We're building a super chaebol in Hong Kong

While Su Cheng and Guan Jiahui were enjoying their weekend at the water park, Bao the Shipping Magnate and Zhang Qizheng were inspecting the situation at the Tuen Mun pier, a few dozen kilometers away.

"Mr. Bao, due to time constraints, our pier design currently only has a 50,000-ton berth. However, as far as I know, VLCC supertankers are 200,000 to 300,000-ton supertankers. I'm not sure how we can solve the berthing problem here?" Zhang Qizheng asked humbly.

In about ten days, the first batch of crude oil will arrive in Hong Kong from the Middle East. As the interim general manager of Tianwen Petroleum Company, Zhang Qizheng is very responsible and is preparing for subsequent issues.

He made an appointment with Bao the Shipping Magnate two days ago, and today, Bao the Shipping Magnate finally had time. So, the two of them came to inspect the specific progress here and the subsequent oil unloading issues.

After all, it was a big business worth hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars, so Bao the Shipping Magnate was very respectful to Zhang Qizheng.

The pier construction has been underway for almost a month. Due to the enormous manpower and resources used, the progress has been very fast. Now it is basically completed, waiting for the oil tankers to arrive.

So how to unload the oil? This is a very serious problem.

Bao the Shipping Magnate looked at the pier in front of him and couldn't help but shake his head.

"General Manager Zhang, the pier you have built so far is just a traditional cargo pier, and of course it cannot accommodate VLCC supertankers. I have looked at the Lingdingyang shipping route map. In fact, our Global Shipping Group's oil tankers can berth 450 meters southwest of the current pier. The water depth there is as high as 21.8 meters. A little further out from there is the navigation channel, and the water depth is sufficient to accommodate 200,000 to 300,000-ton VLCC supertankers."

Bao the Shipping Magnate took a shipping route map from the assistant behind him, pointed to the location, and said to Zhang Qizheng.

Previously, the surveyors from Hutchison Whampoa Properties only surveyed the water depth directly in front of the pier. The measured water depth showed that even going out another 500 meters would only allow the construction of a 100,000-ton berth pier. Zhang Qizheng also understood this information, but he didn't expect that less than 500 meters southwest of this location was actually the outer range of the deep-water channel.

"But, we are currently short on time and cannot extend the pier in that direction, and building a pier in such deep water would definitely be very difficult. The engineering difficulty is too great, and the time required would naturally be very long. This is not suitable for us, is it?" Zhang Qizheng asked doubtfully.

"What you are talking about is the construction method for ordinary cargo piers. That kind of pier can of course unload crude oil, but building a 300,000-ton ordinary cargo pier is too difficult. In fact, crude oil piers are simpler, and the difficulty is not as great as you imagine."

Bao the Shipping Magnate took the mineral water handed over by the assistant, took a sip, and continued: "For crude oil piers, our general construction method is to build a steel approach bridge, and then install oil pipelines on the steel approach bridge. The main thing is to first drive steel caissons down, then pump the seawater inside dry, and then lower the caissons as support points, and then build iron bridge piers on top. The amount of work is much simpler than building an ordinary deep-water cargo pier.

You also know that I am in the shipping business, so I am very familiar with these things. In our Hong Kong, there are companies that specialize in this kind of project. 450 meters is not a large amount of work. The most important thing is that you can see that the seawater flow is very slow, and judging from the shipping route map, there are no undercurrents nearby, which greatly reduces the engineering difficulty.

If there are ready-made caissons, the construction time will be even shorter." Bao the Shipping Magnate explained carefully to Zhang Qizheng for the sake of their partnership.

"So there is such a distinction."

Zhang Qizheng knew that he had gone astray. It was okay if the boss didn't understand, but as the general manager of Tianwen Petroleum Company, if he didn't understand either, it would be a bit embarrassing. He really had to find a professional to take on this position. Zhang Qizheng decided to suggest to the boss as soon as he got back to find a replacement as soon as possible.

However, this 50,000-ton pier was not a waste. After it was almost completed, the construction progress of the oil base would be even faster, because not only could equipment be transported by land, but also some large equipment could be pulled over as a whole by cargo ships. If it were transported by truck, it would have to be disassembled, pulled over, and then installed.

Moreover, this place can continue to be used as a cargo pier in the future.

"Mr. Bao, I wonder how long it would take to build a crude oil pier at this location?" Zhang Qizheng asked humbly.

"In my estimation, it will be almost completed in two to three months," Bao the Shipping Magnate said with a smile.

"But, our first batch of crude oil will arrive in about ten days, won't it be too late?" Zhang Qizheng asked.

"There is a compromise. VLCC supertankers can anchor outside, and then use oil tankers below 50,000 tons to transfer the oil to the pier here, and then the oil pipelines will lead to the oil storage tanks. It is a bit troublesome, but that is the only way for now;

In addition, our ships can also berth at other crude oil piers in Hong Kong, but that would require the use of oil trucks to transport the oil directly from the crude oil pier to the oil storage tanks in Tuen Mun. However, each truck carries too little crude oil, the amount of work is extremely large, and the number of oil trucks required is too large, so this method can only be used as a last resort," Bao the Shipping Magnate gave the solution directly.

"Mr. Bao, thank you so much. I will report this matter to my boss tonight, and I would also like to ask Mr. Bao to give me the contact information of an engineering company. I am preparing to contact them to build the crude oil pier," Zhang Qizheng said to Bao the Shipping Magnate.

"Okay, I'll give you a contact number. Just tell them that I introduced you when you contact them. As for the specifics, you can discuss them in detail," Bao the Shipping Magnate said with a smile.

It was just a small favor, and he could get goodwill from both sides. He liked doing this kind of thing the most.

It was precisely because of this that Bao the Shipping Magnate had very good connections in the business world, which was one of the reasons for his success.

Zhang Qizheng dared to be sure that the boss would agree to build a crude oil pier here for several reasons.

First of all, this place will be used as an oil base in the future, and it will definitely be a regular thing to bring crude oil over. In particular, Tianwen Petroleum Company has also reached an oil extraction contract with Brunei. A large crude oil pier is essential.

In addition, the Governor's Office has already contacted him. In order to build this Hong Kong oil base, the government has put down its pride and invited the three giants, Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon, and British Petroleum, to enter the vicinity of the Hong Kong oil base. At that time, they will definitely need to rent the crude oil pier here. In the long run, it will also be a considerable income.

With these advantages, the boss cannot refuse.