Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

In 1955, the country established the Petroleum Industry * on the basis of the original Petroleum Administration Bureau, which was replaced by the Ministry of Energy * in 1988.

Of course, Qin Yang wouldn't go looking for some gas station. It's useless to look for those small fries; if you're going to look, go directly to the top leaders.

The conference room of the Petroleum Industry * was on the third floor, clean and tidy. From the window, you could see the small square below, where there were some sculptures, especially the sculpture of the Iron Man, which was very conspicuous. Looking down at those sculptures, Qin Yang felt emotional.

The older generation, relying on their hard work and dedication, helped the motherland remove the label of a 'oil-poor country' and developed the petroleum industry. They were very great. However, the petroleum industry is already lagging behind, and they cannot continue to lie on their past achievements and sleep soundly.

Creak, the door outside opened.

"President Qin, what wind has brought you here today?"

A man in a Zhongshan suit, in his fifties, walked in with a kind and amiable face.

After Shen finished speaking, everyone knew the whole story. Now, everyone who meets Qin Yang has to be polite, and no one dares to offend him. The person who came in walked up to him and extended his hand: "President Qin, my name is Jiao Yingbo. You can tell me anything."

"Old Jiao…"

"Just call me Old Jiao." Jiao Yingbo said with a smile, "You are engaged in military industry, and we are engaged in oil refining. We have to provide supporting services for you, and we will have to keep in touch in the future."

"That's right, that's why I came," Qin Yang said, "The engines we newly developed for the Third Generation Tank project were scrapped due to the use of your inferior diesel fuel. The cost of the entire engine is two million. You have to compensate us for our losses."

Two million was an astronomical figure in this era. Qin Yang just said it casually. It would be good if he didn't ask for triple the compensation.

"Okay, no problem. Since it was our fault, of course we have to compensate you."

Now it was Qin Yang's turn to be surprised: "Old Jiao, I came here to extort money. Why did you agree so quickly?"

"President Qin, you have given us valuable advice and guided us on the road to progress. How can this be called extortion? President Qin, you can earn tens of millions or hundreds of millions with any business you do. Why would you care about this two million?" Jiao Yingbo said.

Seeing that the other party was so polite, Qin Yang was a little embarrassed. If the other party didn't give it, he would have a whole set of arguments: how significant the Third Generation Tank was, how serious the losses they had caused, that if they didn't compensate, the army wouldn't agree, and the motherland and the people wouldn't agree!

But the other party actually agreed so readily!

"You want to hear my opinion?" Qin Yang decided to push his luck.

"Of course."

"Then I demand that all the oil refining equipment in the country be upgraded to reach the level of Maoyu, and be in line with international standards. We can't even produce gasoline with a 90 octane rating. It's a joke to say it."

In the 1960s, the gasoline octane rating in China was only 56 and 66. It was not until the 1970s that it was raised to 70. Even now, the highest octane rating is only 80, which is of course due to the insufficient level of petrochemical technology.

If the gasoline quality is not good, the diesel is even worse. The Third Generation Tank wants to obtain an engine with 1,200 horsepower, it must have high-quality diesel! This is still a plunger pump. In the future, with the high-pressure common rail system, the harm of inferior fuel will be even greater.

Therefore, Qin Yang must take this opportunity to demand that the relevant departments upgrade all the oil refining equipment in the country!

Now it was Jiao Yingbo's turn to frown: "President Qin, how much high-quality diesel do you need? We can provide it to you. But it's too difficult for us to upgrade all the equipment. This is definitely not a small number."

"How much oil does my Hummer burn! It's not what I need, it's what the army needs. Think about it, when the army is equipped with a large number of Third Generation Tanks developed by us, how much diesel will this require? It would be a crime for the army's tanks to break down due to inferior fuel! Besides, our economy is constantly developing, and a large number of advanced Western civilian engines are being introduced for use in cars and ships. Can the fuel be unqualified? The times are calling for the progress of our entire petrochemical industry!"

"President Qin, how can our petroleum industry not want to carry out a thorough upgrade, but this requires money. A few years ago, Maoyu introduced the first large-scale hydrocracking unit in China with an annual processing capacity of 800,000 tons, costing 195 million. This is only the technological upgrade of one refinery. If we upgrade all the refineries, how much money will it cost?"

"Spend money? Is the petroleum industry afraid of spending money? You have plenty of money." Qin Yang glared at the other party.

"Where do we get the money?"

"Don't you export oil? In terms of earning foreign exchange through exports, you are no less than our Fangbei Company, right? International oil prices have not been low in recent years."

Before the 1990s, China's oil had always been in a state of overcapacity. The oil extracted could not be used up by itself, and then it had to be exported. At certain times, oil exports accounted for 80% of the country's foreign exchange income!

The first oil crisis in 1974 and the second oil crisis in 1979 directly soared to a high price of 40 US dollars a barrel, and only fell back to 25 US dollars a barrel in 1985. Now it is at a high level. Shouldn't a unit that exports oil be extremely rich?

"President Qin, you probably don't know that our oil income does not have the right to be distributed by ourselves. The foreign exchange from our oil exports is not ours, unlike your Fangbei Company." Jiao Yingbo's face was a little helpless: "No matter how much international oil prices rise, it has nothing to do with us. Our ex-factory price of crude oil has never changed."

What? Unlike the Two Barrels of Oil in later generations, where the barrel is more expensive than the oil? The current price is fixed?

Qin Yang's eyes rolled: "I'll give you an idea."

Jiao Yingbo's face was filled with excitement, and after listening to Qin Yang's words, he patted his chest and guaranteed: "President Qin, as long as this plan is successful, the matter of upgrading the oil refining equipment you requested will be on our shoulders. We guarantee to provide the people and the army with fuel of the same standards as the West!"

Secretary Song's office.

"Secretary Song, we are now implementing a market economy, and our petroleum department also hopes to take the road of a market-oriented economy." Jiao Yingbo did not hesitate. After Qin Yang left, he ran to report to his superiors.

"How do you plan to go?"

"Connect with international standards. Whatever the international oil price is, that's what our oil price will be."

"Impossible." Secretary Song immediately denied it: "High oil prices are not conducive to the development of our economy. The international price is 40 US dollars a barrel. If we connect with international standards, the price of refined oil will quadruple or quintuple. All our companies that need oil will have to bear high costs, and increased transportation costs will also affect the economy."

"Then should our petroleum industry live a hard life? The old leader has always emphasized that we should deepen reforms and take big steps forward. Your decision violates the will of the old leader. Others only work hard when they taste the sweetness, just like Fangbei Company. What about us? Whether we do more or less, it's the same. Our labor enthusiasm is seriously insufficient!"

"That's right, it is indeed time to improve your labor enthusiasm." Secretary Song pondered, and then asked: "Do you have any ideas? It is impossible to fully connect with international standards. The country must use low-priced oil."

"Then can we implement a dual-track system for crude oil? The state stipulates a production contract policy for us. We sell within the production volume at the price stipulated by the state, and we export or sell domestically the volume beyond the production volume at international prices. This can mobilize the enthusiasm of our oil workers."

Secretary Song pondered for a moment: "This plan can be considered. I will report it to the old leader. Did you come up with this plan?"

Jiao Yingbo was very honest: "President Qin gave us the idea. We also promised that as long as this dual-track system is implemented, we will rely on the income beyond the contract to complete the upgrade of domestic oil smelting equipment."