It was a semi-submersible oil drilling rig.
For some reason, the rig was on the verge of being dismantled.
A derrick, resembling a giant transmission tower, was secured to the deck of a cargo ship, and large parts were neatly arranged.
The main body, with its six columns (legs of the drilling rig), floated like a caisson on the sea, suspended from the cargo ship.
I hurriedly boarded the cargo ship to take a closer look.
Not only the derrick but also the semi-submersible rig that had been towed was in fairly good condition.
Although I couldn't inspect the main engine, the hoisting machine, mud pump, and anchor winch were well-equipped.
It was clearly a first-generation drilling rig from the 1960s, yet its appearance was remarkable. While the 21st century uses much more advanced drillships, I was truly grateful for what I had now.
"A top drive system for the rotary equipment!"
Whoever made this rig, with just a bit of an upgrade, it could almost match a fourth-generation rig from the 1990s.
"Ha ha ha, I knew you would recognize this, Sajangnim."
Captain Smith, who had followed me, stroked the derrick as he spoke.
"How on earth did you acquire this?"
I suppressed my excitement and asked Captain Smith.
"This is a cutting-edge drilling rig developed by Leading & Base. The problem is they spent so much money making it that the company is on the brink of bankruptcy."
"What kind of specifications does it have...?"
"It's a bit rusty, but it's state-of-the-art inside. Just the main engines are six 5,000-horsepower ones."
"Six 5,000-horsepower engines?"
Insane. Even with its current specifications, it could be considered a fourth-generation rig.
"No matter how good the equipment is, what's the use? They drilled in the wrong places for years, lost all their money, and ended up selling it to a shipyard in San Diego."
"So you acquired it from the San Diego shipyard."
"Yes, no one paid any attention to this magnificent thing, so I, along with some engineers, contracted it for $20 million. We've only paid a $2 million down payment so far."
"$20 million?"
Incredible! Getting a drilling rig of this caliber for $20 million?
Compared to its specs, it was ridiculously cheap.
Above all, with this rig, discovering an oil field would be a piece of cake.
In my past life, how many times had I regretted, 'If only I had drilled there first...'
"Ah, you don't need to worry about the remaining payment. If we dismantle it and sell the main engines, generators, hoists, pumps, and the rest as scrap, we can easily get $25 million. You'll make $5 million just by sitting. You can return the down payment after the sale."
Smith seemed to be offering me a $5 million gift as a welcome present.
"Ha ha, why dismantle it? Let's assemble it."
"What? Assemble it?"
"We need to assemble it for oil exploration."
"Sajangnim, you're joking, right? Oil exploration has a success rate of 10%, and each failure costs 70% of the expenses. It's a speculative business. Many companies have gone bankrupt from oil exploration."
He's right.
Even in the 21st century, with advanced exploration technology, oil exploration is speculative. Nations continue to explore despite deficits because it's linked to national security.
Overseas exploration requires paying for mineral rights, and even if you succeed, you have to pay nearly 50% in corporate taxes on the profits.
Even Union Oil had to build a refinery in Korea to make a profit from a 100,000-barrel-per-day oil field. It's hard for any company other than a major oil firm to make money from oil exploration.
In other words, in the current situation without an oil shock, oil exploration is close to madness.
But I'm different.
I know where to explore for oil, and I know when the oil shock will happen.
"No. Our country needs oil exploration. Even if we produce a small amount of crude oil, we can gain the status of an oil-producing nation and participate in the futures trading of Middle Eastern oil."
"Futures trading of crude oil? You can do futures trading, but why do you insist on oil exploration?"
"While anyone can trade West Texas oil futures, trading Middle Eastern oil futures requires being an oil-producing nation."
West Texas oil is traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, but Middle Eastern oil only started trading on the Abu Dhabi Mercantile Exchange in the 21st century.
In the 1960s, Middle Eastern oil futures trading was a league of its own, involving Middle Eastern royal families, oil-producing countries, and major oil companies.
Saudi Arabia, backed by the U.S., declared that Middle Eastern oil would prioritize spot trading and that futures trading would be between oil-producing countries. This policy remained unchanged until the early 2000s.
Nominally becoming an oil-producing nation allows participation in Middle Eastern oil futures trading.
"Come to think of it, Korea wouldn't import Texas oil."
