"How much are the Chinese willing to pay?"

After a long moment, Hetherington broke the silence and asked Matsk.

"We have not formally approached the Chinese at this time, but there is information that the Chinese may be willing to commit up to $500 million and want to get a 25 percent interest in the entire project," Matsk said. ”

"25%? is absolutely unacceptable!" Heinzl cried out like a cat with its tail stepped on.

"But they're willing to pay $500 million. Kelvi reminded faintly.

"We can't accept their offer. Heinzl said categorically.

Matsk looked at Heinzl and asked coldly: "What does Mr. Heinzl mean that Prometheus may increase the amount of capital contributed to the project?"

Heinzl's face turned red all of a sudden, and he hesitated for a while before finally saying stupidly: "Our company's financial situation in the past two years is very unsatisfactory, and it is difficult to increase the amount of capital contribution. However, I think we can find more investors in Europe, and there is no need to give them access to our know-how for the money that the Chinese provide. ”

"The Commission has done a great deal to advocate in Europe, but so far we have been able to raise only $500 million," Matsk said. Some companies are worried that we will not be able to complete this project, so they have taken a wait-and-see attitude for the time being. I asked experts to analyze that if we can get $500 million from China, then many companies that are currently waiting on the sidelines may become confident in the project and willing to finance it. And if we reject China's access, where are we going to find another partner who can provide $500 million?"

"So, is the committee leaning towards involving Chinese in this project?" Kelvay asked.

"I'm still asking for your opinions," Matsk said. I understand your concerns about China's technological progress, but you are also well aware of the financial pressure on the Commission. I would like to ask you to consider whether there is a way to get the best of both worlds. ”

"If you can prevent Chinese people from accessing the most core technology, then it's okay to involve them in this project." Provided, of course, that they are willing to pay enough for such participation. Heinzl said.

Hetherington shook his head: "How is this possible, if the Chinese are willing to pay $500 million, then they will get 25% of the equity, which will be the largest shareholder in the entire project team." They have every right to ask for access to all the technical aspects, and we can't stop them from doing so. ”

"What if we changed the rules?" said Heinzl, gloomily.

"What do you mean by changing the rules?" asked Matsk.

Heinzl showed a smug smile on his face and said: "Just now Hesselington said that if the Chinese give 500 million US dollars, they will be able to get 25% of the equity, I think this algorithm is wrong." Our funding target is indeed $2 billion, but that doesn't mean that the entire project is worth $2 billion. In addition to the financial investment, we also have technical and reputational investment, which also needs to be counted in the value of the project.

If the value of the entire project can be assessed at $5 billion, then the $500 million paid by the Chinese is equivalent to only a 10% share. And our companies should receive a higher share than 10% according to the contribution of technology and reputation. ”

Matsk frowned and said, "The Chinese will not agree to this condition." ”

"Then we can only say sorry to them. Heinzl shrugged his shoulders and said. He didn't want the Chinese to participate in the project in the first place, and if the Chinese quit because of the change in the rules, he was the least psychologically stressed.

Matsk is different, he is the most supportive of Chinese participation, because it is difficult for a clever woman to cook without rice, and nothing can be done without money, and the Chinese are precisely here to send him money, how can he push the Chinese out?

"The argument of technology discount can be considered. But to convert the technology and reputation we provide into $3 billion is probably a bit unreasonable, and the Chinese will definitely question it. Matsk tactfully retorted to Heinzl's opinion.

Kelvi was inspired by Heinzl, saying: "Regarding the discount of technology and reputation, we can make some concessions. But at the same time, we can also propose that in the whole project, each participating unit shares the various parts of the project according to the direction in which they are good at. The Chinese have a lot of experience in infrastructure construction, and I think they can hand over the buildings on the hull to build, and in terms of weight, these buildings account for more than 25% of the entire drilling platform, and the Chinese should be satisfied. ”

"Haha, that's a good idea!"

Everyone laughed in unison, and several of them gave a symbolic slap in their applause for Kelvi.

