Chapter 545: Bush Sr.'s Birthday Banquet

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Crawford Ranch is located near the town of Crawford in central Texas, USA, and covers an area of 650 hectares. In 1999, when Bush was governor of Texas, he bought the ranch, which is 160 kilometers away from Austin, the capital of Texas. Since the ranch is far from the city, the environment is very empty and secluded.

George W. Bush returns to Crawford Ranch every year for vacation. During the vacation, the White House team moved with Bush from Washington, the capital, to the ranch office. So in the past few years, this originally unknown town has gradually gained the nickname of 'Western White House'.

Because George W. Bush received good news here during the 2000 presidential election, Crawford Ranch is also considered his blessed land. And his wife Laura has repeatedly publicly declared that the White House is just their temporary home, and Crawford Farm is their permanent home.

It is precisely because of the unique position of this farm in the Bush family that it has become the main event venue of the Bush family. Things like Bush Sr.'s birthday, Bush Jr.'s daughter's marriage, and so on are all here.

Of course, in addition to family activities, during his two consecutive terms as president, he also received many visiting foreign heads of state, such as Russian President ***, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Abdullah and so on.

Guo Shouyun, who has more connections with the Bush family, is also no stranger to this ranch. But it was his first time here. In the past, he was not qualified, but now the reality of receiving the invitation shows that in the eyes of the Bush family, he already has the need to make friends.

"Boss, we're here!"

Guo Shouyun nodded, rolled down the window, and handed the invitation to the peripheral security personnel who came over.

As the current residence of the President of the United States, the FBI, which has a high appearance rate in various film and television dramas, has long surrounded this place, and anyone who enters here must be subject to strict inspection.

It wasn't until he went through two inspections that he really saw the core of the farm.

It is an American-style country house surrounded by greenery, two stories high, and covers an acre of land. It's not big, but in this place with green mountains and green waters and beautiful scenery, it looks unique!

Parked the car, Guo Shouyun walked towards the door with the gift he had specially prepared.

There was no one to welcome him here, but that wasn't surprising. The people who can come here are no worse than him in status.

After passing through the entrance door and entering the living room, there were about 20 people in the entire living room, including members of the Bush family.

After Guo Shouyun took a quick glance, he found that there were many acquaintances among them!

For example, Morgan Sr., David Rubinstein, CEO of The Carlyle Group, and Walker Fairbank, Chairman and CEO of Da Morgan.

Of course, there are also Guo Shouyun who knows, but I see it for the first time. For example, former President Clinton, Exxon Mobil Chairman Lee Raymond, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greensfan.

And then there's some he doesn't recognize. But everyone who can stand here is a hero, and a stomping can cause an industry shock and become an international headline!

When Guo Shouyun quickly looked at the situation in the living room, the people inside also noticed him.

"Bruce, here!"

Among the crowd, Karl Rove, who was closest to Guo Shouyun, was the first to wave to him.

After smiling and nodding in greeting, Guo Shouyun walked over under the scrutinizing gaze of everyone.

"Mr. President!"

George W. Bush responded with a smile on his face, "Thank you Mr. Guo for coming to my father's birthday party in person!"

"It's an honor to be invited!"

After a polite and polite sentence, Guo Shouyun turned his eyes to the old Bush who had just stood up with a cane, took a half step forward, and while holding up the gift in his hand, he said in a respectful tone: "Mr. Bush, this is a birthday message written by myself, I wish you a happy birthday and a long life!"

Looking at the gift box in Guo Shouyun's hand, after the elder Bush thanked him, he said with great interest: "Is it Chinese calligraphy?"

"Yes!"

"Can I open it now?"

The elder Bush once served as the director of the US Liaison Office in Beijing in China in '74 and made a certain contribution to the normalization of Sino-US relations. In the market, the Bush menu, including Beijing roast duck and salt-baked prawns, is even more famous. Therefore, he has a certain understanding of Chinese culture, and he is a little curious about Guo Shouyun's gift.

"Of course!"

After opening the carton and unfolding the scroll with the help of Guo Shouyun and George W. Bush, a calligraphy of Chinese calligraphy came into view.

"Although I don't know much about Chinese characters. However, the beauty revealed in this calligraphy is delightful, thank you Mr. Guo!"

"If you're satisfied!"

After offering gifts, expressing his greetings, and chatting with Bush Sr. for a few words, Guo Shouyun consciously stepped aside.

Today is the birthday party, and the most conspicuous position next to Bush Sr. is undoubtedly reserved for his family and people with more prominent positions, such as Morgan Sr., Clinton, Grimesfan, Carl Rove, and so on. Although he has an extraordinary status, he looks ordinary here. In addition, he is young, and it is not his turn to be in the core position. However, it doesn't matter, the purpose of Guo Shouyun's visit this time is not to make himself conspicuous, but to bring himself closer to the Bush family, and by the way, to plan for Iraq's rich oil resources.