"That's right. It's more expensive than Middle Eastern oil, and the transportation costs are higher, so there's no reason to import it."
In the 1960s, South Korea ordered Middle Eastern oil through American oil companies and negotiated prices with them.
The nation's energy supply depended on private companies. Even though Gulf Oil existed, the government readily approved Union Oil's refinery because it wanted to enhance the stability of crude oil supply.
"I didn't know about these circumstances. So you're saying Korea needs to become an oil-producing nation to ensure a stable supply of Middle Eastern oil."
"That's right. We're not the U.S."
Captain Smith finally nodded.
Of course, he didn't recommend oil exploration.
The failure rate was too high.
"Do you have any oil exploration experts to recommend?"
"There is one. A guy named Hoff... no, Hoffman. He was the exploration leader who managed this rig."
"Really? Where is he now? I want to recruit him immediately."
"No need to go find him. He's here with us."
"What, he's here with you?"
Wow, what a windfall!
One of Smith's colleagues who had been training my employees, I suppose.
I hired them all as consultants for the Portland branch, but did he come to Korea instead of staying there?
"He's spent his life at sea, so what can he do in an office? He kept pestering me to make him a cargo ship captain, so I brought him along. He'll be even better in charge of the drilling rig. He's unlucky, not unskilled."
This is an incredible windfall.
Bringing in Captain Smith brought in talented people in droves. I was ecstatic.
"Where is he now?"
"Hey! Hopeless! Hopeless!"
Captain Smith waved his hand and called out to someone.
"You damn rascal. Didn't I tell you not to call me that? My name is Robert Hoffman. Hoffman!"
"Heh heh, you bastard. Just greet him. This is CS Woo. The president of DS."
An elderly man of similar age came running.
His face was gaunt, a stark contrast to Captain Smith, probably from all the hardships he'd endured.
"I'm Chansu Woo. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Robert Hoffman. I'll do my best as a captain. I'll teach the young folks diligently. I won't be worse than this guy, so trust me."
Hoffman poked Captain Smith in the belly as he introduced himself.
"You were the captain of this drilling rig?"
"Well... it's a shame. If we'd drilled near Santa Barbara, we would have had some success, but we drilled in all the wrong places... sigh."
Hoffman, still regretful about the past exploration failures, stroked the dismantled derrick with pity.
It was a common regret among oil explorers.
"Would a cargo ship satisfy a drilling rig captain like you? You're probably more interested in what's under the sea than on it."
"That's true, but after over ten years in this field without smelling real crude oil, I'd say I'm out of luck with exploration."
"Maybe not with oil, but you might have luck with gas fields."
I suppressed my excitement and brought up gas fields. Developing gas fields would quickly make our country an oil-producing nation.
Oil exploration takes at least five years from exploration to initial production, with a production period of about 20 years.
The initial investment is high, and it takes at least three years to recoup the investment.
But gas fields take only a year for all of that.
It's significant in terms of securing exploration results in the shortest time.
"Gas fields?"
"Our country is a peninsula with a developed continental shelf. There's a high probability of gas fields in such geological formations, according to a paper I read."
"Is that so?"
Does it matter?
I just need to get him to drill off the coast of Ulsan.
That's where the Donghae gas field, a commercially significant gas field, is located.
"I'm planning to build a port off the coast of Ulsan. Geological surveys show thick cap rocks and many anticlinal structures. It seems likely there's a gas layer."
"Anticlinal structures?"
Hoffman's eyes lit up at the jargon used by oil explorers.
"It's worth a try, isn't it? Since we have this drilling rig, we might as well drill, and if it doesn't work, we can dismantle and sell it then."
"Sajangnim, are you trusting in Hopeless's luck?"
"You fool, where did you come from? He's saying there's an anticlinal structure. If I just stick a straw in, oil and gas will gush out. This time it's real."
"Really?"
"Get lost. The boss and I are talking."
Hoffman, excited,
pushed Smith away.
A skinny guy pushing a fat guy didn't move him much, though.
In the gap, I took out a notebook and drew a sketch.
"There's a place called Ulsan not far from here. Judging by the size of the continental shelf, my estimate is that the largest anticlinal structures are about 70 km southeast of Ulsan."
I drew a plan view and a cross-section and handed them over.
Having spent quite a bit of time on drilling rigs myself, I drew a plausible cross-section, and Hoffman shivered as if looking at a treasure map.
