African Entrepreneurship Record-Chapter 709 - 13: Oil Wells

On the vast shores of Lake Turkana, a steam drilling machine belched thick black smoke, as the boilermen endlessly fed coal into the furnace. Driven by the turbine, the heavy metal drill bit continued its work, up and down, piercing through the rock layers. The workers cleared the rock debris brought up with tools into wheelbarrows, which were then wheeled away and piled to the side. This was an oil exploration site in East Africa.

"Mr. Kars, can we really find oil here? This is the sixth well we've drilled this year, and it feels like we're wasting our time. This situation is undoubtedly like finding a needle in a haystack," oil worker Sol asked.

Sol's team were professional oil workers, who had returned from Austria-Hungary's oil-producing region three years ago to help find oil in East Africa under the kingdom's orders.

The team's steam drill was made by a German mechanical company, commissioned by East Africa, then shipped to Mombasa before being transported to Turkana Province by rail and road.

"According to my assessment, there is indeed evidence suggesting the possible presence of oil around Lake Turkana, such as some ancient fossils and relics. However, we currently lack theoretical support, so the only way to extract oil here is through continuous experiments," Kars said.

"So, does that mean you actually don't know whether there's oil in Turkana Province?" Sol asked.

"Ahem, indeed that's the case," Kars said somewhat embarrassedly. "However, oil is a very scarce resource to begin with. Currently, most of the world's oil reserves are located in the United States and Eastern Europe, so it's normal for us not to find any oil."

Sol frowned and asked, "East Africa is not small, surely such a large territory can't be completely devoid of oil!"

"Mr. Sol, it's too early to draw conclusions. In reality, oil exploration relies on luck. The American oil industry developed in such a manner. They too lacked theoretical foundations and relied more on deductions from fossils and geology. Moreover, the area we're exploring now is less than a third of Lake Turkana, let alone the entire Turkana Province or the entire kingdom."

"This is pure gambling!" Sol had originally thought that as an expert geologist, Kars had some real skills, but it turned out they were relying on such methods, leaving him feeling disappointed.

After all, he could perform the endless drilling himself, and Kars seemed utterly useless, yet everyone had to follow his lead.

Kars defended, "You can't put it like that. We can't accurately locate oil through theory because for us humans, this is a whole new domain of knowledge. Just a few decades ago, we didn't even have an oil industry. The history of large-scale human application of oil in the industrial field is too brief. If we succeed, we can accumulate experience for the future development of oil exploration technology."

He then cited the United States, where the oil industry is most advanced, as an example.

"In 1859, Edwin Laurentine Drake, a train conductor in Pennsylvania, drilled the first oil well in the United States. This well, located in Tasville, Pennsylvania, reached a depth of over 21 meters and opened the chapter of the American oil industry." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Rockefeller himself built his empire through refining, now monopolizing over eighty percent of America's refining capacity, more than ninety percent of oil transportation, and twenty percent of crude oil extraction."

"If it weren't for the layouts of Austria-Hungary and Romania in the oil industry, Europe would likely have become Rockefeller's market as well. Alone, U.S. oil production accounted for about seventy percent of the world's output, so finding oil inland in East Africa isn't easy either."

"In fact, even with Austria-Hungary and Romania's oil, the international oil prices are still controlled by Americans. The good news is that oil production far exceeds demand now, making oil prices acceptable. This is also a reason for East Africa's oil imports, but the kingdom's emphasis on oil evidently surpasses any other nation. I believe this is tied to East Africa's automotive industry."

Whether East Africa had staked its national fate on the oil and automobile industries was beyond the knowledge of a minor figure like Kars.

Despite the presence of oil and automobiles, oil's primary function remained with applications like "kerosene lamps" for lighting, given the long process of electricity popularization.

Automobiles were more toys for the "privileged," and even the cheapest bicycles were industrial goods affordable only by the middle class, indicating the unclear future of these new industries for most countries without several decades of development. Only East Africa was fully committed to advancing these industries.

"Mr. Sol, having worked in Austria-Hungary's oil fields, should know that oil discoveries always come as surprises. The Americans discovered oil using the most straightforward, crude methods, so we too can only rely on the most primitive means to conduct the kingdom's early oil exploration. Regardless of success or failure, it's valuable experience."

Currently, even American oil exploration methods actually lacked much technical content. One of the most common techniques involved a cowboy riding a horse and drilling wherever the wind blew his hat off to find oil.

Compared to East Africa, this method was even more "superstitious," yet Americans nonetheless used it to achieve overnight riches.

Of course, this was also tied to the Westward Movement in the U.S. After the first oil well was discovered, many "madmen" bought land in the west and gambled on the presence of oil by using cowboys' hats on their property, a true form of "gambling."

As for East Africa, Ens had long known about the oil-rich "cheat" state in Turkana Province, something incomprehensible, as Ens was aware of the potential in the border region between Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somali in a past life.

"Only when we truly strike an oil well can we turn experience into theory, and then use theory to find more oil. So, Mr. Sol, our current endeavor could unquestionably advance human history. Even if we don't find oil, we might still make discoveries and innovations in geology!" Kars said.

"Don't say such discouraging words, in case..." Sol had not finished his sentence.

"Oil's gushing, Captain Sol!"

Sol's mouth seemed to be blessed, and Kars was also somewhat stunned that right after stating they might not find oil, he was immediately proven wrong. This feeling was indeed complex but more exciting.

Amid the loud noise of the steam engine, a cheer erupted. After three years of "hard" battle, East Africa's first oil well was finally born.

Rushing underground "black gold" gushed out of the well. In a free world, such an event might create another "wealth legend," but in state-dominated East Africa, it was the wealth of all East African citizens.

"Don't get too close, avoid harmful gas emissions from the well. Enclose the area..." Sol began directing the on-site workers according to the experience he gained from working in Austria-Hungary.

After three years of work in East Africa, he could finally apply his expertise. Although there had been many drilling jobs before, most were dry wells, but this time it was a real oil well.