In the past three years, Southern Petroleum and Thunder Mining have jointly conducted high-intensity mineral exploration in Argentina, focusing on Neuquen Province and southern Patagonia, where oil exploration and oil field construction have been carried out.
The total investment in exploration and construction of Southern Petroleum has exceeded 25 million US dollars. Exploration is a real gold-swallowing behemoth. Southern Petroleum invested all its operating profits and even borrowed debt, so it went smoothly.
With the completion of the construction of the petroleum refinery imported from Petrolia Blanca, the exploration and construction in the past few years have achieved relatively great results, and the crude oil production in southern Argentina has finally ushered in the era of big blowouts. And beat Standard Oil of California and Petroleum of Argentina, going ahead of them.
The petrochemical industry not only plays an important role in the Cohen Consortium, but also plays an important role in the state-owned system of La Pampa Province.
Currently, there are at least 15 state-owned companies engaged in the petrochemical industry in La Pampa Province, ranging from upstream exploration and mining to downstream refining.
Thanks to the continuous efforts of dozens of exploration teams organized by Southern Petroleum Company and Thunder Mining, fruitful results have finally been produced. In August, for the first time in the Neuquén Basin - the Dead Cow Basin - in Neuquén Province, A super-large oil field was discovered.
According to exploration estimates by more than a dozen oil experts, the potential recoverable volume of this super large oil field exceeds 500 million tons. Such a huge and astonishing production volume exceeds the oil city in the south. Moreover, this super oil field is easy to exploit. Currently, it has The crude oil samples contain less wax and are mostly light crude oil. The extraction and refining are relatively simple, and they are strategic petroleum resources.
This news was quickly blocked. The Neuquen Defense Force is responsible for protecting the oil fields. The number of Neuquen Defense Forces has already been expanded from 2,000 to 6,000. It is mainly used to prevent Chileans from attacking from the Andes and to prevent Chilean immigrants from smuggling across the country. Argentina.
The so-called prevention of smuggling is actually in name only. Instead, it helps a large number of Chilean immigrants to smuggle over. Neuquen City is the first stop for Chilean immigrants. In recent years, many people from Uquen Province have moved to La Pampa Province, so With the rapid economic development, there is also a great demand for Chilean immigrants. Today, there are more than 50,000 Chilean immigrants staying in Neuquén to work. There are also many Chilean immigrants with strong technical work ability who come from Neuquén. Blanca City.
There are relatively many new immigrants from Chile in southern Argentina, including legal and illegal ones. The total number may be close to 500,000, and one-third of them are mobile, that is, migratory birds. These young laborers are very important to Argentina. The city's urban construction has been of great help, and Saint-Jesse has been actively helping them integrate into this new society.
Although Chile and Argentina cannot be said to be friendly neighbors, they can be regarded as sharing the same culture and race, so Chileans are a very good source of immigrants. Even "Gaucho-like" immigrants such as white and Indian mixed blood are very welcome in Saint Jose, often saying They laundered their identities in the name of "Argentine gangsters" and issued Argentine national identity cards. There are only a lot more than 500,000 Chileans, and the total population of La Pampa Province is still growing rapidly.
Neuquén has the Chilean Consulate and Immigration Bureau, which are also quite lively. Although there are not as many consulates as Blanca City, it is indeed the first stop for many poor Chilean immigrants crossing the Andes.
Therefore, staff of the Argentine Demographic Bureau often find that the number of "black households" in southern Argentina is surprisingly large, and most of them are contributed by La Pampa Province.
Last year, the Chilean Liberal Party and the Conservative Party supported Jorge Rodriguez as president, vigorously supported private enterprises, reduced the state's involvement in the economy, and changed the currency unit, changing the Chilean Peso to the Chilean Escudo, making it Equivalent to the U.S. dollar to reduce inflation.
President Jorge also urged Chileans abroad to remit remittances to the country, allowing them to open domestic accounts in U.S. dollars to reduce the fiscal deficit and control wages.
