Chapter three hundred and twenty seventh suddenly enlightened

It takes more than ten hours to fly to the United States, and it is really a torment to fly in economy class. The chairs are narrow, the space is small, and it is basically impossible to move the body. Lying is neither sitting nor sitting. Hundreds of people are crowded together in the hot and dark airport. The area that belongs to them is less than half a square meter.

However, in the early 1990s, the economy class of international flights was far more comfortable than later generations.

At that time, the seat spacing of the aircraft could reach 36 inches, which is 0.91 meters. Today, the seat spacing of aircraft is generally less than 30 inches, which is 0.76 meters. Some low-cost airlines have only 0.7 meters. That is to say, the seat spacing of the aircraft was 20 cm longer than it is now.

Don't underestimate the 20 cm. With this 20 cm, passengers can stretch their legs and lean back. There are more and more comfortable sitting positions to choose from, which greatly reduces the fatigue of long-distance travel.

The seat width of the aircraft at that time was also wider than that of today's aircraft. In the 1990s, the seat width of the aircraft was more than 50 cm, and the seat width of today's aircraft is only about 45 cm.

With the extra 5 cm of seat width, maybe Mr. Sun Yue doesn't need to buy two tickets, one and a half is enough.

In the waiting room, Song Jinlong walked up to Li Weidong and said apologetically, Director Li, according to the regulations, we can only book you economy class.

It doesn't matter, it's only ten hours anyway, and it's time to sleep. Li Weidong replied.

Song Jinlong went on to explain: When we arrive in the United States, the conditions will be much better. The standard of the hotel we booked is quite high.

Understood, I can understand. Li Weidong didn't say much, just nodded with a smile.

There is no certain level of business travel by plane, and you can't take a business car, let alone first class. According to relevant regulations, illegal use of public transport is also subject to punishment.

It is impossible for a state-owned enterprise like Huanghai Petrochemical to afford a few business class or first class tickets.

However, the SASAC will have a special person to audit every year, so it is better not to do this kind of obviously non-compliant thing.

And after people go abroad, the cost of things is much easier to handle, and they can be reimbursed.

The rules and regulations formulated in China can clearly stipulate what kind of hotel should be stayed at what level, what level of train tickets and air tickets should be bought, and the number of each meal should not exceed the mark.

However, after going abroad, this standard is not practical. How much does it cost to eat a meal abroad, and how much does it cost to stay in a hotel? Every country is different, even if it is the same country and different places. Accommodation prices are also different.

Therefore, in terms of rules and regulations, it is impossible to formulate uniform standards for foreign expenditures, and actual reimbursement is the most practical method.

Therefore, Huanghai Petrochemical has no way to open the back door on the ticket, but after arriving in the United States, you don't need to care too much about the expenses, as long as it is legitimate consumption, it can be reimbursed.

Naturally, Li Weidong also knew these ways. Fortunately, in the early 1990s, the economy class space was okay, so Li Weidong didn't care.

After more than ten hours of flight, Li Weidong and his party arrived in Los Angeles, and then transferred to Texas. After a while of tossing, after checking into the hotel, everyone was already exhausted.

Coupled with the time difference, it is estimated that it may not be able to recover the next day.

Relying on his youth and good health, Li Weidong did not rest, and the next day he went directly to the preparations before the negotiation. He took a taxi and went to the local library to look up materials.

What Li Weidong is looking for is the division of exploration rights for oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico in the southeastern Texas offshore area.

The license for exploration rights of oil and gas fields in the United States is managed by the Bureau of Land Management under the Ministry of the Interior. This is a very special department. As long as American oil companies still exist, this department will not stop working.

Even during the U.S. government shutdown, when many government departments were shut down, the Bureau of Land Management still went to work as usual.

Other departments such as education and health have been suspended, and daily business cannot operate normally. The big deal is to damage the interests of ordinary American people.

The suspension of the Bureau of Land Management will harm the interests of American oil companies. Oil companies are all fathers of money, so this department must not be suspended.

According to the laws of the United States, various administrative agencies in the United States, including the Office of the President, are required to make information disclosure and publish their government affairs information, such as oil exploration rights in the Gulf of Mexico, which block is allocated to which company, and the United States' The Ministry of the Interior also has to disclose information.

