What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 137 Large Cruiser

"Based on some foreign survey data, we believe there may be hundreds of millions of tons of oil reserves beneath the Reed Bank.

If we are given the right to develop the oil there, we can sell it domestically at a very favorable price and also collect rich taxes.”

Tang Wenjian said without hesitation that a reserve of 100 million tons could be considered a truly large oil field in China. Instead of waiting to occupy Liyue Beach before obtaining oil, it would be better to make it clear in advance to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.

Even if it means giving up one billion, it is worth exchanging the Hornet for this power.

After all, the system recognizes the area of ​​land reclamation. As long as it is stabilized and a few dredging ships are installed, wouldn’t it be easy to expand it by a few hectares?
Just ten billion, easily earned back in a year.

As he expected, upon hearing the word "billion tons", Su Weiguo's expression immediately became much more cautious, saying that it would require decisions from many departments, or that a big boss above him would be willing to push for it, which was basically consistent with the statement of the Fuzhou Provincial Fisheries Department.

However, Lao Zhang asked with great interest:
"We know there are abundant submarine oil reserves in the South China Sea, but the conditions there make extraction very expensive. Building an offshore platform is a real hassle, and domestic oil products...are you sure?"

Although billions of tons of oil fields may sound like a lot, in reality, desert countries are simply too lazy to exploit them, and only domestic countries regard them as treasures.

Moreover, there are only a few high-quality oil mines in the whole of Asia. The oil production is small and the difficulty is high. The oil is unevenly viscous and distributed in a scattered and unconcentrated manner. It is sometimes high and sometimes shallow, and sometimes oily and sometimes watery. It is simply a nightmare for mining machinery.

If it were not for the purpose of supporting the domestic oil industry, many oil field companies might not be willing to mine.

If you are really going for the big oil fields, China is definitely not a good choice.

The South China Sea is actually no exception. Under the generally stable internal and external environment, there is really no need to extract oil there unless it is absolutely necessary. It is even worse to build an onshore oil pipeline.

"There's a still-secret experimental oil extraction technology that I'd like to test in Nansha. The cost of this technology is much lower than traditional methods."

When Tang Wen used new technology as an excuse, Lao Zhang and Su Weiguo understood that this statement was tenable in this era.

Lao Zhang thought more deeply than Su Weiguo. A mining base in Nansha means at least tens of billions, potentially hundreds of billions, of profit points, stable residents and water, electricity, gas and living facilities, and stable supply routes.

Apart from anything else, it is definitely a good thing for strengthening control over the Nansha Islands. In the future, the navy will have a reason to hang around nearby at any time to protect its maritime interests.

As for the precedent of private oil and gas exploration...it's actually a small matter.

Don't forget that it is the 90s and the wave of privatization has almost reached its peak. All state-owned enterprises are undergoing shareholding reform, all units are being streamlined, and all industries are advocating privatization. There are many voices calling for the liberalization of railways, medical care, and education, and naturally there are many people clamoring for oil and gas exploration.

If Gaijin, or the organization behind it, appears as a domestic enterprise, it is not a big problem to issue a brand.

Moreover, the ability to extract oil means that there is a giant organization behind it with a value of at least one billion dollars, and it has huge tentacles in the West. It would be beneficial to have in-depth contact with it.

"The Navy might be able to provide some support in this matter. Oil fields are valuable assets... Tang Wen, I think you could mention it to him."

When Lao Zhang mentioned "him", he pointed to the sea outside the window, and Tang Wen naturally understood.

After he finished speaking, he added:
"If you could get an aircraft carrier, you could even enclose that area and turn it into a private resort, not to mention oil extraction."

Tang Wen's face was full of black lines. It was really a nice idea of ​​Old Zhang to build a resort in such a remote place.

However, he definitely doesn't have an aircraft carrier for the time being. Now he has nearly 30,000 experience points, and can only develop the M-series IV-level aircraft carrier "Langley".

The USS Langley was the US Navy's first aircraft carrier. It was a thing from the 20s and was considered outdated during World War II. There was no need for its development.