The structure of the semi-submersible drilling platform consists of three parts: the lower hull, the upper hull and the column. The lower hull, also called the pontoon tank or sinking pad, is a large volume of water tanks, suspended about 20 meters underwater during work, and plays a role in stabilizing the entire drilling platform. The upper hull, also known as a working platform, is a single flat surface, made of steel plates, which can also be made of reinforced concrete, on which drilling rigs, cabins and other facilities can be arranged. The columns are the columns that connect the lower hull and the upper hull, and the diameter of each column can reach several meters.

The working principle of the semi-submersible drilling platform is to rely on the lower hull to float in the water, support the upper hull through the column, and then arrange drilling equipment and working and living facilities on the upper hull. Because the lower hull is suspended at a deep place under water, the ability to resist wind and waves is very strong, so the entire drilling platform can remain stable in complex sea conditions and will not capsize due to wind and waves.

There are a number of key technologies involved in the design and construction of deep-sea semi-submersible drilling rigs. In terms of design, the scale and structure of the platform should be able to adapt to the requirements of complex sea conditions, especially in the deep sea area, the wind and waves are much larger than the shallow sea area, and the platform design should take into account the transverse wave tearing force, transverse wave torque, longitudinal wave shear force, vertical wave bending moment, longitudinal deck mass inertia force, transverse deck inertia force, etc., involving many complex calculation models. From the construction point of view, how to choose corrosion-resistant and fatigue-resistant materials, how to design the welding process, etc., are all technical problems that need to be broken through.

Relatively speaking, the construction of the building on the hull is a relatively simple job, although it cannot be said that there is no technical difficulty at all, but it is indeed not within the scope of key technologies. To put it mildly, you can find a renovation company to do these things, and just by mastering such a few technologies, there is still a distance of 108,000 miles from being able to build the entire drilling platform by yourself.

Kelvi means to put the links that can produce core technologies in the hands of European companies, and leave some work that is purely a pile of labor to the Chinese. On the surface, the Chinese have done a lot of things, and even seem to be very successful, but in fact, after doing these things, they cannot master any real technology, and it is difficult to pose a threat to European companies.

The people who can participate in the project committee are smart people, and Kelvi simply dialed it, and everyone understood what he meant, so they all agreed. Since the Chinese want to participate in this project, let them participate. They can pay for it and get a portion of the work, and they don't care what they get out of doing it. As for the Chinese to put forward opinions, everyone also has a ready-made reason to respond, we have technology, so to do those high-tech jobs, you are not technical, let you do the decoration, this is called to make the best use of talents, is there anything wrong?

"Do you think this plan is feasible?" Matsk muttered in his heart, but he also knew that this might be the bottom line that everyone could accept.

Everyone nodded in unison and said, "Yes, we think this plan is the most reasonable, and the Chinese should fully accept it." ”

"Okay, I'll put people in touch with Chinese officials, and we'll have a formal meeting. However, I am worried that the Chinese will not fully accept such a solution, and if they insist on obtaining some core technology, can we make some concessions?" Matsk said.

"We can make some concessions appropriately, for example, the design technology of the water trap of the floating tank, which is very mature in Europe, may still be a technical obstacle for the Chinese." If they need to, we can involve them in this design work. Kelvay said.

"We can also transfer the calculation model of the platform counterweight to them, and this technology is actually very important, and if they can get this technology, they can also take a lot of detours. Hetherington added.

Everyone also knows that it is not possible to fool the Chinese with something that has no technical content, and the Europeans still need to make some concessions. So, as before, they made a fuss about some of the techniques that belonged to the chicken ribs, and Matsk wrote them down one by one, ready to use them as a weight when negotiating with the Chinese. Matsk thought that these technologies could not be proposed to the Chinese in one go, but should be gradually handed over in the process of bargaining, so that the Chinese felt as if they had taken a big advantage.

After all, the Chinese have no accumulation in this area, and they should be satisfied with these technologies if they can get them, right? Matsk comforted himself in his heart.

Three days later, Feng Xiaochen was informed that the European Union's Captain Cook Project Committee was willing to accept China into the development of the project, and that the committee chairman, Matsk, would be waiting to meet with him at the project committee headquarters in the Netherlands. Feng Xiaochen did not delay, and immediately took his team to the Netherlands and walked into the office building of the project committee.