this man is not calm

Chapter 500 The Only Breaking Point

After reading the document several times and confirming its accuracy, Jin Shang couldn't help but be amazed.

Whether in the past life or this life, the absolute value of domestic oil prices is not too different from that in Europe and the United States, but the income-to-expenditure ratio is more than ten times, that is to say, the pressure brought by the same fuel consumption is more than ten times heavier.

This is also the reason why our compatriots are so sensitive to oil prices.

Even though the oil price in North America is only six dollars, which is only slightly cheaper than eight dollars in China, the per capita income there is 50,000 dollars, while in China it is only 6,500 dollars per month. It would be strange if you don't feel it's too much.

Other people can ignore fuel consumption, but this is not the case in China.

The reasons for this phenomenon, in addition to factors such as economic strength and exchange rates, have a lot to do with the crude oil reserves and quality in the East and the West, the energy structure, and the influence of channels.

In this life, Jin Shang did not pay much attention to it, but in his previous life, there was an elementary school text that was almost known to every student of that era. It was the story of the "Iron Man" Wang Jinxi. I will not go into details, but the general idea is that an accident occurred in the oil field. At the critical moment, the oil worker Wang Jinxi jumped into the boiling crude oil and stirred it constantly to prevent it from cooling and solidifying, which bought precious time for crisis handling and avoided even more serious losses.

One of the backgrounds that must be mentioned here is that our motherland is not an oil-poor country in the traditional sense. In fact, for most of the time, it has been one of the top eight oil-producing countries in the world.

The impression of being an "oil-poor country" is ultimately due to the poor quality of its mineral oil reserves, which are mainly heavy crude oil, making it more difficult and costly to mine, and placing higher demands on refining technology in the later stages.

In areas like the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caribbean, you can easily find high-quality crude oil by just digging a few shovels, and it is not uncommon for springs to form lakes.

It may be a little difficult to add it directly into the car, but it is definitely more than enough to supply ship main engines, large turbines and boilers, etc. After simple distillation, a large amount of high-quality gasoline and diesel can be obtained.

Heavy oil is different. At room temperature, it exists in an asphaltene state comparable to rock. When it is mined, high-temperature and high-pressure steam is injected into the ground to soften and liquefy it before it can be extracted. Once exposed to the air and the temperature drops below 60 degrees, it will condense into blocks as hard as stone.

It was at the critical moment that Wang Jinxi replaced the faulty equipment with his own body, acting as a mixer, speeding up the fusion of cement and mixed mortar, successfully sealing the blowout, and relieving the pressure of the hot-melt heavy crude oil. It was truly amazing that a mortal could accomplish this, and he deserves the title of "Iron Man".

Then again, why are the prices of refined oil products in China relatively high?
The costs of raw materials, mining and refining are much higher. In 1998, when the current international oil price is only a dozen dollars, the domestic tolerance for crude oil price fluctuations is obviously lower. Local oil engineering is still mainly based on deep processing and increasing added value. Importing foreign crude oil and refined oil is obviously much more cost-effective.

In the two lives, the general situation of the motherland is very similar. The land area in this era is larger, and the proven reserves of oil and gas fields are much greater than in the previous life, but the shortcomings of difficult mining, high cost and relatively low quality still exist.

The energy structure and petrochemical layout are still based on coal as the backbone, with domestic crude oil and local refineries as the bottom line, and large quantities of foreign crude oil and refined oil are imported to reduce costs.

With the development of the domestic economy, the dependence on imported oil is increasing. Whether it is energy or chemical industry, this thing is indispensable.

Jin Shang was not surprised at all that Jinxi Culture would reap dividends from its exploration of the new energy field, but he was still greatly surprised by the great encouragement from above.

As we all know, the current price of refined oil on the market is not entirely for users, especially for cars, ships and airplanes, various taxes and fees have almost doubled the terminal retail price.

The situation of one barrel of oil and half a barrel of tax existed not only in the last life, but it is still the same in this life.

Even thirty years later, in some remote old-fashioned gas stations, there may still be abandoned payment windows or self-service machines for road maintenance fees, transaction taxes, and local expenses. By that time, various taxes and fees would have been converted into the fuel surcharge for nearly twenty years, which shows how deeply rooted this thing was around the millennium.

