After leaving the equipment company, Bradman and Graeme contacted officials from the Ministry of Industry of several countries that are currently negotiating with the equipment company to introduce coal-to-oil technology with the equipment company. From them, they confirmed what Xu Zhenbo and Chen Mo said, that is, several countries, including Australia, plan to introduce this technology. Of course, for such a large project, countries will not be able to decide to introduce it casually. It is normal for three or two years to delay it from the initial contact to the final signing of the contract.

"It was China's equipment industry company that invited us to learn about their newly developed technologies." Garrard, an official from the Australian Ministry of Industry, explained to Bradman. "After we arrived in China, we listened to the introduction of experts from China National Petrochemical Design Institute. In a few days, the equipment company will also organize us to inspect their production capacity at several petrochemical machinery manufacturing companies. China promises that according to the current coal prices, the coal-to-oil technology they provide can control the price of refined oil within the level of US$650 per ton."

"Do you believe this promise?" Bradman asked.

Garrard said: "We brought several petrochemical technology experts this time, and there were experts from the United States and Peru who also participated in the China project introduction meeting. After carefully analyzing China's production process, they believed that China's commitment was based on it. Even if the final production process is not as perfect as the theoretical design, it is absolutely certain to keep the refined oil price within the range of US$750."

"But the latest international technology could only reach the level of $1,000," Grame reminded.

Garrard nodded and said in an admiring tone: "You are right. The technical situation we learned before was about being able to control the cost to around $1,000. So, this time we were shocked when we saw the technology provided by the Chinese. I learned from experts from the Sinopec Design Institute that they said that since five years ago, the Chinese government has invested no less than $3 billion in the research and development of this technology. Cake sellers are really the largest investment in the field of coal-to-oil development."

"Five years ago..." Bradman moaned while covering his cheeks, and his wisdom teeth were hurting again. Five years ago, the China Development and Reform Commission received a $20 billion loan from the Middle East Oil Basket to build three tens of million-ton refineries. At that time, the entire OPEC ministers firmly believed that the Chinese had been trapped in OPEC's oil supply since then. These three refineries specializing in refining high-sulfur oil will have a serious dependence on Middle East oil, which means OPEC has more say in China.

But who would have thought that just when the refinery started construction, the Chinese government invested a huge sum of $3 billion to research on coal-to-oil. That is to say, they realized the danger of relying on Middle East oil from the very beginning and made sufficient preparations. Bradman even imagined that the $3 billion invested by the Chinese government was the money saved by obtaining loans from Middle East oil.

What a deep layout, Bradman felt a surge of resentment in his heart.

In the early years, the governments of Western countries were quite foresighted. They were able to develop industrial layouts ten years or twenty years in advance, and could tolerate waiting for a long time without seeing the profits. But in recent years, politicians and the people have become increasingly short-sighted. Everyone is thinking about having fun in time, and who will be willing to pay the price for the future. In some countries, the people even hope to eat the food in the first place and overdraw the future. The most terrifying thing is that this trend of thinking is gradually becoming more and more popular in the European continent. The direct result is that the political parties that can best meet the immediate interests of the people are most hopeful to win in the election, and the policies they adopted after taking office are exactly the same.

In contrast, the Chinese have been working hard to accumulate for the long-term future. 50 years ago, when their per capita income was less than US$100, they saved money and established a relatively complete industrial system through "156 key projects". 20 years ago, when their per capita income was less than US$300, they formulated an ambitious major technical equipment development plan, with the goal of forming independent and autonomous equipment manufacturing capabilities in the fields of chemical industry, metallurgy, electricity, transportation, etc. and reaching the world's advanced level of equipment manufacturing capabilities.

OPEC is really overestimating such an opponent.

"Mr. Garrard, is the Australian government interested in introducing this technology from China?" Grame asked.

Garrard smiled and said, "Yes, given the rising international oil prices, Australia, as an oil importer, has to consider alternative oil solutions. China promises to provide us with turnkey projects and the project cost is within the scope we can afford. Therefore, our government is positive about the introduction of this technology. Of course, if there are new changes in the international crude oil market, we may also consider other solutions..."