In the era of the developed Internet in later generations, the government information of US government departments is disclosed mainly through the Internet. If you want to know what information, you can go to the website of this department to find out.

In 1992, the Internet was still in its primitive state, so government affairs disclosure mainly relied on paper-based written reports.

Ordinary American people, if they have nothing to do, will definitely not stare at the reports of public government affairs every day. This thing is not as good as the lace news in the newspapers. Therefore, all written reports of public government affairs will be stored in the public library for the public to consult at any time. .

Public libraries have a very special position in American culture. When driving on American highways, it is easy to see the signs of public libraries erected on the side of the road.

In addition to allowing people to read and borrow books, the US team's public library will often hold cultural lectures, cultural gatherings and community activities. The grassroots politicians want to cast votes and go to the public library to hold various activities. That is certain.

In the United States, more people visit libraries each year than watch sports, concerts and museums combined.

This is an extremely exaggerated figure, because the sports industry, music industry and exhibition industry in the United States are the largest in the world. Taking the sports industry as an example, other countries in the world may not be able to compare with the United States.

Even with such a strong sports industry, libraries are still more attractive to Americans than sports competitions, which also shows the strength of American libraries from the side.

Li Weidong came to the library, and sure enough, he found the materials that he wanted to have exploration rights in the Gulf of Mexico, and also found other information.

There was too much information to copy, so Li Weidong had no choice but to choose the audio and video of the content he needed, and then took it back to the hotel to study it slowly.

...

At the same time, at the headquarters of Mobil Corporation, Wallace, a senior executive, also received news of the arrival of Huanghai Petrochemical and his party.

Sir, Huanghai Petrochemical asked us, when can we start negotiations? the assistant asked.

We need people from Huanghai Petrochemical and SABIC to meet by chance, so this negotiation time should be carefully planned.

Wallace smiled slightly and continued, If the time is not calculated and they miss each other, our plan will be in vain!

The assistant nodded suddenly: Sir, I understand what you mean, you want Huanghai Petrochemical and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation to know each other's existence, and then bid each other, so that we can sell the product Sell ​​at a higher price.

You're only half right! Wallace continued with a scheming expression; I want not only money, but also Saudi Arabia's petrochemical industry!

Wallace picked up the coffee in front of him, took a sip, and then said: If I just want to buy more money, then I can directly charge a high price, maybe when I negotiated with Huanghai Petrochemical last time, The equipment has already been sold! It's hundreds of millions of dollars worth of equipment, wouldn't it be better to sell it earlier and get the funds?

The reason I didn't do it was because I wanted to catch a big fish, and this big fish is in the Middle East. Either the UAE, Saudi Arabia, or possibly Qatar. Since the 1980s, these countries have all started to build their own petrochemical industries.

On a global scale, petrochemicals are again in short supply, and this situation should intensify in the coming years. The Middle East is the place with the most oil in the world. Once they form their own petrochemical industry, it will have an impact on the global petrochemical product pattern.

So we Mobil need to make layout in the Middle East in advance. We will use the opportunity to sell equipment to reach some consensus or some kind of cooperation with petrochemical companies in the Middle East, which will be beneficial to our future development of Mobil.

The assistant nodded. The cooperation that Mobil needed would inevitably take away a lot of benefits from its partners.

Just listen to Wallace continued; The result is as I expected, the Saudis took the bait! The Saudi Basic Industries Corporation came, 70% of the company's assets are in the hands of the Saudi royal family, and the directors of the company are also He is a member of the royal family, and Saudi Arabia's oil is also in the hands of the royal family. This is equivalent to having an industrial chain. There is no better partner than this!

I believe that with the help of our Mobil, SABIC will soon become a world-class petrochemical company. Of course, in the process of the growth of the Saudi petrochemical industry, we Mobil will also enjoy a lot of dividends!

In comparison, what can China's Yellow Sea Petrochemical give us? According to intelligence, China may start importing oil from next year. Moreover, there are many petrochemical enterprises in China, among which Huanghai Petrochemical can only be regarded as a medium level.

We sold the equipment to Huanghai Petrochemical, and we got nothing but a sum of money! In contrast, we can lay out the petrochemical industry in Saudi Arabia in advance, and then get dividends in the future, obviously we can get more!