The terms stipulated in this document are most likely proposed with reference to the energy strategic planning, prediction and research and development direction proposed by Jinxi Culture, such as diversification of alternative fuels, improving energy security factors, carbon emission indicators, new energy development outline and civilian vehicle electrification demonstration base.

Among these, what makes Jin Shang most pleased is the recognition of green alcohol, green ammonia, carbon capture, water electrolysis to produce hydrogen, pumped storage, fuel cells and dual-fuel alternatives.

Seeing Jin Shang thinking intently while reading, Zheng Liangzhi, who was drinking tea at ease, smiled and said nothing, waiting for questions. Hong Renquan, who was relatively impatient, asked curiously:
"The standards proposed here are really a bit high. Let alone green and clean energy, considering the cost and self-sufficiency rate of alternative energy, we cannot meet the green alcohol and green ammonia indicators, and we cannot enjoy the greatest benefits..."

"It's not that simple, haha..."

With two chuckles, Jin Shang responded calmly,

"I never thought of doing it all at once. Regardless of whether alternative fuels such as methanol, natural gas and ammonia are clean, we should use them first. Regardless of whether they are green or not, we should use them immediately, establish the upstream and downstream industrial chains, and then slowly consider the next step. As for what you said, for the same box of methanol, can you tell whether it is produced by biomass coupling or coal gasification synthesis?"

As long as a gap is opened in the existing industrial system based on coal and oil processing, there will be room for maneuver.

Hong Renquan was stunned when he heard this, and then he reacted.

"I'm overthinking it. The higher-ups haven't thought about completely denying the existing system. It's too risky to build a completely new system that is expensive and not yet feasible. What we need to do now is to reduce the use and reliance on fossil energy and try to increase the replacement rate of electrification. If that doesn't work, we can use self-sufficient cheap fuel instead. The comprehensive carbon emission standard has a lot of room for maneuver."

It is almost impossible to eat a big fat man in one go, significantly increase the number of electric vehicles in a short period of time, roll out green electricity flexible power grids on a large scale, and pilot smart cities.

In this regard, there are practical difficulties. Regardless of the efficiency, the entry of state-owned capital is not market-oriented and many problems are likely to arise.

As for private capital, they have no long-term vision and are used to making quick money. It is basically impossible for them to invest in long-term projects that will take at least six to seven years, or even more than ten years to see a return on investment. The future is too long and the variables are too great, so they cannot afford the cost and price.

Only a time traveler like Jin Shang, who is rich, powerful, has a forward-looking vision, sees through the future changes in the international energy market, and has the "golden finger" to escort him, can be confident to lay out such a big plan in years. Such a big business is not a scale of hundreds of thousands or millions. Once a mistake occurs, the loss is calculated in billions or tens of billions. Moreover, with such a large investment every year, apart from the policy guidance at the national level, how can ordinary private capital dare to play like this?

Of course, Jin Shang is not a sucker. He would force his way into it even though the conditions are obviously not right.

There are many benefits to be gained from this report, but it does not mean that the interests of Jinxi Culture are fully taken into account.

Looking at the present, Jin Shang feels that he still has great advantages.

Beichuan Heavy Machinery and Beichuan Power Company, which were developed based on the energy and power of Beihai Shipping, have accumulated a lot in the fields of diesel engines and dual-fuel, but there is nothing special about gasoline engines. The former has made great achievements in miniaturization, while the latter is a bit lackluster.

"In the field of diesel engines and dual-fuel internal combustion engines, we still need to consolidate our advantages. We cannot leave our existing advantageous technologies unused. In terms of heavy-duty trucks, large cars and express delivery box trucks, many natural gas diesel and methanol diesel vehicles have been tested internally and by friendly companies, and mass production is expected..."

Even dual-fuel engines that are mainly outsourced and modified, using diesel as the ignition agent and natural gas and methanol as the main fuels, can be used very well with just a slight modification. The highest substitution rate exceeds 95%, saving considerable operating costs.

Coupled with the relatively mature mild hybrid system, which improves starting and acceleration functions and adds some kinetic energy recovery functions, the current user experience is quite good.

"A diesel-based power system!"

Hong Renquan agreed proudly. This was one of his proudest achievements as the head of CSSC Electromechanical. In the domestic small and medium-sized diesel engine market, it was the leading private enterprise. In order to transform, it started to develop dual-fuel engines more than ten years ago. Although he did not wait for the "wind" to come when he retired, the technical accumulation was quite rich, which provided strong support for the transformation and deep excavation of value after Jin Shang took over.