Chile's economic situation has improved, industry has grown, the unemployment rate has dropped by 2%, and a number of new state-owned companies such as Copper Airlines have been established.
So now the number of Chileans running to Argentina has decreased, but there are still quite a lot of Chileans stranded in Argentina.
And Saint Jose was always ready to take advantage of the Chilean population. In line with the principle that a dead Taoist friend should not die a poor Taoist, Saint Jose also realized the opportunity. He vaguely remembered that a huge earthquake of astonishing scale occurred in Chile in the later years. It seemed that the time was in the 60s. In the early 1990s, I can’t remember the exact time.
As for why St. Hesse remembered such things, it was nothing more than that he was very fascinated by the unsolved mysteries of the world in his previous life, and was deeply impressed by the ten natural disasters of the 20th century, such as Bermuda, great floods, and black storms. Tunguska explosion, large avalanche, large tsunami and so on.
In addition, he has also experienced such a powerful earthquake, and benefited greatly from the 1952 Oliver Twist incident in London, so it also stimulated his memory fragments, and it is always right to make some preparations in advance.
Argentina is still short of people for industrialization. If we can use a humanitarian spirit to help Chileans who may suffer a major earthquake find jobs and start their lives again in southern Argentina, this will be a good thing for both parties. However, Saint Jose also feels that this Is memory reliable?
In the end, San Jose did not spend much thought on this matter, so it spent a little money to establish the La Pampa Earthquake Disaster Research Institute, and also prepared to reinforce existing industrial facilities and control the number of floors and floors of residential buildings. After all, since this kind of thing may happen, it may also affect Argentina. It is also beneficial to prepare in advance.
The Neuquen Defense Force has sufficient equipment and training, and has a variety of trucks and motorcycles. The information blockade is very successful, and there are new upgrades.
This news was only known to some high-level officials in the provinces of Neuquén and La Pampa. Of course, Saint Jose would not eat alone. The people from the Pampas Intelligence Service made great contributions. The Falcon Group quickly organized personnel to block the news. and sent a smoke bomb on oil advances in southern Patagonia to gain a head start.
The importance of oil is self-evident, and a large oil field with potential reserves of more than 500 million tons is strategic to a country, which means amazing wealth. It also means that the heavy industry in the Saint-Jesse industrialization plan has already the possibility of success.
Soon, La Pampa senior official San Jose Cohen led a team to have emergency consultations with Neuquen provincial official and head of the defense force Beryl Connais, determined to obtain more from this super oil field. Big benefit.
As early as when they jointly developed hydropower and thermal power energy and built the Pampas Canal, San Jose had established a win-win cooperation with the Province of Neuquén. The allocation of development resources was also biased towards the local Province of Neuquén, and taxes on thermal power stations and hydropower stations were , the sharing ratio is fully guaranteed, and the fiscal revenue of Neuquén Province is also increasing year by year.
In recent years, the economy of Neuquen Province has developed rapidly, driven by La Pampa Province. In particular, construction materials, mining, metal smelting, food processing, electricity and other industries have developed rapidly. Neuquen City has quickly become an important energy source in Argentina. City.
The total population of Neuquen Province has not decreased due to the movement to La Pampa Province. It is still 450,000 people, mainly due to the addition of new immigrants from Chile, plus new immigrants from other nearby provinces.
There are 4 large hydropower stations under construction in Neuquén Province, 3 of which are invested by La Pampa Provincial Company, 1 is invested and constructed by the Argentine Presidential Palace Bilon Era, 2 geothermal power stations and 3 natural gas-based power stations. The thermal power plant using fuel is also invested by the state-owned company of La Pampa Province.
Neuquen Province is an important area in the upper reaches of the Colorado River. Blanca's industry and urban scale can expand so fast. The help of water resources is very important, so large reservoirs, large power stations, and new canals are built in the upper reaches of Neuquén. The supply of water resources can be so smooth.
San Jose has also joined hands with Neuquén Province to follow the experience of the United States and plans to join forces with the provinces of Rio Negro, Mendoza and Neuquén to establish the Colorado River Basin Comprehensive Management Authority to comprehensively develop the Colorado River and build reservoirs. , hydropower stations, and plans to build about 8-10 integrated hydropower stations and reservoirs in the future.
