"Seeing the US military pull out, these bastards are trying to take over my oil fields?" Arthur was clearly unhappy when he heard that part of his oil field in Somalia had been taken over.
Last year, the US military was backstabbed by the Somali warlord Mohamad Aidid, and caused the "Black Hawk Down" incident in the capital, Mogadishu.
"Our oil field is near the coastal city of Bosaso in the northern Gulf of Aden, not in the southern part of Mogadishu," Arthur knew that Somalia was now in chaos, under anarchy.
However, the largest warlord, Mohamad Aidid, controlled the capital, Mogadishu, and large areas of the south!
Carl Anderson frowned. "It was a small warlord in northern Somalia. Our local leader, Karabi, failed!"
Bosaso is located in northeastern Somalia, along the Gulf of Aden.
Arthur rubbed his forehead. "Send some weapons to support them. Tell Karabi to take back the nearby port city of Gandala for me. That area also has oil. If Karabi can't handle it, we'll replace him and have our people assist in clearing the area."
Carl Anderson's mouth twitched. "Isn't that a bit over the top?"
"Over the top? Right now, Somalia is full of warlords. Next year, all the peacekeeping forces will pull out. Who do you think is behind these warlords? It's those European folks," Arthur looked at Carl Anderson. "Do you think the US will just ignore Somalia after pulling out? How long do you think Mohamad Aidid will last? The CIA is already planning a decapitation strike. After embarrassing the US, you think he'll survive?"
Carl Anderson nodded. "Seraphim will arrange for ammunition to be sent to Karabi from Yemen. Yemen just experienced a civil war this year and is now stable. We have a large warehouse in Mukalla port."
"Alright, once Karabi takes back Gandala, let Occidental Petroleum start looking for oil fields there," Arthur had invested millions of dollars in northern Somalia's oil fields without seeing any return yet, and he couldn't accept that.
...
As Christmas approached, a Wall Street private equity fund that had just invested in the Irvine Company had approached Arthur, hoping to buy 20% of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Group for $175 million in cash.
"The construction of the Galaxy Center Arena downtown still needs funding," Arthur thought it over. "Agree to Blackstone's offer. Use the funds to build the new arena. There's still a shortfall of a few million dollars. Have Galaxy invest in naming rights to cover it!"
Arthur had already invested more than $100 million. But with this new sum from Blackstone, plus additional funds from Galaxy, the construction schedule for the new arena would not be affected.
Emily Shead nodded. "I'll inform Mr. Horst Schulze."
The Big Four in PE were Blackstone, KKR, Carlyle, and TPG!
...
In the evening, Little Women held its premiere at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. As a well-loved novel adaptation featuring stars such as Winona Ryder and Drew Barrymore, it attracted a lot of journalists. Galaxy MGM President Amy Pascal also attended the premiere.
At the same time, at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel on Olive Street in downtown Los Angeles, Arthur was chatting with Franklin Templeton Fund's chairman, Charles Johnson, about the oil and gas fields in Africa. Franklin Templeton Fund is a global asset management group based in San Mateo, Bay Area.
"Right now, there's fighting all over Africa, and in Somalia, the US military has already withdrawn. Next year, other countries' peacekeeping forces will also pull out," Charles Johnson laughed. "Or, are you eyeing the oil in the Ogaden region of Ethiopia, bordering Somalia?"
In the late '70s, European oil companies were rumored to have discovered rich oil reserves in Ethiopia's Ogaden region, leading to a land conflict between Ethiopia and Somalia.
Arthur remained expressionless. "I'm a businessman. Why would I invade another country's land? It's just that if Ogaden is willing to sell me some exploration rights, I'd be interested in accepting. But right now, I'm focused on the Bosaso and Gandala areas on the Gulf of Aden coast in Somalia. Whether there's oil in Ogaden, I don't know. What I do know is that Bosaso and Gandala in Somalia have abundant oil and gas resources. All my oil, my natural gas!"
Charles Johnson knew Washington had sold it to Arthur at a low price. "Arthur, do you want to increase extraction?"
Arthur shook his head. "Extracting more or not doesn't matter now; oil prices are cheap. I want Occidental Petroleum to quickly survey the area for oil deposits."
The oil and gas in the Ogaden region had Ethiopia and Somalia at each other's throats, but no oil had been extracted there yet.
Charles Johnson was stunned. "Arthur, I heard there was a conflict on your side. One of your oil fields was taken by another warlord!"
Arthur stretched. "Don't worry, it'll be dealt with shortly. Then, Bosaso and Gandala will all be mine. Afterwards, we'll improve the ports to make oil transport easier."
Charles Johnson nodded. "No problem, you're also a shareholder and director of Occidental Petroleum. We have investments in Algeria and Libya in North Africa. Expanding into East Africa is only natural."
Libya and the North Sea oil fields had been major crude oil sources for Occidental Petroleum, but it was not enough.
"If you can't grab oil fields at home, maybe you should think about Mexico or Central America," Arthur suggested. "Mexico is currently in a financial crisis, and the economy won't recover quickly. Seize the oil fields while the oil prices are low!"
Charles Johnson shrugged. "All that needs the board's discussion. Right now, Occidental Petroleum is focusing on sulfur, phosphoric acid, and ethylene cracking products."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "But isn't oil an important raw material too? Balancing crude oil business and chemical products is the way to go!"
But with giants like Exxon, Chevron, and Mobil around, plus competitors like Continental Oil and Marathon Oil, not to mention international players like Shell, BP, and TotalEnergies, it wasn't easy.
"Alright, I'll focus on getting the exploration rights first," Arthur didn't necessarily have to collaborate with Occidental Petroleum, but they were all from California.
*****
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