To date, Beihai Shipping is almost the only dual-fuel ship manufacturer in the entire Greater East Asia, and all of its more than a dozen inland and near-shore small and medium-sized merchant ships in operation are built by the company.

Before the millennium, the price of marine fuel oil (heavy oil or residual oil) in some areas was even lower than that of natural gas and methanol. Even dimethyl ether, the diesel substitute compression ignition agent that Jin Shang required to develop, was more expensive.

As of 1998, the cost advantage of LNG (liquefied natural gas) was not obvious compared to gasoline and diesel, and it had lasted for a long time until the natural gas extraction technology was greatly improved, the price fell, and the crude oil price continued to soar, and the gap gradually widened.

In other words, the dual-fuel internal combustion engine technology developed by Hong Renquan was a bit untimely. If it had been developed ten years later, the situation would have been different.

Coincidentally, after Jin Shang took over, he had the ability to invest and survive the last few years of the difficult pioneering period.

Even going a step further, based on the relatively mature diesel engines and decent gasoline engines, we have developed internationally leading high-pressure common rail, electronically controlled direct injection, lean burn and homogeneous charge compression ignition technologies, some of which are relatively mature, while others need to be improved.

It’s not that there is a problem with the technical direction, but that the current level of electronic technology and the quality of monitoring sensors limit the capabilities. If high-precision instruments are to be used, the cost will be uncontrollable.

Many products still have a long way to go before they can be mass-produced commercially, but it is already very good to "hand-make" a batch of experimental test vehicles in the laboratory, or to entrust a car factory to manufacture a batch of modified vehicles, put them into use, conduct experiments, collect data, etc.

In addition to launching a batch of vehicles and hanging them in the transport fleet of Jinxi Mall, Jinshang commissioned friendly companies to conduct trials and also integrated two urban taxi companies and put more than a thousand dual-fuel vehicles, DMI super hybrid vehicles, natural gas vehicles, methanol-powered vehicles and flexible-fuel Zengcheng vehicles into operation.

Of course, not all car models are immature. Currently, three models have been put on the market and are undergoing small-scale trial production.

Diesel-methanol dual-fuel large off-road vehicles (city SUVs, pickups, light trucks); methanol-fueled sports cars, the one that Jin Shang drove for fun; and Zengcheng vehicles with large batteries and small fuel tanks, which have a pure electric range of nearly 130 kilometers and a full range of 420 kilometers with a full tank of fuel and a full charge.

Especially the last model, as a city commuter vehicle, it performed quite well. In the nearly three months since it was launched on the market, it has sold an average of more than 1,200 units per month. It is not an overnight hit, but it is a good start.

This extended-range vehicle, together with the DMI super hybrid, has demonstrated extraordinary fuel-saving and operating cost-saving capabilities in taxi operations on urban roads. The fuel-driven mileage is just over 11 percent, which means that nearly 90 percent of the roads are powered by electricity. This performance is truly ideal.

If it weren't for the slightly poor fuel consumption performance on the highway, the trial performance of Jinxi Culture's subsidiary in the automobile market would be simply perfect.

As for the shortcomings, they can be upgraded slowly in the future.

The decision to use extended-range technology, a backward technology, to break new ground was a matter of careful consideration by Jin Shang.

There is no other reason. The technology is mature and the difficulty is low. It avoids the difficulty of high-efficiency automobile engines and gearboxes without much technical accumulation. It only requires a lightweight large-capacity power battery, a decent internal combustion engine, and a mediocre electronic control system to assemble a mature extended-range vehicle relatively easily.

The introduction of new technologies should be cautious, but backward and "outdated" models such as extended-range vehicles still have a large market in today's increasingly developed big cities. Where there is demand and market gaps, there is room for "new players" to intervene.

If you really develop a high-pressure common rail electronic fuel injection diesel vehicle, a dual-fuel vehicle or a DMI super hybrid, who knows who you are? On the contrary, this type of extended-range hybrid with some customer recognition will be able to sell well.

Sure enough, Jin Shang's decision against all odds was proven to be correct.

This is not only the direction chosen by Jin Shang after careful consideration, but also the result of the protection of the "Golden Finger".

While the three were still chatting, Jin Shang's phone rang. It was not a landline, but a personal cell phone. The caller ID showed the name "Mei Yingnian"...

(End of this chapter)