Chapter 73

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Jin Tonghao excitedly hugged Ji Feng and jumped up and down, looking like a child. The workers nearby were also so excited that they couldn't control themselves, hugging, jumping, crying, laughing, or shouting loudly. Everyone's face showed genuine happiness.

Oil has come out, finally! At less than 12,200 meters, this depth is absolutely the deepest oil well in the world. This miracle was created by our Jeju Energy Group, and I am the creator and witness of this miracle.

After Jin Tonghao shouted, "Prepare the oil pipe," the workers all ran with great enthusiasm. The oil pipe was on the drilling platform, and someone needed to drive a vessel over to bring it. Fortunately, it was only a hundred meters away, and it would take only a few minutes to bring it over. They just needed to be careful not to damage the exploration platform, but this concern was somewhat unnecessary, as the exploration platform weighed tens of thousands of tons, making it almost impossible to damage.

A few minutes later, a huge crab-like shallow sea oil extraction platform was brought over and docked right next to the exploration platform.

All the people on the exploration platform were tense and patient, waiting for the statistical data to come out. Although it had been proven that there was oil below, the exact amount of reserves was unknown. If the reserves were too small, it wouldn't even cover the cost of extraction. Even with this automated equipment, there is a service life.

However, everyone was confident about the oil reserves in this well. This was a region personally designated by the boss, and a well that succeeded on the first attempt. If it were a small oil field, it wouldn't be worth the boss's attention for so long.

When he saw the monitor proving the presence of crude oil at the bottom of the sea, Ji Feng's heart finally relaxed. Given the correct location, the reserves should not be far off. This is the largest oil field in Asia so far, and the third-largest in Asia several decades later. It seems I have indeed found it.

Feeling elated, Ji Feng hummed a popular song and excitedly opened a bottle of champagne. The foam gushed out, splashing onto the people around him, making everyone laugh even more joyfully.

Twenty-two minutes is not long, but for the many workers waiting for the statistical results, it felt like an eternity.

As the time to get the results approached, Jin Tonghao drove away all the employees, making them stand a few meters away, while he pulled Ji Feng to stand in front of the monitor. He realized that the reserves here would not be small. This was the first time he had seen and heard Ji Feng show such concern for a company under his command. Ji Feng had been closely monitoring this exploration, and if the reserves were not significant, there would be no need for him to do so.

With a "ding," Jin Tonghao immediately turned to look at the monitor. Despite being mentally prepared, when he saw the jaw-dropping number that almost made his heart stop, he found it hard to accept. It was just too much, so much that he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. But after rubbing his eyes several times, the number on the screen remained the same—15.7 billion barrels of recoverable reserves.

Jin Tonghao took several deep breaths, but he couldn't calm down. His body trembled with excitement, and he had to hold onto the monitor stand to steady himself.

This number immediately made him think of the largest oil field in the world. Once announced, it would likely shock the entire world. However, the small Jeju Island might also immediately face the scourge of war.

He looked deeply at Ji Feng, who was smiling. This young island lord had created such a miracle in less than two days.

"Chairman, how much are the reserves? Tell us quickly, let us be happy too." The workers, who had been waiting impatiently, were jumping up and down. If it weren't for the two big bosses in front of the monitor, they would have rushed over to check it themselves.

Seeing Jin Tonghao's inquiring look, Ji Feng quietly made a gesture of ten behind the workers, then showed a radiant smile. This was real gold, flowing gold, black gold, a wealth that would last him a lifetime.

Jin Tonghao's throat moved up and down several times. Even if the number were reduced by ten times, it would still shock everyone. But since Ji Feng had made the decision, he would follow his orders. Turning to the workers, his excitement finally burst out, and he roared, "We succeeded, we succeeded, ha ha, 1.57 billion barrels, a full 1.57 billion barrels of recoverable oil."

Instantly, the entire exploration platform, after a brief silence, plunged into a sea of joy. All the workers threw their work hats into the air, and after a moment, the hats landed on the deck with thuds, but no one bothered to pick them up.

Ji Feng, looking at the workers with tears streaming down their faces, felt equally excited. This was his wealth, the wealth of the entire Jeju Island. With this oil field, Jeju Island could support even the highest welfare benefits. At the same time, Ji Feng had greater confidence in reclaiming the other islands.