The combination of these reservoirs and canal water conservancy facilities has greatly promoted the agricultural development of the downstream provinces of La Pampa and Rio Negro. Coupled with the extensive use of chemical fertilizers and mechanized farming, the introduction of rice varieties from Southeast Asia, and the improvement of irrigation equipment, two years ago this year The province's rice planting area reaches 700,000 acres, and the total output is expected to exceed 2 million tons.
The planting area of other grains, wheat and corn, is expanding faster, and a large amount of farmland has been reclaimed by machinery. Although the unit output of precision farming cannot be achieved, the two provinces have become major grain provinces in just a few years, with the total output exceeding 800 million tons, accounting for about a quarter of Argentina's total output. In recent years, Argentina's grain output has increased rapidly, becoming a major grain exporter in exchange for valuable foreign exchange.
The grain depots of several grain reserve companies in Blanca City have used new grains to suppress old grains, plus special exports of tens of millions of tons. Many new farms have been built, feed companies have been built, and pigs, cows, chickens, etc. are raised. More.
Driven by San Jose, relations between Neuquén and Mendoza provinces are also easing, and there is more cooperation in the economic field.
Mendoza Province has a large population, with 1.1 million people now, and a very high fertility rate, ranking among the highest among Argentine provinces. If the population of La Pampa Province reaches 5 million or even 6 million, it needs the support of Mendoza Province.
The number of Chilean immigrants in Mendoza Province is similar to that of Neuquen. It is more convenient for Chileans to travel to Argentina from there, and traditional exchanges are active. Mendoza, the provincial capital, can be said to be a city founded by Chilean immigrants during the Viceroyalty era. Later, a large number of Italian immigrants The arrival of immigrants has greatly promoted economic prosperity and changed the population structure into what it is today.
The provincial capital, Mendoza, has an important geographical location. It is a transportation hub in western Argentina and the gateway to Chile. There are land routes and highways that can lead to important domestic cities and ports, and you can cross the Andes border into Chile. It is 380 kilometers to the west. He can reach Santiago, the capital of Chile, and San Jose is also very eager to win over Mendoza.
In addition to oil and natural gas, Neuquén Province is rich in copper, gold, potassium and bentonite reserves. Maya Chemical, Thunder Mining, Pajun Copper, and Patagonia Mining have invested in Neuquén Province, and the mining industry has developed rapidly.
When a large oil field was discovered in Neuquen, the project that had planned to lay an oil pipeline to the southern region was changed by San Jose. The main funds were invested in an oil refinery west of Blanca City, as well as several new ones. Refinery.
A few years ago, the provinces of La Pampa, Rio Negro, and Neuquén formed a secret alliance among the three provinces. La Pampa also has a very good relationship with the two provinces and has formed a small economic alliance on the surface. District, with Blanca City as the leader, talents from the two provinces are also concentrated in Blanca City. At the same time, with the arrival of new immigrants, the population of the two provinces has not dropped too much. It is a win-win situation.
Belial Connais has already announced that he will join the Radical Party and break away from the Justice Party. He admires Saint Jose very much. Although he is 12 years older than Saint Jose, he has always maintained close contact with Saint Jose, and Saint Jose Sai also affectionately called Belial his old friend.
Belial is relatively capable. From the beginning, he was willing to contact Saint Jose, and sent his two younger brothers to Blanca City to take the civil service examination. He imitated the establishment of the Neuquén State-owned Assets Committee, established a state-owned mining company, and organized From the Neuquén Civil Service Examination, it can be seen that Belial is ambitious.
Beryl Connais is now the head of the Connais family. The Connais family has held important high-level positions in Neuquen Province as early as 1880, and has made certain progress in business. It is the owner of a local winery in Neuquen Province. The largest holder, owns 3 wineries, 2 manors, a pasture of more than 20,000 acres, an orchard of 8,000 acres, a farm of 30,000 acres, several small mines, and a food and beverage company The company, 2 woolen textile mills, belongs to a wealthy family in the province of Neuquén.