There are two types of level VI aircraft carriers, the Ranger and the Independence, but both are small gadgets of 1.5 and 1.8 tons, and have no point in being converted into helicopter attack ships, but they also require experience points to develop.

The Yorktown-class and Lexington-class aircraft carriers that are truly useful are both Level VIII aircraft carriers, which require about 20 experience points. That's a far cry!

So don’t expect to sell aircraft carriers in the short term except for opening boxes. Even if you have a navy, it won’t be looked down upon.

"There are no more aircraft carriers, at least... there may not be any in the next six months to a year."

However, after Tang Wen finished speaking, Lao Zhang was deeply shocked. There had been no results for six months to a year, so perhaps there would be one in a year?
This is an aircraft carrier. If Tang Wen gets another one a year later, the navy probably still won’t have enough crew members and auxiliary ships.

Even if it is a small or medium-sized aircraft carrier of 30,000 tons, building one per year is astonishing enough.

Tang Wen continued:
"Having an aircraft carrier alone isn't enough. Should the navy buy a new cruiser? It's also very cheap and new."

Lao Zhang immediately thought of the Yahagi outside the port. The film crew had been driven off and the navy had taken over the ship.

Although this artillery cruiser is not given much attention, according to feedback, the Yahagi is also a brand new cruiser. It has no armament but has enough space. At the same time, the upper part has undergone major changes and is indeed being transformed into a hotel on the sea.

Lao Zhang's people and the top leaders of the three fleets were a little confused about this ship.

A brand new 8,000-ton ship is quite nice. It's a pity to see it turned into a hotel on the sea.

But towing it back for transformation is also a big project. The currently planned 051B and 052 follow-up models are not much different in tonnage from it. Moreover, the design of the Yahagi is very old after all, and its transformation potential is not as good as that of new warships, which is very confusing.

Lao Zhang thought about it and decided to ask a price first:

"How much are you going to sell that cruiser for?"

Tang Wen raised a finger and said, "One hundred million, including the hull and powertrain. If the Navy plans to renovate the ship and also locate it at the Gaijin Shipyard, I'll give you a 20% discount on the cost."

Old Zhang raised his eyebrows, feeling that the matter was not simple, and asked tentatively:

"Do you have a renovation plan as well?"

"Of course!"

Tang Wen found the modernization plan designed by Tang Yi. Old Zhang took a quick look at it, then pointed at the MK41 vertical launch system and SPY-1A phased array radar on it and was shocked:

"Can you provide this too?"

"Of course not!"

Tang Wen said unhappily, "This is just a demonstration. You guys should definitely ask the research institute to develop the vertical launch system and electronic systems."

The MK41 vertical launch unit and SPY-1A phased array radar are equipment of the Ticonderoga-class cruiser. They were put into use around the 80s and are still at the international advanced level. Tang Wen has no information about these things.

It’s not that the naval technology of the 60s was without missiles and radars, but it’s no exaggeration to say that those early models were rubbish, with air defense capabilities worse than fireworks.

Lao Zhang was very disappointed, but it was normal after thinking about it. It was already very impressive to get the drawings of the Bumblebee and the BS4 catapult. The MK41 and phased array radar were active equipment, and no matter how powerful he was, he couldn't do it.

It is indeed a great deal to buy a ship hull for 052 million, but the missiles and electronic systems of domestic warships are really poor. The first two s were equipped with core British and American equipment, but they could not be built later because they stopped selling them.

The best that the existing capabilities can do is to transform it into a larger plus version of the 051B. The bulk of the transformation costs are spent on modern equipment, and the cheapness of the hull is not enough to make up for the disadvantages brought by the old design.

Is it comparable to the MK41's vertical launch system and excellent phased array radar? It's not available in China yet!

Seeing that Lao Zhang was not interested, Tang Wen was also a little disappointed. The 20 million spent on the arsenal ship was a bit of a loss.

"By the way, isn't that a gun cruiser also in that big warehouse of yours?"

Lao Zhang suddenly mentioned that they didn’t know what was in the big warehouse, but since it wasn’t an aircraft carrier, they were not very interested.

Tang Wen nodded somewhat dejectedly:
"About the same. A bit bigger than the Yahagi, but not very useful."

(End of this chapter)