American Gossip King

Chapter 276 Cooperation with the Military

An hour later.

Lieutenant General Jay Garner sat in the main seat of the presidential office, watching Ian's video with a serious expression.

Since it is still under military control, Jay Garner currently holds a higher position, and he is the only one who can make decisions on many matters.

To his dismay, the computer contained not only information about Saddam Hussein's movements during this period, but also information about the movements of the US military.

The content wasn't much, but that doesn't mean Ian Carl received little; it just means he gave little!

He looked up at Ian, his expression one of disbelief, and asked, "How did you do that? He didn't kill you!"

Ian shrugged: "I told him I would save his life."

Lieutenant General Jay Garner shook his head frantically: "This is impossible!"

Ian laughed and said, "The important thing is that he's willing to believe!"

Jay Garner was speechless.

That's the truth, but it's still incredible to actually do it.

Was Saddam Hussein so easily fooled?

Saddam: He's cheating! He's cheating!

After a long pause, Lieutenant General Jay Garner sighed, "I like Saddam's parts, but I don't like Baghdad's parts. But I guess you have more to say."

Ian smiled and sipped his red wine: "I heard the US military has put a $30 million bounty on Uday? I know where he is."

Paul Bremer said, "Uday and Qusay, thirty million dollars. Saddam Hussein, fifty million dollars."

Ian shook his head: "No, it's Uday thirty million, Qusay twenty million, and Saddam Hussein one hundred million!"

Jay Garner and Paul Bremer exchanged a glance and said in unison, "No problem."

This is the country's money, and everyone is very generous; there's no need to haggle.

Ian continued, "Saddam Hussein took twenty truckloads of wealth with him, but he spent it rather quickly; there are still sixteen truckloads left. The least valuable items in there are US dollars, followed by gold, antiques, oil paintings... I estimate their value to be no less than ten billion."

Jay Garner and Paul Bremer fell silent.

This is extra profit!

It means that as long as 5% is given to the country, the rest can be shared equally among everyone!

You shouldn't be generous with money that ends up in your own pocket!

Ian said, "I can give it all to you, but I need the oil field extraction rights."

"You don't have an oil company."

"I can start one."

Jay Garner: "..."

Paul Bremer: "..."

Paul asked again, "Which one do you want?"

Ian replied, "The West Qurna oil field."

Paul Bremer immediately shook his head: "That's impossible, it's from ExxonMobil."

The West Qurna oil field is one of Iraq's giant oil fields, with an annual output of over 2500 million tons, or 1.8 million barrels of oil. It is no small oil field!

What was the point of the Iraq War?

It's just oil, isn't it?

The US military-industrial complex and oil giants both want a share of the profits. You can think of it this way: the government pays for the military deployment, and the companies reap the benefits of the recovery!

This is why the US made a fortune in Iraq, but is still heavily indebted... It's not that there were no returns, but rather that the returns didn't go into the country's coffers!

ExxonMobil, as the largest oil company in the United States, has enormous influence, and they are bound to want to acquire good oil fields.

In reality, they acquired far more than just the West Qurna oil field!

Ian didn't care about that: "I have two kinds of news."

He didn't continue.

Military bigwigs aren't like the Acton family; some things can't be said too explicitly.

But they both understood.

If you don't help me, not only will I not tell you where Saddam is, I might even unleash the US military's indiscriminate killing of innocent people, giving you a headache.

The Americans won't withdraw their troops because of this, but your position will be in jeopardy.

Jay Garner glared at Ian: "Are you trying to threaten me?"

As a soldier, he's not so easily threatened!

Paul Bremer quickly said, "Ian, this is Iraq!"

His words were both a threat and a reminder.

Even if you're the most powerful person in the world, you wouldn't want to die in Iraq, right?

Outside of the United States, the military is the boss; it's not something a capitalist can do to you!

Unfortunately, Ian is different!

Ian can threaten others, but no one can threaten Ian!

This guy's the kind of guy who'd cover a plane crash!

Besides, I now have a bunch of big corporations supporting me.

First Linuo Bank, News Corporation, Dublin Group, Ankang Insurance... aren't they all behemoths?

If you dare to do this to me, you will lose not your status, but your lives!

These words don't need to be said; everyone understands.

Ian smiled and said, "That's a huge sum of money. It wouldn't be unreasonable for me to offer tens of billions for the rights to develop an oil field!"

Jay Garner scoffed, "That was never yours to begin with."

"I can have it anytime!" Ian replied seriously. "Gentlemen, I'm just a businessman. I expect a return on my investment. There's no reason for me to pay billions and not get anything in return. And if the deal falls through... they might just disappear."

Antiques can be smashed, famous paintings and US dollars can be burned, and gold can be buried in the desert.

If Ian wanted, he could wipe out all of Saddam's wealth!

Isn't this what you're after?

Cooperate with me, and I can help you create the illusion that Saddam only took a few hundred million, and the rest will be yours to divide as you please.

You're saying ExxonMobil has a hard time explaining itself?

Please, do you two really want to pocket billions of dollars all by yourselves?

That money is for explaining myself!

Shouldn't you share some of the money you received? Do you want the two of you to take billions of dollars for yourself?

Through hypnosis, Ian subtly transmitted his will.

Jay Garner and Paul Bremer remained silent.

After a long pause, Paul Bremer finally spoke up: "We can't give you the West Qurna oil field, but we can give you the Missan oil field complex."

The Missan oil field complex is located in a desolate desert area 350 kilometers away from Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. It is one of the most challenging oil fields in Iraq, with difficult extraction and high costs. At present, its daily production is only about 5 barrels, but it has been increased to 30 barrels.

Okay, that's equivalent to 1500 million tons, which is about three-fifths of the West Qurna oil field.