Belial has been helping support the cause of St. Jose. St. Jose is not a stingy person. He quickly helped the Conai family's beverage and food company and wool textile factory to upgrade equipment. Barron's Bank approved a low-interest loan, and the two A company also developed as a result.
St. Hesse also allowed the Cohen Consortium to establish cooperation with the Cornell family. As a result, the Cornell family's wealth increased more than ten times in a short period of time and became involved in more industries, such as petroleum, chemicals, power plants, and construction and ceramic factories. , cement factory, etc.
Like La Pampa Province, Belial also carried out certain reforms in Neuquén Province, such as fighting crime, using the power of the Provincial Department and the Defense Force, clearing some land and making it state-owned, developing industry, merging cities, etc. Certain results have been achieved.
The relationship between the two also became closer. If Saint Hesse had not already been married, Belial even planned to marry his little sister Belial Edith to him to make the alliance between the two stronger.
Edith is a well-known beauty in the upper class of Neuquen Province. She is now a first-year student at the National University of Neuquén. Saint Jose is not interested in beauties now, but is very interested in the newly established petrochemical engineering department of Neuquén University. He is enthusiastic and has sent department heads and teachers from the University of Blanca many times for cooperation and interaction.
The Patagonia region can now transport crude oil by rail. It has established transportation cooperation with the Argentine National Railway Company and has purchased several second-hand oil tankers from the United States. The annual output of the newly explored oil fields in Patagonia by Southern Petroleum is approximately There were only 5 million tons, so the pipeline laying was a bit wasteful and the matter was postponed.
In addition, the Blanca Steel Plant's production capacity is concentrated on construction steel and its production capacity is insufficient. The newly established Medanos Steel Plant can lay pipelines before Patagonia's oil production increases.
However, the oil explorers in Neuquén Province received good news. A large number of oil and gas fields were explored and exploited, so the pipeline laying direction was changed directly from the north-south direction to the east-west direction, and was laid out along the Kawu Highway.
The new oil and gas transportation pipeline starts from the town of General Roca in Neuquen Province, mainly passes through the provinces of Rio Negro and La Pampa, and passes through the three major cities of Neuquén, Santa Rosa and Blanca.
Neuquen City was originally larger than Blanca City. After several years of economic development, the city's total population has grown rapidly from more than 50,000 to 250,000. It is a large city in western Argentina, and its urban buildings are larger than Blanca City. Fortunately, because there is sufficient energy and electricity, it is known as the city that never sleeps.
In addition, the electricity here is cheap, it is located on a plateau, the temperature is suitable, and the environment is good. Many factories in the province have also moved to Neuquén Province. Even Mendoza Province, which is relatively unfriendly to Neuquén Province, has many people going to Neuquén. Provincial development.
The population of Santa Rosa, the old capital of La Pampa Province, has reached 350,000 after years of support from Blanca City. Its economy is relatively developed, with a relatively large demand for electricity and petrochemical products, and it has a close relationship with Neuquen City.
With the help of Saint Jesé, Neuquén Province established the Neuquén State-owned Petroleum Company, which is mainly engaged in oil exploration and production. It also jointly established the Neuquen Oilfield Development Company with the Southern Petroleum Company and the Pampas State-owned Petroleum Company. , La Pampa Petroleum Company and La Pampa Petroleum and Gas Company accounted for a total of 10%, Neuquen Petroleum accounted for 30%, and Southern Petroleum Company accounted for 60%. The main funds and technology were provided by Southern Petroleum Company, and the workers were mainly Neuquén. Recruitment in the Province and La Pampa.
The education system in La Pampa Province has long been prepared for the arrival of the petrochemical industry, from the Petrochemical School of Blanca, the Petroleum College of Blanca, the Department of Petrochemical Engineering of the Polytechnic University of La Pampa, Blanca In the petrochemical department of the university, Argentinian local petrochemical talents have emerged.
