America: My Time

Chapter 396 An Unexpected Appearance

Chapter 396 An Unexpected Occurrence
"What's there to hesitate about? Agreeing to John's demands is the best option. For us, the Permian Basin oil fields are just a burden. Giving them up is the best choice. It will allow us to focus our energy on other things and also bring us a considerable sum of money. What do you have to worry about? Even if we are tricked by John again, so what? We just need to get everything we want. There's no need to care about anything else. If we think too much, we'll end up with nothing!"

"Let's cut to the chase. No matter what John thinks, we just need to make the choice that benefits us. I agree to the sale! I think we need more funds now, we need to accelerate our own development, and interrupting Western Energy's expansion in Asia is also the best option. Such a large acquisition will cost that little fox a lot, and it may even cause Nvidia to go public earlier due to funding issues, which is more beneficial to us."

"Actually, we can exchange it for Nvidia, or shares in Dream World and Game World!"

"Impossible. We shouldn't even have such ridiculous ideas anymore. John, that little fox, won't give us that chance. Even if we reconcile, the conflict will still exist. It's just been temporarily suppressed. We can't act rashly anymore. Expecting that little fox to give us another chance is a huge joke. Even Morgan wouldn't give us that chance. Do you think this little guy who has a grudge against us will give it to us? Don't you know how petty he is?"

"Alright, since everyone feels that we can give up everything in the Permian Basin, then let's agree to this little guy's request. Now let's inform him to start arranging manpower to conduct valuations of the major oil fields in the Permian Basin. However, we need to quickly gain control of the other oil fields in the Permian Basin. If we cannot fulfill his request, then the little fox may use this as an excuse to refuse. This requires everyone to work together to eliminate all pressure!"

Shortly after John returned to San Francisco, he received a call from Rockefeller, instructing Western Energy to take action. They agreed, and Rockefeller and his associates also provided their offer.

“Good, very good. I will arrange for people from Western Energy to go and find out. However, you all need to prepare the materials in advance. This time, the Japanese bank will act together. Only if they agree to provide the loan will I accept everything in the Midland Basin, the Delaware Basin, and the Malfa Basin. You must understand this!”

John did not hesitate and gave his reply directly. He also quickly contacted Sanhe Bank to ask for their opinion and asked them to arrange for personnel to go to the United States to understand the actual value of these Permian oil fields.

When news of John's agreement spread, even Morgan was puzzled. Everything had happened too fast. If John had any ulterior motives, he wouldn't have agreed to those guys so easily. What secret did he have that he knew all along?

"Jimmy, what do you think John is up to? He agreed to those old guys so readily. What is there in those three Permian basins that we haven't considered? And why is this little fox paying such a high price? I believe he can't be unaware of the oil price issue, but he still agreed!"

"Perhaps we've all misunderstood. What John wants isn't the assets of the Permian Basin, but all the data on the Permian Basin. The fact that he wants the other party to prepare all the data is a big problem. He has access to big data analysis that we've never understood. He wants to use all the data from the Permian Basin as the source of big data. If Western Energy can achieve the same level as Quantum Mining, this investment is insignificant, and even a huge investment would be worthwhile."

"Hiss, Jimmy, how feasible do you think this is? Could John be trying to use big data to study oil fields? If so, where would his target be, the Middle East or Africa?"

"I don't know either. After all, this is just my own guess. If possible, I think there is still a better chance in the Middle East. Western Energy has already established two major branches in the Middle East, but it is hard to say how successful it is. After all, we still haven't figured out the clues of its big data analysis. Geological analysis is not ordinary data analysis."

"Yes, many mining companies have conducted similar experiments and collaborated with data companies, but none of them can match Quantum Mining's capabilities. This makes us extremely cautious, and some people even doubt whether Quantum Mining's big data analysis truly exists. This is the most troubling thing!"