The key is the subsequent development, which requires a significant investment.

But that's exactly what Ian wanted.

It's just a tactic of asking for an exorbitant price and then settling for a lower one.

After all, the West Qurna oil field is too valuable for him to acquire, but the Missan oil field cluster currently has low production and high input costs, so there is still an opportunity.

Ian laughed and said, "Then you'll have to allow me to collaborate with foreign companies."

The latest novel is first published here!

Jay Garner and Paul Bremer asked in unison, "Who?"

"China," Ian replied.

"Fuck!" they both shouted simultaneously. "You can't support Chinese oil companies!"

Ian shook his head slightly: "You and I both know that the extraction costs of the Missan oil fields are high. I have to reduce costs, and China is the most suitable country for that. Please, guys, this is business! I don't consider national relations, I only consider business! I need profitable oil fields, not oil fields that will cause me losses!"

Ian doesn't own an oil company, so he'll definitely have to work with a real oil company.

He will cooperate with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and receive 30% of the oil field profits for the first five years, which will then be reduced to 15%.

China will not hold this against him; on the contrary, it will be grateful. China's low costs can offset the high costs of the Missan oil field, and may even result in higher profitability. Furthermore, only China's construction capabilities can increase the extraction volume from 5 barrels to 30 barrels.

Otherwise, with oil prices in 03 at less than $30 a barrel, the profit would have been too low—the cost of extracting a barrel of oil was roughly between $3 and $40, depending on the oil field, the type of oil, the labor, and so on.

Even if Chinese people were to do this work, the initial extraction cost of the Missan oil field cluster would not be less than $22 per barrel. Even if you have a profit of $8, after deducting the share with Iraq and the taxes from the United States, that's only $3.50 in revenue. 30% is about $1.05. With a daily output of 50,000 barrels, that's only $50,000, and only $15 million a year.

Moreover, in 03, oil prices once dropped to only around $23! That meant there was absolutely no profit to be made.

Of course, this is pretty much the bottom line, that is, a minimum of 15 million.

Once oil prices reach $70 a barrel and extraction costs continue to decrease, after deducting other commissions and input expenses, a 30% profit margin will not be less than $7.5 per barrel. A daily production of 30 barrels would generate approximately $8 million in revenue per year.

However, this requires further development, so Ian can be given a higher profit in the early stages, but he cannot receive such a high profit later.

Unfortunately, it will take a long time to get to this point.

So Ian was very dissatisfied.

Saddam's assets were worth tens of billions.

Okay, there's also some overvaluation—the value of antique paintings is hard to say, with fluctuations of hundreds or thousands of times. The market is small; if you only look at US dollars and gold, it's actually only worth a few hundred million.

However, no matter what, without increasing oilfield production, economies of scale cannot be achieved, which means higher costs and lower profits.

Owning an oil field and earning tens of millions a year is simply too insulting, so this job must be handed over to China! Only China can earn Ian's trust.

It's not that Chinese people wouldn't default on their debts, but companies like China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) are unlikely to act like scoundrels.

That's why Paul Bremer was able to say he was willing to give the Missan oil field complex to Ian, because it was too valuable to give to him.

The two looked at each other.

Ultimately, Jay Garner said, "This needs to be discussed with the White House."

"Of course," Ian nodded with a smile.

Ian's connections with the White House are insufficient, but the Dublin Group now has a good relationship with George W. Bush.

They will help, especially after they know that Ian is currently interviewing Saddam, because Ian's big news always comes with Dubong's demise!

With no objections to the general direction, Paul Bremer asked, "When are you going to hand Saddam over to us?"

Ian chuckled, "After we reach a preliminary agreement, I'll meet with Saddam, then conduct a two-week follow-up visit. Once I've gathered enough information, I can hand it over to you. Oh, and that 1.5 million from Udayqusay and Saddam is mine!"

This money is legitimate income, and it can be paid out via bank transfer, so there's no reason for it to be given away for free.

Paul Bremer chuckled, "Of course. By the way, Ian, since you're interested in the oil industry, how about getting into the military industry?"

Hearing this, Ian's eyes lit up slightly: "Of course!"

After Redstone went bankrupt, Ian founded a new company, Blackfire, and continued doing the same work as Redstone.

Blackfire Company has its own production capacity, but it's only slightly better than Boss Jia's. Fortunately, with the 50 billion from Afghanistan, it will gradually develop.

If Ian is willing to hand over the Missan oil field complex to China for development, then Blackfire can cooperate more deeply with China, establishing Blackfire's arms production contract manufacturing plant in China. China might even be willing to provide some low-level military technology to help Ian form Blackfire's own brand.

Damn, it would be a shame if a company like this went bankrupt; we'd have to create a few more shell companies.

Paul Bremer said, "We can give you some military contracts, but you have to give up some shares in the Missan oil fields. Also, you need to provide some unbiased reporting on our capture of Saddam Hussein and his son!"

Ian understood.

Ian doesn't have enough influence in the oil industry, so even with the high costs of exploiting the Missan oil fields, giving him that money would still be a lucrative opportunity. But the military industry is different; the money comes from the state!

Therefore, Paul Bremer hopes that Ian will make further concessions on the Missan oil field cluster to meet the needs of those oil companies, while also compensating him on the military industry.

The benefits of this event for Jay Garner and Paul Bremer are: firstly, it avoids news of the US military indiscriminately killing innocent people; secondly, it makes it easier to promote oil field affairs; thirdly, it allows them to publicize their wise rule; and fourthly, it allows them to divide up Saddam's spoils.

Simply put, it's about harming the country's interests to line one's own pockets, while also making things easier—as long as the oil companies don't object, getting the White House to agree is quite simple.

Realizing this, Ian laughed and said, "That's no problem."

(End of this chapter)