Chapter 696 Oil Well
On the shore of the vast Lake Turkana, a steam drilling machine was emitting billowing black smoke. The boiler worker continued to fill the coal into the furnace chamber. Driven by the turbine, the heavy metal The drill bit works continuously, up and down, penetrating the rock formation. The workers use tools to clean the rock formation debris brought out into the wheelbarrow, push it away and then pile it aside. This is an oil exploration site in East Africa.
"Mr. Carls, can we really find oil here? This is the sixth drilling well we have dug this year. I feel that we are wasting our efforts. This situation is undoubtedly like finding a needle in a haystack. ." asked Sol, the oil worker.
Saul's team is a team of professional oil workers who returned from studying in the oil-producing areas of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Three years ago, under the orders of the kingdom, they returned to help East Africa search for oil.
The team’s steam drilling rig was commissioned by a German machinery company in East Africa, then shipped to Mombasa by sea, and finally transported to Turkana Province by rail and road.
"According to my judgment, evidence of possible oil has indeed been found around Lake Turkana, such as some ancient fossils and remains. However, currently we have no relevant theoretical support, so we want to dig out the oil here. , it can only be achieved through constant trying,” Carls said.
"Does this mean that even you don't know whether there is oil in Turkana Province?" Saul asked.
"Ahem, that's true." Karls said with some embarrassment: "But oil is a very scarce resource. At present, the world's oil production areas are basically distributed in the United States and Eastern Europe, so we It’s normal to not be able to find oil.”
Saul frowned and asked: “Our area in East Africa is not small. It’s impossible that we can’t find a drop of oil in such a large land!”
"Mr. Saul, it is too early to draw conclusions. In fact, oil exploration depends on luck. This is how the American oil industry developed. After all, they also lack relevant theoretical foundations and rely more on fossils, geology, etc. Make guesses, and the area we are currently exploring does not even cover one-third of Lake Turkana, let alone the entire Turkana Province, or the entire kingdom.”
"This is a kind of gamble!" Saul originally thought that as an expert geologist, Karls had some real abilities, but in the end he still relied on this method, which is really regrettable.
After all, it is just constant drilling. Sol can complete it by himself, but Karls seems useless, and everyone has to obey his command.
Karls argued: "It cannot be said that we cannot accurately determine the location of oil through theory. This is because this is completely new knowledge for us humans. We did not even have the so-called oil a few decades ago. Industry, the history of large-scale application of oil in the industrial field is too short. If we can succeed, we can accumulate experience for the future development of oil exploration technology."
He then took the United States, which currently has the most developed oil industry. As an example.
"In 1859, Edwin Laurentini Drake, a train driver from Pennsylvania, drilled the first oil well in the United States. This oil well was located in Towersville, Pennsylvania. With a digging depth of more than 21 meters, this oil well kicked off the U.S. oil industry. ”
"Rockefeller himself started by building refineries, and now monopolizes more than 80% of the United States' refining capacity, more than 90% of oil transportation, and 20% of crude oil extraction."
“If it weren’t for the layout of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Romania’s oil industry, Europe would probably have become Rockefeller’s market. The United States alone accounts for about 70% of the world’s oil production, so we are in East Africa. Finding oil inland is not an easy task either.”
“In fact, even with the oil from Austria-Hungary and Romania, the international oil price is still controlled by the Americans. The good news is that oil production is now far greater than demand, so the oil price is acceptable. This is also the case for imported oil from East Africa. is a factor, but the Kingdom attaches more importance to oil than any other country. I think this has something to do with the automobile industry in East Africa.”
As for whether East Africa bets on the oil and automobile industry, it is not the case. Karls, a little man, knows this. Although both oil and automobiles have appeared, the most important role of oil is still as a means of lighting such as "kerosene lamps". After all, the popularization of electricity is a very long process.
Cars are the playthings of the "powerful", and even the lowest-priced bicycles are industrial products that can only be consumed by the middle class. Therefore, without decades of development, the future of these new industries is not clear for most countries. Only East Africa is making every effort to promote the development of related industries.
"Mr. Saul has also worked in the oil producing areas of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He should also know that the current discovery of oil is accidental. Just like the Americans, they use the simplest and crudest way to discover oil, so We can only complete the kingdom’s early oil exploration work through the most primitive means. Regardless of success or failure, this is valuable experience.”
The current oil exploration technology in the United States actually has little technical content. Even one of the most common methods is for a cowboy to find oil by riding a horse and "drilling" where the wind blows his hat off.
This method is more "metaphysical" than in East Africa, but Americans rely on this method to make some people rich overnight.
Of course, this is also related to the westward expansion movement of the United States. After the first oil well was discovered, many "lunatics" bought land in the west, and then used cowboy hats to bet on the existence of oil on their land. This is the real "gamble".
Ernst had known for a long time that there were oil "hanging walls" in Turkana Province, such as in East Africa, which was incomprehensible. Ernst knew that the intersection of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia had such potential in his previous life.
“Only when we actually drill an oil well can we turn experience into theory, and then use theory to find more oil. So Mr. Saul, the business we are engaged in now can definitely advance mankind. Historically, even if oil is not found, we can still make discoveries and innovations in the field of geology," Karls said.
"Don't say such depressing words, just in case..." Sol hadn't finished his words yet.
“Oil is out, Captain Saul!”
Saul’s mouth seemed to have been opened. Karls was also a little surprised. As soon as he said that oil might not be found, he was A slap in the face, this feeling is indeed very complicated, but more exciting.
Amidst the loud noise of the steam engine, there was a burst of cheers. After three years of "hard" work, the first oil well in East Africa was finally born.
The rolling underground "black gold" gushes out from the well. If it were placed in the free world, it would probably create another "wealth legend." However, in East Africa, where nationalization is the mainstream, this is the wealth of all East African citizens. .
"Don't get close first to avoid the release of harmful gases in the oil wells. Enclose the place..." Saul began to direct the on-site oil workers based on his experience working in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
After working in East Africa for three years, I was finally able to use my expertise. Although there were a lot of drilling jobs before, most of them were dry wells, but this time they were real oil wells.
(End of this chapter)