There's no consensus, and experts and scholars have offered differing opinions, causing headaches for many bigwigs who don't know whose advice to take. While big data analysis might not exist, the big data software provided by Dream World is effective, at least widely recognized. However, if big data analysis by Quantum Mining does exist, no one has yet been able to complete equivalent data analysis, and many are completely clueless, unsure where to begin! "Actually, my biggest question is why John is so confident in investing in the oil field, and why he's not worried about funding. Even though he controls both the Game World and Dream World, the funding issue still exists. Isn't the pressure of accepting everything from the Permian too great, not to mention acquiring an oil refinery? I really don't understand what John is trying to do. I can't see the benefits behind it."

"Perhaps I can understand a little bit about it. John needs to get the ticket. Although the White House has mediated and those old guys like Rockefeller will be more restrained, they still hold the advantage in the oil industry. Now, John's acquisition of everything in the Permian Basin is to buy a ticket, so that these guys can no longer act rashly and can only deal with it through business means."

"Is it worth it? Paying such a high price just for an admission ticket, is it worth it? John can develop from small beginnings. Even if those old guys have ideas and schemes, John can easily deal with them!"

"There's no question of whether it's worth it or not. What we might not think is worth it, John thinks is very worth it. Different goals lead to different values. With the Permian Basin oil fields, John will at least not lack crude oil supply in the United States and won't be held hostage by others. This is very important. Not to mention the conjecture you made earlier, the data on the Permian Basin. If his big data really exceeds our imagination, then such an investment is not a problem. Now we just need to see how it develops next!"

At this point, Morgan paused, then sighed, "What's the current situation with Quantum Mining? Do you think that little fox John's initial proposal about steelmaking technology was truly based on that idea?"

"Perhaps. Quantum Mining now controls Australia's iron ore reserves. With the emergence of two major iron ore mines, it's not impossible that they intend to master steelmaking technology and build steel mills. After all, we all know that this little fox has always controlled all the upstream and downstream channels, so it's not a big deal for him to enter the steel industry! Compared to the oil field and petrochemical industries, I'm more worried that John will go further in the metallurgical industry. If those guys in Japan continue to support John's expansion and give him the maximum financial support, Quantum Mining's development will be unstoppable."

A dinner party at the White House left many people feeling heavy-hearted, but they couldn't find a solution. Before they could even recover from the Permian Basin incident, Western Energy, Quantum Mining, and a shipping company quickly identified a port in Malaysia, Tanjung Pelepas.

The three companies poured their efforts into building this port in Malaysia from scratch. This investment astonished everyone. The lease term was 99 years, renewable, and the rent was only $1 per dollar. How could the three companies refuse such terms? Even John was shocked when he heard the result. This was far better than South Korea's attitude. Look at their attitude, and then look at South Korea's attitude—the difference was enormous.

Completely abandoning the oil refinery project in South Korea and investing the funds in Tanjung Pelepas Port in Malaysia, John and his think tank plan to develop it into a port like Singapore within ten years under such favorable conditions.

This news also put pressure on the old guard, like Rockefeller, who worried that John might refuse to acquire the Permian Basin, as the investment required to build such a port was staggering. The potential profits, if successful, would also be enormous. Many wondered why Malaysia was investing so heavily. If they gritted their teeth, Malaysia could easily have done it all themselves!

Malaysia certainly has the capability, but the extent of its success is uncertain. After all, Quantum Minerals, Western Energy, and Australia National Shipping (ANS) made this decision jointly. Quantum Minerals plans to build a steel mill, Western Energy plans to build an integrated oil refinery, and ANS needs its own core port—all massive investment projects. Even if Malaysia doesn't invest heavily, there's Indonesia. At least Quantum Minerals has its own mines there, and many countries are eager to attract investment, including Thailand. If you don't fight for it, others will. Once other countries have won over the bid, by the time you complete your construction, their port projects may already be finished.

At this point, the Koreans were dumbfounded. They had originally wanted to manipulate John and Western Energy, but they didn't expect things to turn out this way. Their repeated requests went unanswered, and it was clear that they had been abandoned. The investment proposed by Western Energy had completely vanished, and all their calculations had failed.

(End of this chapter)