But at this moment, besides his excitement, Ji Feng had one more thing to do, to make up for Jin Tonghao, which was to announce a salary increase and a bonus for all the workers involved in this exploration.

"To celebrate the successful exploration of Jeju Island's first offshore oil field, all employees of the energy group will receive double pay this month, and each participant in this exploration will receive a $100,000 bonus."

As soon as Ji Feng finished speaking, everyone looked at Jin Tonghao with surprise and tension. After all, although they called Ji Feng "boss," they didn't know what he did or if his words counted.

Jin Tonghao looked gratefully at Ji Feng and smiled at the workers, "Haven't you thanked the boss yet?"

"Thank you, boss, thank you, chairman..." The workers fell into even more frenzied joy. After all, they couldn't talk about the successful exploration outside, which made them feel somewhat stifled, but now, with the bonus, their minds were more at ease. Ji Feng was essentially using money to keep their mouths shut, to prevent anyone from talking and attracting the attention of capital giants, which he couldn't handle at the moment.

The festive atmosphere lasted for over an hour. Under Jin Tonghao's urging, the workers gradually calmed down, but even after drinking a lot, they remained spirited.

With boundless energy, they continued to work on the platform.

In the warm glow of the evening sunset, the crab-like shallow sea oil extraction platform began to lower the oil pipe into the seabed. It was still fully automated, and the workers only needed to watch, but tonight, no one had the mood to rest. After moving the exploration platform to the side, everyone stayed excitedly on the extraction platform.

As for the suggestion to drill another well nearby, no one paid attention to it for now. Everyone just wanted to know the daily production of this well, and all of this would have to wait until the extraction platform completed the pipe-lowering and began production. However, looking at the oil pipe, which was several times thicker than the world standard, almost everyone knew the production would not be low, given its diameter of 680 millimeters.

Some people also realized the issue of different standards. Fortunately, Ji Feng had thought of this beforehand. After asking Jin Tonghao about the current standards, he had him bring some adapters back, which would only be used when loading crude oil onto oil tankers, not in the earlier stages.

After staying at sea for three days and having a deep conversation with Jin Tonghao on the exploration ship, Ji Feng left under the cover of night on a speedboat. He entrusted the remaining work to Jin Tonghao, promoting him to the president of the energy group and giving him 1% of the shares. He believed that with these shares, Jin Tonghao would be loyal and keep the secret. Moreover, Ji Feng instructed him to take small steps initially, as any leak of the reserves could not only cause problems for the energy group but also spell disaster for Jeju Island. South Korea would not sit idly by and let such a massive oil field be occupied, even if it were in their own waters.

On the way back, Ji Feng authorized the energy group to announce on their newly opened official website a piece of news that would excite many:

Under the joint efforts of all employees and the personal care and participation of the island lord, the Jiaolong No. 1 offshore exploration ship, operating in the northern shallow sea area of Jeju Island, successfully discovered oil at a depth of 7,359 meters at around 14:00 today. According to expert estimates, the reserves may reach 1.2 to 1.5 billion barrels. The discovery of this oil field will completely change the history of Jeju Island, which has relied entirely on imported oil. The energy group will, at an appropriate time, build a large petrochemical base in other countries or regions outside Jeju Island to meet the oil needs of Jeju Island and the surrounding areas.

Ji Feng knew that such news could not be kept secret, so it was better to announce it proactively. Being secretive would only raise more suspicion. However, the announced number was processed. Although it was still significant, it was not enough to provoke military action from neighboring countries, making it a relatively safe number.

Sure enough, almost an hour after the energy group announced the news, it appeared on South Korea's KBS news, and subsequently, various countries around the region also reprinted the news on their TV or websites. Instantly, several countries became active, and offshore oil exploration once again became a hot topic.

South Korea, in particular, contacted the energy group almost immediately, hoping to cooperate in the energy sector. For South Korea, which relies entirely on imported crude oil, the discovery of oil in the waters of Jeju Island was both a huge surprise and a stinging slap in the face.

They had spent countless human, financial, and material resources searching the sea for years without success, but Jeju Island, after separating from South Korea for only three months, had successfully discovered oil, and it was even found on the side closer to South Korea.

If it had been discovered in the southern East Sea, they might have felt a bit more at ease, but finding it on the side closer to them was like telling the world how incompetent they were.