Capítulo 239: Chapter 317 Petroleum
In this desert city far from the mainland, how could there be such formidable anti-aircraft towers, even more so, four of them built at once?
There must be some secret in P City.
Colonel Edman wore an innocent expression. "Your Excellency, you are currently the highest authority in P City. How could I dare to hide anything?" After a moment of thought, he pointed to a row of buildings not far away. "If we talk about secrets, it's those secret warehouses over there."
"Secret warehouses? Let's go take a look."
The car arrived at a massive warehouse, at least three or four stories high. It was not just one; more than a dozen warehouses of the same scale were neatly arranged.
Several Imperial Guards soldiers stood guard in front of each warehouse. Upon seeing Rommel approaching, they saluted.
Rommel returned the salute and gestured towards the warehouse. "What's inside here?"
The soldier replied loudly, "Don't know, General!"
"Don't know?" Rommel looked puzzled and glanced at Colonel Edman nearby. Colonel Edman shrugged. "Your Excellency, not only do I not know what's inside, but even my predecessors, the ones before and before that, didn't know what these warehouses contain."
Is that so? Rommel couldn't help but be curious. "So, you've never opened them to see?"
"No." Colonel Edman shook his head straightforwardly. "These warehouses require an order from His Highness to be opened. General, perhaps you should seek permission from His Highness? His Highness has many responsibilities; what if he forgets about these things here?"
Rommel pondered whether the contents inside might be secret weapons that could help him dominate North Africa. He was about to consider seeking permission from His Highness when Colonel Edman's adjutant hurriedly ran over. "General, the engineering team sent by the higher-ups has arrived."
Trucks, one after another, drove into P City, with each truck's cargo hold filled with people. They were robust and sturdy, with slightly sun-darkened skin, clearly weathered by long-term exposure to wind and sun.
A tall middle-aged man jumped down from the co-driver's seat of the first truck and walked straight to Rommel. Rommel noticed the emblem on his work uniform's chest, indicating he was from the "Zeus" Company's Resource Exploration Department. "Hello, General, Colonel. I am Felix, the person in charge of this project," he said, pulling out an identification card and handing it over.
Rommel glanced at the credentials and asked, "I am the highest authority here, Rommel. This is Colonel Edman. Mr. Felix, may I ask what project you are in charge of?" It's worth noting that most of the forces stationed in P City now are engineering troops, and even if there is a project, they can handle it themselves. Why dispatch this engineering team?
Felix stamped his foot forcefully, revealing a mysterious smile. "General Rommel, we are here to find the lifeline of the Empire. Colonel Edman, are the workshops in the design drawings already built?"
Colonel Edman nodded. "They have been completed."
"That's excellent. Let's begin immediately. Here is His Highness's order. Please open those warehouses." Saying this, Felix took out a sheet of paper from the folder he carried and handed it over.
Rommel and Colonel Edman couldn't help but exchange glances. Rommel took the paper, and sure enough, it bore the personal seal and signature of His Highness.
The group arrived in front of the warehouses, and Rommel handed the order to the Imperial Guard captain guarding the warehouse.
The captain, after reading the order, saluted Rommel. "General, our task is completed. We'll leave now."
Rommel nodded. "Thank you."
The massive warehouse doors slowly opened, revealing countless large and small boxes inside, each box conspicuously numbered. Felix spoke up, "General, we need your soldiers' help to move these boxes to various locations, following their numbers."
"No problem." Rommel instructed Colonel Edman to gather the troops and began the task of moving the boxes.
Watching the soldiers and workers move the boxes in an orderly manner, Colonel Edman asked again, "Mr. Felix, what exactly is the lifeline of the Empire you mentioned?"
"Now that the warehouses have been opened, there's no need to keep it secret anymore." Felix no longer concealed anything. "The lifeline of the Empire is, of course, petroleum."
Even in the future, petroleum remains the lifeblood of the global economy. Over a third of the world's energy production comes from petroleum, far surpassing any other energy source. Because industrial production and people's daily lives are heavily dependent on petroleum, it can be said that petroleum is the lifeblood of industrial production. This means that if a country lacks petroleum, its development will be significantly hindered.
Rommel and Colonel Edman were instantly shocked. "Are you saying there's oil beneath this desert?!"
They were pure military men with little interest in economics, but they were well aware of the crucial role oil played in warfare.
The First World War was a conflict fought between humans and machines, and all these machines were powered by oil. The war's heavy reliance on oil changed every aspect of warfare. The United States, with its powerful oil production capacity, supplied 80% of the oil needs of the Allied Powers during the war, solving the oil supply problem for the Allies in the later stages of the war. Germany, on the other hand, had to rely on the relatively small production of Romanian oil. In the later stages of the war, after the failure to capture the oil fields in Baku, Germany faced a severe shortage of oil. In the end, despite Germany's advantage in steel and coal, it lost to the Allies, who had a dominant position in oil. Oil became the "lifeblood of victory" determining the outcome of the war.
In World War II, oil became an even more critical factor in determining the course of the war. Germany's oil problem persisted throughout the war, even influencing Germany's strategic decisions. For example, at the beginning of the Soviet-German War, the original German plan was to capture Moscow in the center, Leningrad in the north, and the Caucasus in the south.
However, when the German army approached Moscow, it faced an energy supply problem and gradually changed its objectives. The main goal became the seizure of the industrial and coal-producing areas of Crimea and the Donets Basin, as well as cutting off the Soviet Union's oil supply from the Caucasus (at that time, 80% of the Soviet Union's oil came from the Caucasus oil fields). Capturing these areas required first cutting the Soviet supply line—Stalingrad.
The result was the Battle of Stalingrad, which became Germany's Waterloo.
In North Africa, the German army achieved continuous victories and was about to advance to the Red Sea. Behind Alam Halfa was the Suez Canal—the passage for the British to the Middle East oil fields. However, the German army faced failure in the Battle of Alam Halfa, and the troops withdrew to the previous defensive line for one reason: a lack of oil!
In such distant operations as North Africa, the key was the fuel supply for armored units.
Now, upon hearing that there could be oil extraction in this place, Rommel was both shocked and delighted, almost jumping up.
Felix said solemnly, "It's not me who's saying this; it's what His Highness said."
Rommel hurriedly asked, "Mr. Felix, how much oil can be produced here?! And how long does it take to process it into gasoline?!"
Felix flipped through the folder. "Although the exact numbers are not known yet, judging by the quantity of equipment prepared by His Highness, it shouldn't be a problem to achieve a daily oil production of 100,000 barrels in the early stages."
Rommel quickly calculated. One barrel of crude oil is approximately 137 kilograms, and one ton of crude oil can be refined into 0.29 tons of gasoline. This means that the daily oil production can yield 4,000 tons of gasoline. "How long until it's processed into gasoline?!"
"All the equipment here is fully equipped, and it will take about a week to install everything. Including drilling, it will take around two months to start producing finished gasoline."
Rommel couldn't help but laugh excitedly. "Long live His Highness! In two months, I will sweep through North Africa!"
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