A doctor who travels through two eras

Chapter 902 What to do about a severe oil shortage?

Air Force officer Yang Shufeng put down his wine glass, smiled wryly, and sighed:
"Comrade Sanqi, the new J-7 fighter jets you brought over are really good. Based on our records of fighting foreign fighter jets, we can tell that, while we can't say we crush them, we are at least evenly matched, and even have a slight advantage."

As Lao Cao just mentioned, we have shot down 80 enemy aircraft in the past six months, but we have damaged even more enemy aircraft. This has dealt a heavy blow to the arrogance of some countries that relied on air superiority.

If it weren't for the fact that our airspace is too vast and that we only have 500 J-7 fighters, which is too few, we could have directly covered several small islands in the southeast and bombed their military bases to smithereens.

but……"

After Yang Shufeng finished speaking, he glanced at Lin Sanqi discreetly and said apologetically:
"However, we found that the J-7's fuel consumption was too high. On average, a single aircraft can carry 2 tons of aviation fuel, but this amount of fuel can only fly for a maximum of 2 hours, not exceeding 2,000 kilometers."

Considering we still need to return, we only have about 50 minutes of loiter time left for our fighter jets.

In addition, we need to conduct flight training, daily patrols, and take off to intercept enemy aircraft. The daily consumption of aviation kerosene is calculated in the thousands of tons, which puts a great strain on logistics.

Finally, aircraft also require a large amount of aviation hydraulic fluid for system lubrication and energy transfer. The large quantity of aviation kerosene you got for us last time is almost gone, this, this…”

Commander Cao reminded him:

"Forget about this and that, Xiaolin, the real problem we're facing right now is that we've run out of fuel and the plane can't take off."

This is just the Air Force's problem; we're in the same boat. For example, the hundreds of high-altitude trucks you provided to Lao Xu can only be used by half of them at most due to gasoline shortages, and they can't be fully utilized.

While the Shandong Cat we have is fuel-efficient, the sheer number of them is overwhelming. With 5 vehicles arriving in total, they definitely make it a gas guzzler.

So, Xiao Lin, I, Lao Cao, am thick-skinned and not afraid of being laughed at, but could you please help us think of another solution? We can't do without oil.”

Lin Sanqi found it a bit strange:

"That's not right. Our Daqing Oilfield was discovered back in 1959. If I remember correctly, just last month, on New Year's Day 1964, the newspapers said that it had already produced 1100 million tons of crude oil."

Let's calculate based on the fact that one ton of crude oil can typically yield about 450 liters of gasoline or about 250 liters of diesel. That's quite a lot in total, so how could there be a shortage of oil?

Yang Shufeng said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry:

"The key is that the refining technology for aviation kerosene is quite advanced. Our domestic refineries are currently unable to produce it and can only rely on imports. As you know about the current international situation, they have imposed an embargo on aviation kerosene to us."

Lin Sanqi thought to himself that this was indeed a headache.

Our relationship with the Russians has completely broken down, making it virtually impossible for us to import anything, and even if we did sell, the price would be astronomical.

As for the United States, Japan, and other countries, we are targeting their planes, so naturally they will not sell you aviation fuel, and thus restrict your planes from taking off.

Commander Cao said helplessly:

"The whole country is a unified entity. We can't possibly give all the gasoline and diesel to the military, can we? How can the country continue its economic development then?"

The key issue isn't oil; our country has oil. In fact, the Yumen Oilfield was already in operation before the Daqing Oilfield was discovered, so we didn't have a shortage of oil for the time being.

For example, the Lanzhou Refinery, which is配套 with the Yumen Oilfield, was a modern refinery built using Russian technology.

However, the Blue State refinery can only produce 40 tons of gasoline and diesel per year, which is really just a drop in the bucket.

Oh, and the Blue State refinery can theoretically produce aviation kerosene, but since the Russian experts left, the quality of this aviation kerosene has been substandard and completely unusable.

As for the fact that the Daqing Oilfield Refinery currently has even lower output, it is because we did not receive any technical or industrial assistance from the Russians; it was built entirely independently by us.

They're still using old-fashioned thermal cracking refining units, and the scale is very small. Currently, the annual output is only about 15 tons of gasoline and diesel.

