaced by someone else, it will not be possible in a short time.

He did better. It would be better to make him redeem himself and make meritorious deeds, which might stimulate his enthusiasm more.

"Sato-kun, our country is short of oil resources and basically relies on imported oil. Although oil reserves have been established from the country to the company, they are only for emergencies and are not a long-term solution. You are not responsible for the company's oil reserves.

I don’t know, if you can’t get enough crude oil, you won’t be able to hold on for long.” Yamamoto Ryuichi stood up, patted Sato Nakaichi on the shoulder and said, “So, your task is very difficult, so you must try your best.

To purchase crude oil for the company, go to China, Southeast Asia, South America, or even go to those people who purchased oil futures in advance. Don’t be afraid of spending money! Now whoever controls more oil will be able to occupy a larger share of the Japanese market.

This is a war! Sato Chuichi, I believe in your ability!" As long as the price of oil purchased by Sato Chuichi is below the average purchase price of many Japanese refineries, Yamamoto Ryuichi is not worried. Unlike China, Japan's

The price of refined oil products follows the market trend and does not have to wait for approval from a certain department. Therefore, the price list of Japanese gas stations also changes from time to time. Although the sudden increase in oil prices has forced Japanese oil refining companies to pay more money to purchase

Crude oil, then the high domestic oil prices in Japan will also ensure that even if Yamamoto Ryuichi and others buy back the high-priced oil, they will never lose money.

At this time, what Ryuichi Yamamoto was thinking about was no longer just to maintain the normal operation of the company's refining department. Crisis sometimes also presents opportunities. Japan's major refining companies are now generally facing the dilemma of insufficient raw materials. If they can

Obtaining sufficient oil sources and ensuring adequate supply for the gas stations under the company's name is a rare opportunity for Scomo Petroleum to expand its share of the Japanese market. Even if it loses a part of the profit for this, it is worth it.

"Hai! President, please rest assured, I will do my best to complete the tasks you have given me, President!" Sato Naka bowed at a 90-degree angle and said with tears in his eyes,

A similar situation is not only happening in Japanese oil refining companies, but also in oil refining companies in the United States and European countries. During this period, China was basically self-sufficient and even exported every year.

million tons of oil. In the United States, due to supplies from Canada and South American countries, the import volume of Middle East oil only accounts for a part of the total, so the pressure may be relatively dispersed. In Europe, there is North Sea oil and oil from Eastern Europe, so it is related to

In comparison, Japan does not have such a strong sense of urgency.

But the lack of urgency does not mean that they do not have a sense of crisis. So for a while, representatives of the world's major oil refining companies went to major oil-producing countries to lobby them to increase oil production in order to stabilize oil prices. But increasing oil production

, but it is not an easy task. The only ones who can quickly increase oil production are the OPEC member states that have originally restricted production. However, now the OPEC member states have been overwhelmed by the war between Iraq and Kuwait and have no intention to care about this matter. Moreover, the price of oil

The rise in oil prices is also a good thing for OPEC member countries in the short term, as it can make up for the financial losses caused by the continuous decline in oil prices in the first half of the year. Moreover, it will take some time to restart those closed oil wells.

Therefore, on August 4, world crude oil prices continued to rise, finally closing at US$38 per barrel, approaching the highest point in history of crude oil prices...