Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 535: Huge Prepayment_1

Chapter 535: Chapter 535: Huge Prepayment_1

The so-called "sincerity" of Khodorkovsky, of course, refers to the size of the contract.

He does not believe that Japan can come up with a proposal that exceeds the Sino-Russian oil and gas cooperation agreement!

Joking, Wang Ye has just signed a contract totaling more than $300 billion US Dollars, even if Japan is rich, would they be willing to put out that much money?

Khodorkovsky expressed his doubt.

Wang Ye just smiled and did not say anything.

Because he was not yet clear about what kind of scheme Japan is planning or what kind of cooperation proposal they are planning to put out.

The meal was over, and the deal was set.

Khodorkovsky officially authorized Wang Ye on behalf of the board of directors to take charge of the pipeline laying issues.

Give people if people are needed, give money if money is needed!

Just get the job done, after all, this matter is of utmost importance to the future of the Yukos Group!

.........

The next day, which is May 10.

As soon as Wang Ye arrived at the Duma Building office in the morning, he dialed Gavriil’s number.

He did not beat around the bush and straightforwardly asked: "Uncle Gavriil, I want to ask, has Xiao Quan’s visit here to discuss the oil and gas cooperation agreement?"

Technically, he should not pry into affairs that have not been announced yet.

But given the relationship between Wang Ye and Gavriil, they can’t drop the ball at this crucial moment.

After all, isn’t this where contacts come in handy!

On the other side of the phone, Gavriil hesitated for a moment and then told Wang Ye frankly:

"Hmm, indeed they have discussed.

I participated in the talks yesterday, and it’s not appropriate to tell you the details at this moment.

What I can tell you is that they want to participate in your cooperation plan with China and form a trilateral cooperation!

Of course, it’s no longer about who builds the pipeline, but about re-planning the route!"

Though Wang Ye was well-prepared, he still frowned.

Trilateral cooperation?

This wasn’t quite what he had originally anticipated!

He had originally imagined that Japan was here to disrupt the China-Russia cooperation and turn it into a Japan-Russia cooperation.

However, what they proposed was trilateral cooperation between China, Japan and Russia!

He asked: "So did they show any sincerity? And, what’s the Kremlin’s stance?"

These two questions were hard to answer.

Gavriil hesitated for a long time, considering whether to refuse to answer these questions...

But in the end, he still told Wang Ye: "Their sincerity is, they can put out a huge amount of money in advance as the construction cost of the pipeline. Mr. Puding’s opinion is to welcome all sincere cooperation plans, but the concrete issues still need you guys to negotiate in detail."

Wang Ye had asked two questions just now, and for the first, Gavriil had given a clear answer.

That is, the sincerity Japan showed is upfront cash!

This does indeed show some sincerity, because just the construction of the pipeline is worth nearly $100 billion...

Even for the Yukos Group and the Russian Gas Industry, that’s a tremendous amount of pressure!

Now that Japan has actively proposed to pay in advance, so that the Yukos Group and the Russian Gas Industry don’t have to pay, then of course, it’s a good thing.

But, things are never that simple.

Since they have spent the money, they must have some demands.

As for what the demand is, Gavriil mentioned it just now, that they want to change the pipeline route and build it according to the proposal put forth by Japan!

As for Wang Ye’s second question, which is what the Kremlin’s attitude is, Gavriil’s answer was rather vague.

It seemed as if he had not said anything!

However, it could be that Mr. Puding really didn’t have a clear stance. Of course, he would support sincere cooperation, but it wasn’t made clear who decides what sincerity is.

"Over $100 billion? That’s quite a generous offer..." Wang Ye casually commented.

"Hehe, it’s even more! It’s $225 billion to be exact, for the cost of constructing the pipeline. Because the pipeline project they proposed, is about twice as long as what you guys proposed! Naturally, the cost is going to skyrocket." Gavriil replied, laughing.

Over 200 billion?

This figure really gave Wang Ye a shock!

It wasn’t about the amount being so large, it’s about what this amount signifies!

What exactly is the pipeline route proposed by Japan, that it needs so much money!

Originally, going straight from Siberia to the Northeast was already a long distance, now it’s extending about twice the length?!

Is it that far from Siberia to the Far East Port Nahodka?

It doesn’t seem that far on the map, or is his memory flawed?

Wang Ye, after all, is not a professional. He only knew roughly, but didn’t understand how the route was planned, or what the budget would be...

"Are they serious? No, that’s not right, they haven’t even talked to Yukos or Russian Gas Industry yet, and they don’t know how much oil and natural gas they are planning to purchase. They are suddenly putting out so much money to build a pipe?" Wang Ye asked in surprise.

He always felt something was wrong about this. It felt strange.

"Well, they didn’t say how much crude oil and natural gas they wanted to buy. Also, this prepayment is not given directly, it’s more like a loan, which can be deducted from the payment for the crude oil and natural gas in the future." Gavriil, who was not too clear about the inside story, gave a vague answer.

Wang Ye’s eyebrows furrowed even more.

However, he couldn’t get much more information from Gavriil, so he thanked him and hung up the phone.

.........

Sitting in his office thinking for a while, Wang Ye dialed Aleksey’s number again.

"Brother Aleksey, what are you busy with? Have you heard about the trilateral oil and gas cooperation proposal Xiao Quan put forward yesterday?" Wang Ye casually started the conversation.

He is quite familiar with Aleksey now and talks freely with him.

Obviously, Aleksey was not as well-informed as him. Upon hearing Wang Ye’s question, Aleksey paused before answering.

"Ah? No, I didn’t receive any notification. What trilateral cooperation plan, and who are the three parties?"

Wang Ye then briefly repeated for him the information he got from Gavriil.

After listening, Aleksey was also dumbfounded.

It took him a long while before he said: "I can roughly guess the new route they proposed! It must end at the Far East Port Nahodka, and it’s still uncertain where it starts from in the oil field, it might even be a bit to the West. Otherwise, so much money wouldn’t be needed for the construction of the pipeline!"

With Aleksey, a professional, giving his analysis, Wang Ye was certain that the endpoint of the pipeline was indeed the "Far East Port Nahodka" that he remembered.

After all, that is the closest location to Japan, and it doesn’t matter where the starting point is.

However, this matter bypassed the Yukos Group and the Russian Gas Industry, which made both of them a bit unhappy.

Wang Ye and Aleksey discussed for a while and decided to split up and continue investigating.

After figuring out Japan’s real intention, they would then consider their next move....