Speaking of this, he handed a secret look to the two OPEC officials. Whether he could understand this hint depends on the other party's understanding.

Bradman and Graeme are doing this business, how can they not understand the other party's suggestion? Bradman hesitated and asked: "Mr. Garrard, what level do you think your government will give up this project when oil prices reach?"

Garrard said: "Coal to oil technology is very important to Australia and our government cannot give up on this project. However, if international oil prices reach more than US$40 per barrel, our government may be more eager to advance this project."

This is the art of speaking. He did not promise to completely give up the coal-to-oil project, but the latter sentence implies that if the international oil price is less than US$40, the construction of the coal-to-oil project may be postponed indefinitely. Government decisions are the result of a balance of multiple interests. As oil prices continue to rise, enterprises and residents will have greater motivation to require the government to launch coal-to-oil projects. In order to please the people, the government will naturally make a statement. But if the oil price is within the range that everyone can bear, and the cost of coal-to-oil is higher than that of oil refining, then the motivation of all parties will disappear and the government will be too lazy to cause trouble.

"However, according to our calculations, even if the international oil price reaches $60, coal-to-oil using Chinese technology is still uneconomical. Is the $40 proposed by Mr. Garrard a bit too underestimated?" Grame asked.

Garrard shrugged and said, "Mr. Grame, you should consider the Australian government's concerns about energy security. With the cost of coal-to-oil and petroleum refining, Australia, as a country with abundant coal resources and relatively scarce oil resources, would rather spend more than promote the implementation of the coal-to-oil project."

"But the limit of $40 is too low. OPEC cannot ignore the interests of oil-producing countries. Too low oil prices are not conducive to the economic development of oil-producing countries."

"We can understand OPEC's concerns, but we also hope OPEC understands our concerns. Especially in the past six months, OPEC has adopted an irrational production restriction policy, which has led to a rapid rise in international oil prices, which has made our industrial sector feel a serious crisis."

"We deeply apologize for this. OPEC will hold a congress in the near future to discuss the matter of stabilizing crude oil production and export."

“We are very much looking forward to OPEC’s new policy.”

The two sides ended the conversation in a friendly and friendly atmosphere. Garrard sent Bradman and his party into a taxi and watched them leave, and he was secretly proud. He came to China to inspect the coal-to-oil project at the invitation of China Equipment Industry Corporation, which was actually just a cover. The purpose was to put pressure on OPEC and force OPEC to consider increasing production and price limits. A new coal-to-oil project, investing billions of dollars, involves various troubles such as land acquisition and environmental protection, and also harms the interests of oil companies and refining companies, and these companies have huge lobbying capabilities outside the courtyard. This thankless thing, unless the Ministry of Industry is full, why should it rush to advance?

The rise in international oil prices has affected the Australian economy. The simplest thing is that due to the increase in oil prices, sea freight prices have also risen sharply. The land prices of iron ore, copper ore and coal exported by Australia have increased accordingly, which has affected the competitiveness of the Australian mining industry. Suppressing international oil prices is the top priority for the Australian government. Garrard went to China and made a move to introduce coal-to-oil devices from China. So, OPEC officials came to seek peace.

If OPEC can agree to increase production, suppress oil prices, or at least maintain it at the current level, it will not continue to rise, Garrard is very happy to promise Bradman not to introduce coal-to-oil devices for the time being, but certainly will not promise to never introduce them. If such a choice is in his own hands, he will have the capital to fight with OPEC, so why not do it?

Bradman and Graeme in the taxi looked at each other. They both attended the amateur drama academy. How could they not know that Garrard was also a drama artist? When they put it out, they waited for OPEC to make a statement. If you can control the oil price, they will suppress this matter. If you can't control the oil price, they don't have to start construction. As long as you sign a cooperation agreement with China, do you believe that the international crude oil futures price will fall to the bottom?
Chapter completed!