"Bruce!"

"David!"

After several cooperations, the relationship between David Rubinstein and Guo Shouyun has become much closer.

"If I knew you were coming, we should have come with us from New York. ”

Guo Shouyun smiled and nodded, "Having said that, but who would publicize this kind of extremely private banquet everywhere!"

"Bruce, now that Unocal has raised nearly $14 billion, what are you going to do with it?" said David Rubinstein with a nod.

"David, with your wisdom, you should be able to guess how I will use it!"

"Oilfield?"

"Of course, since I judge that oil prices will continue to rise, I will naturally continue to invest in oil and gas resources!"

Rubinstein smiled, "If you don't mind, I have a good goal to recommend to you." ”

"Target? You mean acquisition?"

"Not bad!"

As a shareholder of Unocal, CapitaLand will continue to grow its investment as much as possible. This echoes their interests. Again, this is one of the benefits that comes with raising capital and going public.

"Which company?"

"Burlington Resources!"

After thinking for a moment, Guo Shouyun said, "If I'm not mistaken, it should be an unconventional oil company?"

The so-called unconventional oil companies are those that focus on the development of heavy oil, oil sands and shale oil. Because this type of oil has a large proportion and many impurities, it is very expensive to refine, so it is very sensitive to price. At present, except for some small and medium-sized oil companies, large companies basically do not look at this market.

"David, unconventional oil companies are easy to buy and have low prices, but they are also not very profitable. If there are better options, I don't need to choose this kind of company!"

Although unconventional oil is the future, it is too early to lay out. According to Guo Shouyun's original plan, 08 is a more suitable time. It coincided with the subprime mortgage crisis, coupled with the fact that it was on the eve of the shale oil revolution.

"Bruce, unconventional oil doesn't seem to be very profitable right now. However, this is slowly changing as the price of oil continues to rise. If you buy it now, the price is not high, and the price is small. And, don't you keep emphasizing that oil prices will rise?"

"I do think oil prices are going to keep rising. But now unconventional oil companies are not our target. After a pause, Guo Shouyun stretched out his hand and pointed to the side, "Look!"

"What?"

The CEOs of ExxonMobil, Chevron, Texaco, BP, and Shell are all here today, and do you think they're just here for Mr. Bush's birthday?"

"You mean 'Iraqi oil'?!" David Rubinstein is also a smart man.

"Of course, although the war in Iraq is not over yet, this does not prevent the cake from being divided. ”

"Which oil field do you have your eye on?" Rubinstein asked, then.

"Majinu!"

"Majinu?!"

Looking at his surprised look, "What, do you think it's impossible?"

After calming down, "Of course not, but are you sure?"

"Not before, but now Unocal not only includes your Carlyle Group, but also prominent families including Bush and Morgan. With their support, I wouldn't dare to say that they can surpass ExxonMobil and Shell in terms of energy and connections, but at least they can keep us on a level. ”

David Rubinstein pondered for a moment, "Still, if you want to annex the Majinu oil field yourself, I'm afraid it's not that easy. ”

"Let's try it first, if it really doesn't work, I'll go and join forces with ConocoPhillips! Join the forces of the two companies, plus there are more reserves of Rumaila and Sirguna oil fields for ExxonMobil and British Petroleum to choose, and I think about it, I can grasp it a lot!"

After nodding his head clearly, David Rubinstein pondered for a moment, "Actually, you can try the East Baghdad oil field, although its reserves are not as large as Rumaila, Sirguna and Maginu, but the proven reserves are also 8 billion barrels, and Unocal has a good chance of taking it by himself." ”

Although the East Baghdad oil field is large, it is a collection of several small and medium-sized fields, and the investment cost is much higher than that of the large fields such as Rumaila and Sirguna, so although the 8 billion barrels of proven reserves are tempting, there is a real possibility that the Unocal family will take them.

However, the reason why Guo Shouyun is obsessed with the Majinu Oilfield, and nothing else, is because before he crossed, with the progress of oil exploration technology, the scale of the Majinu Oilfield has been discovered in a new step. It has directly doubled from the current scale of 12.6 billion barrels to an astonishing 230~25 billion barrels! Moreover, they are all high-quality oils with low extraction costs and high light hydrocarbons, and according to the oil production rate of 40~50% of the Middle East oilfields, even if half of the rights and interests of the Majinu oilfield are acquired, Unocal's oil and gas reserves can be directly doubled.

Moreover, it produces benefits that are several times greater than those of unconventional oil. How could Guo Shouyun refuse such a temptation! Of course, such a thing is not enough for outsiders!

"Although East Baghdad is good, I still prefer to try the Majinu oil field!" Guo Shouyun said.

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