The assistant showed an expression of sudden realization again, and he said, Sir, it turns out that you didn't plan to sell the equipment to Huanghai Petrochemical from the beginning!

That's right, since OPEC increased production, the income of oil exporting countries has dropped a lot, and many countries have begun to transform from simply exporting oil to the petrochemical industry. Such high-end petrochemical equipment is a scarce product, and naturally it has to be exchanged. Greater return! How can it be easily sold to the Chinese!

Wallace paused, then said: I asked Huanghai Petrochemical to negotiate, just to tell SABIC that he has a competitor! We have to give the Saudis a sense of crisis, so that we can force the Saudis Agree to our terms.

Of course, the best situation is the one you just said, the Chinese and the Saudis are bidding against each other to raise the price of the equipment, and the higher the price of the equipment, the more benefits we can get from the Saudis! As for the Yellow Sea Petrochemical, he is just a tool man!

The assistant hesitated for a while, but still asked, Sir, what if the Chinese also made a better offer? For example, a high price that we couldn't refuse!

It's impossible! Wallace smiled and continued: How can the Chinese be richer than the Saudis!

...

Li Weidong was still checking the materials from the library, but Huanghai Petrochemical had already received a message from Mobil and asked them to negotiate.

For equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars, negotiation is naturally a long process, and there is no rush for one or two days. Li Weidong has not done a good job in collecting data, and a lot of information has not been confirmed, so he first asked Song Jinlong to talk to Mobil, and he continued to collect data himself.

Song Jinlong and his party came to the headquarters of Mobil Corporation, and immediately a receptionist led them to the elevator.

After the elevator stopped, when Song Jinlong and others stepped out of the elevator, they happened to see a familiar figure, that person was Wallace.

In the last negotiation, Song Jinlong had already met with Wallace.

Song Jinlong was about to go up to say hello to Wallace, but saw several Arabs following behind Wallace. The characteristics of these Arabs are very obvious, they all wear headscarves and have big beards.

At this time, Wallace also saw Song Jinlong. He greeted Song Jinlong with a warm expression, and then gave Song Jinlong an American hug.

Hey, Song, my friend, I finally see you again! Wallace's face was full of enthusiasm.

After the two said hello, Wallace introduced to the Arabs behind him: This is Mr. Song from China Huanghai Petrochemical! Huanghai Petrochemical is also a petrochemical company just like your company. , 400,000 units of ethylene projects have been built!

Knowing that they were colleagues, several Saudi negotiators exchanged glances.

Wallace went on to introduce: This is Mr. Abdullah of SABIC, the largest petrochemical company in the Middle East.

Song Jinlong, of course, knows the name of SABIC, a company ten times larger than Huanghai Petrochemical.

Mobil's main business, one is petroleum, the other is petrochemical equipment. In addition to sand, Saudi Arabia has a lot of oil. They are willing to buy oil from Mobil, so the purpose of the Saudis is obviously to buy petrochemical equipment.

It seems that we have met a competitor! And he is a Saudi with deep pockets. Song Jinlong took a deep breath and suddenly felt that the situation was not optimistic.

...

More than two hours of negotiation with no progress, not even an appetizer.

This is normal for such high-end negotiations.

However, the emergence of SABIC made Song Jinlong feel a sense of urgency.

After the negotiation, Song Jinlong returned to the hotel and immediately knocked on Li Weidong's door.

At this time, Li Weidong was still consulting and recording materials.

As soon as he entered the door, Song Jinlong asked, Director Li, how did you collect your data?

There has been a lot of progress. I will go to the library tomorrow to collect some materials. Li Weidong said.

Director Li, I know you are working hard too, but can we speed up the progress a little bit? Song Jinlong paused, then said, How about I send you two people to help you find information together?

It seems that today's negotiation has changed? Li Weidong asked immediately.

Song Jinlong nodded and replied; I met a competitor's negotiator at Mobil's headquarters, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation. They are the largest petrochemical company in the Middle East, ten times larger than us! To compete with such a competitor, we must Just have to fight quickly.”

Li Weidong, however, had something in his heart that suddenly became clear, and he couldn't help but say:

This Mobil Corporation is using you Huanghai Petrochemical as a tool!