"Is this really the terrain around Ulsan?"
"Captain Hoffman, do you think there's no chance of finding gas?"
The Donghae gas field produces 1,000 tons of natural gas and 1,200 barrels of ultra-light crude oil per day.
With current prices, that's roughly $12,000 in daily revenue.
That's $4.5 million a year, and if it produces for an average of 12 years, it's a $54 million gas field.
Objectively, it's a small gas field that barely breaks even. However, its significance will change after the oil shock.
The most important thing is that it symbolizes being an oil-producing nation and consistently generates revenue, like a salary for me.
In other words, even if I borrow a large sum of money, there's no problem repaying the interest. It's perfect as collateral.
"At about 70 km from the coast, it could be transported via underwater pipeline."
"Not only that, but Ulsan also has a petrochemical complex. It can be converted into various petrochemical products immediately."
"Gasp! There's a petrochemical complex there?"
Gas fields can be used as heating gas after a simple dehydration process, and the ultra-light crude oil that comes with it has an 80% naphtha extraction rate, four times higher than regular crude oil, making it particularly valuable to me.
"Yes, if a gas field is discovered near Ulsan, its efficiency will be extremely high."
"No wonder Daese employees were so impressed with the drilling rig... It seems many people had their eyes on it."
Hoffman was moved to tears.
My employees would have been impressed by anything new, but he must have interpreted it in his own way.
"That's right. Our employees are very passionate. I'll pay the remaining $18 million to the San Diego shipyard. Let's put aside the idea of dismantling the rig for now and give it a proper challenge. We will succeed."
"Do you guarantee success?"
"Of course. Captain Hoffman, if we stop now, hope will remain just hope, but if we succeed, all past failures will be mere trial and error."
"Sob... sob... No one has ever said such things to me. My wife left me... damn it..."
"Korea is a land of passion and hope. If what we lack is luck, we'll fill that gap. Gas will surely gush out."
"Ahhhh!"
Moved by my words, Hoffman screamed and climbed the derrick (the steel frame tower structure).
How high did he climb? He stood on a mid-level support and shouted through a megaphone.
"Listen up, young Koreans. Your boss here has given me a chance. I need just 50 volunteers. I'll develop a gas field and make you rich. Come on!!!!"
Mr. Hoffman screamed with such force that it seemed his throat would burst.
Even though he was speaking in English, not many would understand him.
"Me! Me!"
"Pick me!"
Huh? They understood?
Some engineers showed interest and stepped forward.
"What's going on? Are they hiring?"
"Do we just raise our hands? Me!!!!"
Our technicians weren't ones to miss an opportunity.
They quickly realized that people were being recruited.
"Damn, I need to go up. They won't pick me otherwise."
"Me too, me too!"
As a few started climbing the derrick, more and more followed, and soon there were 50 people.
"Oh, my... so many volunteers. I promise you. I will make you rich. Believe in me."
"Long live! Long live!"
"We're in!"
Hoffman clenched his fists, and those who had climbed to the mid-level support shouted in triumph.
"But what are we doing?"
With such determination, we had effectively recruited our exploration team. I gave the final order.
"All successful applicants, from today, assemble the drilling rig under Captain Hoffman's command."
"Yaaay!"
"You all know, right? Daese is great with bonuses! Night shifts pay 1.5 times! Successful oil exploration means a success bonus! Let's get started!"
"There's a success bonus! Yaaay!"
"Everyone shout! We're going to be rich!"
"We're going to be rich!"
"Safety! Safety! Safety!"
"Safety! Safety! Safety!"
They cheered as if we had already struck oil.
I then headed to the Busan branch.
It seemed possible to start at the shipyard or steel mill.
Soon, I would have a quality cornucopia.
***
Busan Branch.
I called Sambok first.
Ring ring. Ring ring.
"Sambok!"
His voice was already trembling.
"Heh heh, I'm going to spend some money. I'll be sending $18 million to the San Diego shipyard in the U.S."
"That's right. After I send the money, our balance will be less than $5 million. With additional expenses, we might go bankrupt."
"Just export a ton of Gold Skin quickly. That's the only way we won't go bankrupt. I'm hanging up."
Click.
I had prevented the company's bankruptcy for now, and now I could seriously consider starting at the steel mill or shipyard.