Chapter 697 Petroleum Industry Layout
Oil was finally discovered in East Africa, which made Ernst relieved. Everything is difficult at the beginning. Only by completing the first step can the future energy security of East Africa be in his own hands.
At least in the next few decades, East Africa’s energy security will be guaranteed. The first is coal mines, which are enough for East Africa’s own use. The coal resources in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana are not bad in Europe. Now that oil has been discovered, although the reserves are still It’s not clear, but where there is the first oil well, there will be the second one, and there will be more and more in the future.
What is more important now is how to utilize this oil. East Africa really has zero foundation in this regard. Previously, East Africa’s refined oil products were basically imported from Austria-Hungary, Romania and the United States.
There is basically no oil industry in East Africa, which requires the help of the Hechingen Foundation. At the same time, East African students studying abroad need to return to China to lead relevant theoretical research work.
Collaboration between the Hechingen Consortium and the East African government is common in East Africa. The two jointly structure the industrial structure of East Africa, and this is still the case this time.
"Your Highness, the military has taken over the oil fields in Turkana Province. We will try our best to keep this news within the country. Although Turkana Province is also a border province, there is the Abyssinian Empire and the Ethiopian Plateau to the north. , the mountains act as a barrier, so the oil field at this location is very conducive to us continuing to keep it secret."
The East African military attaches great importance to oil fields, and industries closely related to the oil industry, such as the automobile industry, internal combustion engine industry, and national defense industry, have once again been upgraded to a higher level.
After all, East African oil used to be imported, and the imported oil routes were at risk of being cut off by countries outside the region. The main routes for East African oil imports were the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
In previous lives, Yemen has demonstrated how to use its geographical advantage to hijack the world's most important trade route.
The domestically produced oil in East Africa solves this problem, so from the perspective of energy security, the military must ensure the security here.
“At the same time, we will mobilize some of our workers from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Romania to prepare them. They may have to stay in the country forever in the future and move their families and industries to East Africa!”
"Very good, not only for energy security reasons, but also for technical reasons. We also need to accumulate. The first thing is to rely on local oil resources to build refineries. In addition to being energy, oil is also an important chemical raw material. We need to We need to increase research efforts in the field to break the monopoly of the Americans, and this will take time. Now we are catching up, so technical research needs to be kept secret to continue to paralyze competitors."
The U.S. oil industry has been developing for decades now, and in other regions, only the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Hechingen Consortium in Eastern Europe have built relatively rudimentary oil companies in a relatively short period of time with the help of German and European talents and technology accumulation. processing industry chain.
This is related to the future development form of the military. The emergence of automobiles has allowed the military to see endless possibilities. After oil can also be guaranteed, the East African military can completely bet on this aspect.
“First, we will bring together a group of experts to Turkana Province to study the origin of the oil fields and deduce theories. After that, we will continue to increase exploration efforts in Turkana Province.”
Finally, East Africa does not have to worry about technical issues in this field. After all, Ernst has already made relevant arrangements in Europe.
"His Royal Highness, there is still another problem, and that is the issue of oil transportation and urban construction. You must know that the environment in the southern part of Turkana Province is not very good, so if we want to invest and build there, there will definitely be difficulties." Turka The climate environment of Namibia Province is relatively extreme. Due to the uplift of the Ethiopian Plateau in the north, precipitation is abundant and the climate is humid, while the plains in the south are just the opposite.
This time the oil field is located in the southern part of Turkana Province, so it has to overcome the disadvantages of climate and environment. Secondly, there is the transportation problem. The entire Turkana Province, like the Somali region, has a certain status in the East African economy, but there is no railway. .
According to von der Leyen’s idea, it would be better to build a railway directly, passing through the oil fields and directly reaching the border of East Africa and the Abyssinian Empire.
After all, the Abyssinian Empire is East Africa's largest land trading partner. This will not only facilitate the transportation of oil to the south, but also improve transportation in Turkana Province, and further expand East Africa's trade with the Abyssinian Empire. Accelerate local economic development in Turkana Province.
“Okay.” Ernst basically agreed to this without much thought.
Because the Northeast really needs such a railway, just like when East Africa built the Dodoma-Bujumbura railway to transport rubber resources from the interior to other regions in East Africa.
In addition to this, railways can greatly improve local living comfort. The oil industry is closely related to the second industrial revolution, and electricity, automobiles, rubber, etc. in East Africa are all emerging industries.
Now that oil resources have been discovered in Turkana Province, the layout of the oil industry in East Africa should also start immediately. The same type of industry, that is, the oil industry among emerging industries has appeared relatively late, not to mention that the oil industry in East Africa is still in the " zero" status.
"We need to ensure the quality of life of experts and oil workers. After all, the oil industry is an emerging industry all over the world, and the northern region is not as livable as the plateau area. Even living supplies and food categories are worse than in the east. Although Romania The eastern part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is not a developed area, but it is certain that the conditions there are stronger than those in northern East Africa now.
So we should also improve the local living environment and at least ensure that necessary living materials can be transported to Turkana Province at a faster speed. " said Ernst.
In any oil-producing area, there is basically no shortage of supporting living facilities. It is easy to form industrial clusters. Relying on oil, it can also drive the development of a lot of upstream and downstream industries. Therefore, looking at the oil dividend in the future, Turkana Province should can get good development.
However, this also has certain difficulties, that is, overcoming the arid environment of deserts and semi-deserts. However, Ernst believes that this can also accumulate experience in building railways in desert environments in East Africa.
Because there are millions of square kilometers of tropical desert climate areas in East Africa, especially the resource-rich northern Nile Province (South Sudan’s oil resources), Southwest Africa (Namibia’s oil, coal, iron, uranium mines, etc.), the Soma region, etc. .
It seems that the major desert areas in East Africa are rich in mineral deposits, and the development of mineral deposits is indispensable for railway construction. So far, East Africa has not built a railway in the desert area, so now it is a good idea to build a railway in Turkana Province. choose.
Another important reason is that the population of Turkana Province is not small, which is very different from other regions. East Africa has a relatively early history of developing Turkana Province, and later actively developed and developed Abisi Province. The railway was obviously profitable for the Nian Imperial Trade and could also address the historical lack of railways in northeastern East Africa.
(End of this chapter)