Profiting from the Crisis

At the top floor of the Yukos Group headquarters, in Khovchenko's office.

In the somewhat oversized and empty room, only Wang Ye and Khovchenko sat facing each other.

Khovchenko held a cup of coffee, while Wang Ye had a cigarette between his fingers.

After listening to Wang Ye's account, Khovchenko fell into deep thought.

He, too, sensed that this matter was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

After a while, Khovchenko picked up his phone, gestured to Wang Ye, then stood and walked into the adjoining room.

Wang Ye understood that Khovchenko had probably gone to verify the matter through some of his connections.

It was not that he distrusted Wang Ye, but the stakes were too high for Khovchenko not to be cautious.

Besides, with his network, he might uncover information Wang Ye had yet to learn.

More than ten minutes later, Khovchenko returned with a grim expression. He sat down on the sofa, lifted his coffee cup to his lips, but did not drink. He merely stared blankly ahead, seemingly lost in thought.

It looked as though his inquiries had confirmed that the situation was far from optimistic.

Wang Ye broke the silence. "If our export rights are really restricted, how much damage would that do to the group? Would it be enough that we couldn't bear it?"

Khovchenko gave a bitter smile and said helplessly, "If we truly lose our export rights, the group's revenue will drop by at least half. As for net profits, that will depend on how much charity they're willing to give us. But it goes without saying that if they're determined to cause trouble, they certainly won't leave us much profit. Think about it—how much crude oil can the domestic market consume? And oil prices are so low that