The National University of Neuquén has newly established a petrochemical engineering department to cultivate petrochemical talents. Higher education in Neuquen Province is weak, and La Pampa Province is preparing to assist in the construction of a new university, the Technical University of Neuquen, to cultivate the talents needed to develop the economy. .
The Santa Rosa University of Science and Technology was newly established in Santa Rosa, jointly funded by the Provincial Department of Government and the City Hall. Santa Rosa is a well-established university and focuses on new technology research, with special emphasis on petrochemistry.
In addition to cultivating petroleum talents, San Jose has also recruited a group of European petroleum experts to establish the Argentine Petroleum Energy Institute to provide theoretical support for oil exploration and exploration in Argentina. This professional academic institution also cooperates with many universities in Blanca City. , conduct graduate student recruitment.
Oil is the lifeblood of the industry, and there has always been relatively little exploration and production in Argentina. From Saint Jose's perspective, Argentina is likely to have large oil fields, even offshore oil fields, and there is very little exploration work for various minerals. This has nothing to do with the country's economic strength and industrialization. There are relationships.
If we can obtain a large amount of oil and develop the petrochemical industry, the development of the heavy chemical industry will solve at least half of the difficulties.
Today, the world still uses coal as the main energy source, but St. Hesse has made it clear that after entering the 1960s, the consumption of oil and natural gas will grow rapidly in the energy consumption structure, replacing coal and becoming the world's top energy consumer.
The development of Argentina's domestic automobile industry also urgently requires a large amount of cheap gasoline. The petrochemical industry has obviously become the basic industry of the chemical industry and will occupy an extremely important position in Argentina's national economy.
The exploration of coal resources in Argentina is not going well, but coal is extremely important. Now it is too dependent on foreign countries, so domestic coal exploration is also extremely important.
Saint Jesé believed that there were likely to be coal seams in the Patagonia region. In order to concentrate his efforts, he hired employees from Thunder Mining and Australian Mining to form the Argentine Coal Mining Company to conduct coal exploration in the Patagonia region. Certain results have been achieved.
One week after the discovery of the super oil field, good news came from the coal exploration team in San Carlos de Ba County, located in the western part of the Rio Negro province, that coal deposits were discovered here.
At the same time, coal mines were also discovered in the Rio Turbio Valley in Santa Cruz Province further south, and the quality of the coal was good, no worse than imported Australian coal.
"Three joys come to our door, three joys come to our door."
Saint Jose excitedly said two sentences in Chinese, which made the secretary next to him a little curious and couldn't help but slap the table.
Nowadays, there are many Chinese in Blanca City. As secretaries of senior officials, they have some understanding of several major languages. However, it is still relatively rare for their senior officials to speak a few words in Chinese at this time.
San Jose has always been worried about the coal problem in Argentina. South America has never been a major coal producing area, and Argentina has rarely heard of coal. However, Australia, South Africa, Colombia, and even Brazil, which are all in the southern hemisphere, have a lot of coal reserves. , could it be that there were not many plants in Argentina in ancient times?
However, the Southern Petroleum Company discovered huge oil shale in the Patagonia region, so San Jose concluded that Argentina had coal mines, and there were many.
After all, if the mineral content in sapropel coal exceeds a certain amount, it is oil shale. Sapropel coal is mostly in the form of lenses or thin layers sandwiched in humic coal, and southern Argentina has a large amount of peat.
If Argentina wants to develop its steel industry, iron ore can be imported from Brazil, Uruguay, and Bolivia. There is also low-grade iron ore in the country. However, the current dependence on foreign coal is too great, which carries great risks.
Australia and South Africa are too far away, and they are not soft persimmons. Saint Jose does not know when their country's laws will change, and these low-price coals will be gone. Therefore, it is extremely important to explore various minerals in Argentina. .
However, the iron ore issue is also a big problem. Fortunately, Uruguay has a large iron ore mine in Thirty-three Provinces. Bolivia has also maintained good relations. Saint Jesé is also ready to start with the iron ore mines in Bolivia close to Brazil. .
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