"Mr. Moritz, there is something I think I must tell you in advance. That is that the large amount of crude oil we reserve is not entirely for our consumption. A large part of it needs to be reserved for the government." Oscar said with a serious face.
"Reserve for the government?" Moritz was a little confused. Now Germany's consumption of oil is not high. There is no need for the government to reserve so much oil! After all, the construction of oil storage facilities and the purchase of crude oil cost a lot of money.
"Mr. Moritz, what I'm going to say next involves the empire's military secrets, so I hope you can keep it a secret and never let it out." Oscar looked serious.
"Your Highness, I swear in the name of God, I will definitely keep the secret!" Moritz also looked serious.
"Mr. Moritz, Imperial Navy The Capital Ships currently being built, as well as many subsequent warships, use oil-fired boilers. Therefore, Imperial Navy's consumption of oil will increase explosively. However, the empire is also a country extremely short of oil, so we must reserve enough oil before the war. That's right. Otherwise, if the war breaks out and the empire's maritime trade lines are cut off, the consequences will be very serious if we can no longer get oil from overseas. The Capital Ships we spent a lot of money to build will become scrap metal that cannot be sailed to the sea. Therefore, we must try our best to store enough oil before the war breaks out!" Oscar looked solemn.
Moritz was stunned when he heard the news. Obviously, he did not expect that Oscar requested more oil reserves for this reason. Of course, he also knew that this was definitely a military secret. Oscar was able to be honest with him. This was undoubtedly a sign of trust in him, which moved him very much. After all, he has just joined the Oscar team.
The reason why Oscar revealed this news to Moritz was not only because of his trust in him, but also because he had specially sent someone to investigate him.
"Your Highness, please rest assured, I will strictly keep the secret." Moritz said. As a Germany person, he certainly hopes that Germany can win in the future war. Since Oscar told him these military secrets, of course he had to keep them secret.
Oscar nodded. "Moritz Reality, although the navy and government will also secretly reserve oil. However, in order to avoid insufficient crude oil after the outbreak of war in the future, we also need to store crude oil. Two million tons of crude oil is just a bottom line. If possible, store more as much as possible."
"Yes, Your Highness." Moritz nodded. Although, storing large amounts of crude oil costs a lot of money. But Oscar is not short of money at all. German Welfare Lottery Company is continuously creating huge wealth. This ensures that Oscar can start expanding in various fields.
What's more, the price of oil is very low now. A barrel of oil is less than one dollar, and even including shipping costs, it is estimated to be only about one dollar. The exchange rate between Mark and the US dollar is 4 to 1, that is, one US dollar is equal to four Mark. A barrel of oil is only worth 4 Mark, and a ton of oil plus other expenses is only worth about 30 Mark. Oscar To store two million tons of oil, it only costs 60 million Mark.
"Mr. Moritz, our company also needs to have the ability to extract oil. In this regard, you should find a way to reserve technology and recruit relevant personnel." Oscar ordered.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Germany's homeland is seriously short of oil. Although there is some oil in the northern coastal shoals, it is difficult to extract it with the current technical conditions. Besides, even if a small amount of oil is mined, it cannot withstand large-scale consumption, so it might as well remain underground.
"Your Highness, do we need to participate in overseas oil field exploration?" Moritz asked. He knows that German homeland has no oil, and Oscar requires German Energy Company to have the ability to exploit oil, so it must go to overseas oil fields.
The current major oil mining country is United States, which accounts for 60% of the oil mined in the world every year. Dutch East Indies, Russia, Baku and Romania also all produce oil. Middle East is the largest oil mining area in later generations. Now only Britain people are conducting oil exploration in Kingdom of Iran. Calculating the time, it will be next year before the first oil well producing oil can be drilled.
"Although almost all overseas oil fields are controlled by Britain, France, and the United States and other countries, we may not have any chance at all. Be prepared first, and if there is an opportunity, we can try it immediately." Oscar naturally has a rough idea of the distribution of oil resources in future generations. But of course he can't tell it now. There is a huge gap between Germany and Britain in terms of overseas strength. Once Britain people learn about it, Germany will not be able to get any of those oil fields. Only after Germany defeats Britain and has the most powerful navy in the world can the safety of these oil fields be ensured.
"Yes, Your Highness." Moritz nodded, knowing that Oscar was well prepared.
After Moritz left, Oscar's eyes fell on the map hanging on the wall. In the eyes of Oscar, many places are treasure troves of resources. Especially Middle East, there are enough reserves there to last Germany for more than a hundred years. If Germany can defeat Britain this time in World War and snatch Middle East over. Then, Germany doesn't have to worry about energy shortage.
Of course, the prerequisite for obtaining Middle East's oil is to defeat the Britain people in this war. Otherwise, everything is empty talk.
"Middle East's oil cannot be touched before the war. We can only find solutions from other places." Oscar thought secretly.
"Libya is also rich in oil resources. And no one knows there is oil there now. If Libya's oil resources can be snatched away, it will be a huge boost for us to reserve enough oil."
Now, Libya is in the hands of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. However, Italy is eyeing this land with eager eyes. Oscar knows that soon Italy people will take action against Libya. Although the combat effectiveness of Italy's army is rubbish, the decadent Ottoman Turkish Empire's army is not much better. In the end, Italy won the war and obtained this land. If, Germany provides limited support to Italy people as an ally. So, after the war, it doesn't seem to be a big problem for Germany to have the exploration and mining rights that Libya wants.