<h4>Chapter 318: Only Forty to Fifty Years Left for Oil Exploitation?</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Nyoi-Bo Studio <strong>Editor: </strong>Nyoi-Bo Studio


    “Oh yeah, Zhao Chiang, how much would the High Energy 1’s production costs be?” Chen Jin asked after having thought about a question.


    “Uhm, very high forb production,” Zhao Chiang said after thinking. “About some 10 thousand dors per kilogram. Nevertheless, the cost is expected to drop below 1,000 dors in mass industrial production. Assuming that each electric car is incorporated with a hundred kilograms of high energy batteries, the cost of an entire car would only be around several ten thousand dors. It is totally possible for consumers to buy an electric car with ‘High Energy 1’ batteries installed within a 200-thousand-dor budget.”


    In fact, Chen Jin’s question was a little extra. For all products that could be mass-produced industrially, their prices would plummet after a period of time no matter how high initial prices were. Hence, there was no need to worry about consumers not being able to afford “High Energy 1” battery products. Chen Jin nodded. Suddenly, something popped up in his mind. International Oil Price!


    “How many dors per barrel are international oil prices at? Have you been paying attention to the prices?” Chen Jin asked Zhao Chiang.


    “You got the right person, Mr. Chen. We have been paying lots of attention to the international oil price trend. After the M nation established the regional economic alliancest year, while they are restricting the export of high-tech products to the Z nation, they also gathered several major oil-producing countries as they intend to raise international oil prices by reducing and limiting oil production. Within a year, the international oil price has surged from 70 dors per barrel to over 140 dors per barrel. Oil prices have reached their highest point in more than two decades.”


    “140 dors per barrel? It doubled?” Chen Jin did not follow the news every day, but he often heardints about the rising prices in malls, courier fees inting, and troubles within the logistic field from the people around him. This was the most visible impact of rising oil prices. Oil was too closely interconnected to daily life. Oil was not only used as fuel in industries, but gasoline and diesel refined from it was also a necessity in logistics and transportation. If oil prices were to rise, in the people’s livelihood, the prices of everything would be inted. It could be said that both were directly corrted as oil prices would directly affect the civilian’s quality of life.


    “Mr. Chen, it is not only oil prices that are rising. International prices of iron ore, copper, rare metals, and food are all rising with intions averaging at least 30%. The person pulling the strings from behind is without question the M nation. Many of the M nation’s big multinational corporations are exploiting their ‘country of origin’ entitlements and controlling the rise of raw materials ording to their government’s demands. They are doing this to stop the Z nation from rising by increasing the cost of forward developments. Or you can put it in this way; the M nation is powerless against us and has absolutely no other way to stop us. So, they can only do this to give us some blockades. But we must admit, it does indeed yield some effects. Over the past year, prices of products within the country have risen by 15% on average. We can see a variety of news that urges to curb the rapid intion of goods on television every day. But our country is so massive. With a 1.4 billion poption, our demands in all aspects are alsorger. With the prices of raw materials rising, our people’s quality of life has indeed reduced by a whole lot. Our days have indeed be harsher,” Zhao Chiang said with a depressing tone.


    “Heheh, this is because they have no more tricks up their sleeves.” Chen Jin shook his head while sneering. The M Empire, forever that measly. He remembered a joke in his head: about 30 years ago, there were experts who warned that oil resources were depleting with only about 40 to 50 years of reserves left, and in the future, oil prices would definitely rise. About 20 years ago as well, there were also experts who warned that oil resources were depleting with only 40 to 50 years of reserves remaining. Even until a decade ago and recently, there were experts who were still going: oil resources are depleting, there will be gone by 40 to 50 years. It could even be concluded that, even if 40 to 50 years really went by, oil resources would probably stillst for several decades.


    This was just too big. When old resources depleted, new ones were found. Whennd resources were depleted, there was still a broad ocean floor. Hence, there was no need to worry too much about having insufficient resources... humans would find a way and get the resources they desired. Especially for oil. For the pricing of this raw material, the reasonable price range would be 50 to 100 dors per barrel. Over 100 dors would be unrealistic and would imply deliberate intion. New products or technology would appear immediately to suppress the price.


    For example, coal liquefaction technology would begin to be profitable. Domestic coal-to-oil nts could go all-out to convert coal into oil. Underwater mining forbustible ice would also be profitable. The associated drilling tforms could extract arge amount ofbustible ice from the deep sea. Wind power, hydropower, sr energy, nuclear power nts, and other clean energy sources would also enter an era of fast development.


    Besides, the development of electric cars would also hasten. Subsidies granted by the state would increase and the construction of supporting facilities such as charging piles would also speed up abruptly. All these initiatives had only one purpose: reduce oil consumption, gradually shed off over-reliance on oil products.


    Zhao Chiang said enthusiastically, “Mr. Chen, this is an excellent opportunity, a great time for us to sell our ‘High Energy 1’ batteries inrge amounts. The countryunched a few guidelines a few years ago, which is to achieve 100% electrification of buses and taxis by 20X5, to realizeplete elimination of fuel vehicles and to ban the sale of all fuel vehicles by 20X0. By then, all the batteries needed by the billions of automobiles across the nation, how scary of a number would it be? And how colossal is the market going to get? Our ‘High Energy 1’ battery is the most advanced, safest, and densest in energy among all batteries. Based on the ‘High Energy 1′ battery’s marketpetitiveness, we could at least take down half of the trillion-dor battery market! Mr. Chen, Xing Hai Technologies will soon be an energy giant and be the world’s biggest energy carrier supplypany!”


    Chen Jin nodded. What Zhao Chiang said was true, the rising oil price was indeed beneficial for the promotion of High Energy 1 batteries. Billions of automobiles and the battery market of several trillion dors; and this was not just limited to the automobile industry. Thinking about such humongous profits, was there a need to hesitate?


    Announce it. Immediately announce Xing Hai Technologies’ breakthrough in the new energy field and reveal the power of High Energy 1.


    Henceforth, on the 17th of March, Xing Hai Technologies held a product conference andunched their brand-new battery product: High Energy 1.


    The blockbuster was detonated. Less than 30 minutes after the conference, news about High Energy 1 swiftly went viral on the inte, flooding social media tforms and forum websites. The huge waves that came after were beyond even Chen Jin’s expectations.