America 1919-Chapter 386 - 166. Pandora Oil Company (10,000-word mega chapter, time to start paying off debts~)

Just after the century boxing match between Jack Dempsey and George Caponti had ended, while everyone was still immersed in the event, an incident occurred quietly!

Without any public announcement, the U.S. Department of the Interior decided to lease the three major strategic oil fields in the United States—Elk Hills in California, part of the Bowe area, and the Teapot Dome oil field in Wyoming—to American oil businessmen. Harry Sinclair of the Sinclair Oil Corporation obtained the Teapot Dome oil field, and Edward Doheny of the Pan American Petroleum Company secured the Elk Hills oil field.

James O’Neill of Prairie Oil Company and Colonel Robert Stuart of Indiana Standard Oil jointly acquired the oil field in the Bowe area!

At this time, Donnie also established his own Pandora Oil Company and secured the contracting rights for the small oil wells surrounding the three major oil fields.

This situation unfolded just as Donnie had anticipated. Due to the involvement of Albert Furr and young Theodore Roosevelt, the four oil companies had to reluctantly agree to Donnie’s entry, but they did not give up on besieging the Pandora Oil Company.

Even with Gulf Oil of the Mellon Consortium investing in Donnie’s Pandora Oil, it was still the same!

For wealth, some die, for food, others perish. For their own interests, even with Andrew Mellon involved, these people would not sit idly by and watch their interests be taken away!

The current situation was both advantageous and disadvantageous for Donnie.

The good news was that the infrastructure for those small oil wells was already in place; they only needed to replace some specialized equipment, so Pandora Oil could start producing oil before the three major oil fields.

The bad news was plentiful, however. First, since these small oil wells were too dispersed, Donnie needed to arrange for more manpower. Second, after these oil fields were contracted out to the four major Oil Companies, they also took over management of the surrounding roads. In such a scenario, whether it was equipment being transported by Pandora Oil Company or crude oil being shipped out, it had to go through the roads managed by these companies.

The other side wasn’t forbidding passage outright, but they were making you wait, allowing your turn only after their equipment had gone through. This delay, whether in transport or in cost, greatly increased!

"Donnie, it seems like this matter isn’t going to be easy!"

Andrew Mellon called Donnie, not sounding overly concerned.

Donnie sat in the office of Block Tavern, his complexion somewhat gloomy. He obviously had underestimated these people’s clout. They had learned that he was hiring more veterans and had purchased a large amount of munitions from the army.

As a result, these companies also significantly increased their security personnel at the roadblocks in those areas. If a confrontation actually occurred, it wouldn’t be a small matter. Explore more at novelbuddy

"Andrew, if this situation continues, our interests on both sides will suffer!"

Donnie knew that Andrew Mellon’s call wasn’t just to discuss a solution to this problem; he definitely wanted to take this opportunity to secure more benefits for himself.

Sure enough, Andrew Mellon then proposed that he could intervene to resolve the matter, but he hoped Donnie would cede 10% of Pandora Oil’s shares to him!

Of course, Donnie couldn’t accept Andrew Mellon’s suggestion.

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"Andrew, we are partners now. When a problem arises, we should first consider how to resolve the current issue, not take advantage of the situation at this time!"

Donnie’s tone wasn’t very pleasant.

Andrew Mellon, however, wasn’t bothered by Donnie’s attitude and instead took on the air of someone who had been there before, imparting wisdom to Donnie, "Donnie, you should understand that this is business, and it’s not the same as what you’ve experienced in Atlantic City."

"Alright!" Donnie mused for a moment and then said, "If I can’t solve this matter, I will give you a call."

Andrew Mellon, not seeming too concerned, responded, "OK. Donnie, you should know that I’m not trying to trouble you; I’m just trying to protect my own interests."

"Of course!" Donnie said, putting away his displeasure with a smile.

After they hung up, Robert, who sat across from Donnie, spoke angrily, "If we knew this would happen, we should never have allowed Gulf Oil to invest in Pandora Oil. Doesn’t he realize that by doing this, he’s also risking his own interests?"

Donnie, no longer as angry as before, said with a smile, "Of course he realizes that, but if he could secure 10% of Pandora Oil’s shares, the current losses would seem insignificant to him!"

Robert asked, "Does that mean we just let him handle us as he pleases?"

Donnie shook his head and replied, "Of course not. He told me that we can’t solve this matter using Atlantic City methods, so let’s do just that—use Atlantic City methods. Sometimes, those old-fashioned ways are something they can’t handle!"

Robert suggested, "If we do manage to solve this problem successfully, can we use it to make Andrew Mellon give up some of his Pandora Oil shares?"

Donnie waved his hand and said, "We can’t do that. Right now, we only have the capacity to extract oil; our refining technology and equipment are not mature, and we don’t even have our own refinery. These are things that Gulf Oil needs to help us with. In fact, that was one of the main reasons why I agreed to let Gulf Oil join in the first place."