Lin Sanqi silently calculated in his mind and was greatly surprised. If we were to say that the total national production of gasoline and diesel is less than 100 million tons?

If someone doesn't have a concept of this data, then compare it with the data from 2015.

In 2015, my country's gasoline consumption was 1.42 million tons and diesel consumption was 1.74 million tons, which was less than a fraction of what it was in 1963. Although the two eras are completely incomparable, this also reflects the low level of gasoline and diesel production in my country in the 1960s.

No wonder there are cars carrying "big loads" all over the streets, even cars that run on firewood.

Lin Sanqi was fortunate to be a time traveler, as his car could refuel at will. Otherwise, he would only be able to go to the gas station with his "fuel purchase certificate," and even then, the amount he used was limited and he couldn't refuel without limit.

Lin Sanqi calculated in his mind once again that, not to mention other unexploited oil fields, the oil production of the two largest oil fields in the country is not small.

For example, the Daqing Oilfield had an annual output of 50 million tons of oil at its peak, while the Yumen Oilfield also reached a peak output of several million tons in the 1960s.

Even if it were only one-third of the oil production, it should have been enough in the 1960s, so why was there still an oil shortage in China?
Oil shortage? There are oil export records every year?
Even in 2015, my country still exported more than 400 million tons of gasoline abroad? What a strange export situation.

Lin Sanqi didn't want to dwell on those things and concluded:
"In other words, we don't lack oil in our country, but we lack oil refineries and have no way to turn oil into usable gasoline and diesel, is that what you mean?"

Yang Shufeng eagerly added, "And aviation kerosene."

At this moment, Leader Jing spoke leisurely:

"Yes, we lack oil refineries. It's embarrassing to admit, but ever since the Russian experts withdrew and stopped supporting our major industrial projects, we've been stagnant in the heavy industry sector."

It's not just the military that's short of fuel; all sectors across the country are facing fuel shortages.

Comrade Sanqi, do you remember when you brought over 200 diesel locomotives to the Ministry of Railways? The Ministry of Railways was overjoyed because faster trains would improve railway transportation efficiency.

But now they can't laugh, because there's no diesel fuel, the locomotive won't start, and they have to rely on the old method of burning coal, which they're too embarrassed to tell you.

Lin Sanqi suddenly burst into laughter upon hearing this:
"Speaking of coal, I was the one who provided the national coal mine resource distribution map and data. No wonder we don't lack coal now; this is all thanks to me."

Commander Cao also laughed and said, "We're not short of electricity."

Lin Sanqi nodded, because he had brought over tens of millions of watts of generator sets, which was temporarily enough to supply the national power supply.

At this moment, Leader Jing stood up and personally poured Lin Sanqi a glass of Fenjiu liquor:
"So, Comrade Sanqi, the reason we urgently called you here is to ask if you can help us solve some urgent needs for gasoline, diesel, and, oh, aviation kerosene that the Air Force needs."

Lin Sanqi scratched his head:

"Sir, it's not that I'm stingy, it's just that we don't have the means to transport such a large quantity of gasoline."

Gasoline was mainly transported over long distances via three methods: pipeline, road, and rail. Pipeline transport was the primary method, which was completely unavailable in China in the 1960s.

As for the railways and highways that could provide them, the problem is that Lin Sanqi couldn't get them in large quantities from another time and space.

The key point is that even if he solves the transportation problem, he can't become a "dairy cow", can he?

Gasoline and diesel consumption is enormous, requiring a large daily supply. So Lin Sanqi might as well become a professional oil dealer instead of doing anything else.

How would I have time to monetize crossover traffic?

It seems that it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.

Lin Sanqi pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked:
What is our current talent pool situation regarding oil refining?

Everyone in the room looked at each other, unsure how to respond.

After all, the generals present were only concerned with fighting; they had heard of oil refining, but they weren't professionals.

Leader Jing immediately understood the meaning behind Lin Sanqi's words and excitedly asked:
"I'm not familiar with talent in oil refining. If you need it, I'll have Minister Zheng Tuo from the Ministry of Petroleum Industry come over right now and have him explain it to you."

(End of this chapter)