As soon as I entered the factory, I knew at once why ONGC had abandoned this place.
The plant piping was rusted in places.
Oil refineries operate at high temperatures and emit toxic gases, so stainless steel pipes must be used in major parts, but cheap steel pipes were used randomly.
If a cheap steel pipe was used in the plumbing near the distillation column (a tower that filters crude oil), the entire plant would have been blown away in a large explosion.
When ONGC realized that the construction of this factory was messedup a big time and can’t not be used, they built and moved to a new factory to preserve their lives.
“But, Mr. Rohit . Do those guys factories make refineries out of steel pipes like this?”
CEO Raj asked with a puzzled expression.
Even the small-sized rayon processing plant uses stainless steel piping.
“It can’t be. Someone changed the stainless tubing on site.”
“Yeah, swapping?”
I don’t know who it is, but I stole the material.
It would have been possible in the 1950s, when supervision was full of all sorts of corruption.
“A factory like this is likely to have been government-level construction, so it means that the construction company would have worked with public officials to exchange materials. And it’s established during 1930s you can understand what time was that”
Well it’s not absurd to see the scene of corruption in government-level construction in the 1950s,
Government-level construction is literally a construction project ordered by a public institution, and construction materials are provided by the state.
Well even in the 21st century corruption is happening and it’s now late 1940s, it’s pretty common now I think.
Well there is a legend in Dalal Street, construction companies were so messed up that how much material they stole from government-level construction was considered as technological competitiveness.
Yes it’s an achievement, do you understand the level of construction.
It was said that it was a daily routine to steal rebar and pipes because the building was supposed to just stand.
And that’s why many construction sites are announced hazards just after 10 years.
“What kind of people are they to tolerate such poor construction? Otherwise, the entire area will become a sea of fire.”
“That’s why I said it would be a government-level project.
The design was proposed by Burmha, and the construction of the plant would have been undertaken by a domestic Managing Agency company.
Domestic contractors and British officials were joking around saying “what a fool.”
Perhaps, when Burmha was first brought to British India, the British India government offered a factory site and factory construction as a preferential treatment.
And that’s how this mess happened.
Well, because of this reason, many countries separated construction, design services, and supervision through the 1960s and 1970s.
Of course, that didn’t mean that the poor construction disappeared.
Because when it comes to money, poisonous mushrooms grow everywhere.
“Ugh, to hide that it’s a steel pipe, it’s wrapped in insulation. Like stainless piping, to cheat.”
“Iknow, right. It’s a bigger problem than welding pipes made of different materials. If left unattended, corrosion will get out of hand. We have to rip out all the steel pipes as soon as possible.”
puck.
puck!
blank.
blank.
I grabbed a metal pipe lying on the ground and tapped on the plumbing.
The steel pipe was rusted enough to pierce a hole, but the stainless steel pipe was still worth fixing because it produced a clear sound.
Above all, the distillation column looked quite intact.
It seems that even a thief could not steal the materials of the distillation tower.
“… ripping it off? President Rohit, are you thinking of fixing this place?”
“What can you not do? Think about it, think of a processing plant,polymerizing nylon or polyester with a plant of this scale. Hundreds of tons or even thousands of tons per year is no problem. And there is a high plot of land it’s very close to harbour, logistics cost will be lowered there is many good points in this site we can also established a fertilizer plant here is not it good?”
The plant is a medium and grandiose industry.
Whatever the product, 10,000 tons must be produced annually to secure international price competitiveness.
Since it was in the 1950s, I shortened it to thousands of tons.
“Ugh! Even fertilizers? Thousands of tons?”
“Imagine. Rayon is also doing well, so how about making fertilizers? A snowball gets bigger the more you roll it.”
At my words, CEO Raj’s eyes widened.
Even in his eyes, it seems that the plant here is spitting out silver thread.
“Ah… ah… that… that’s true, but isn’t this the oil mill? In order to make fertilizers we need raw materials, the process fully needs to be clean above all else, so how can we use this oily piping?”
That was an accurate point.
This is why it is difficult to recycle oil refineries.
But, what era is it now?
Isn’t it India in the 1950s with an overflowing labor force?
It is an era where extreme labor is possible to tear everything apart, grind it with a sandblaster, wash it with soap, and wipe it clean with a rag.
“We can make a sandblaster.”
“A sandblaster?”
“It’s a sandblaster. Attach a nozzle to the air compressor to spray the sand. Oil residue can be scraped off in an instant.”
I drew a picture on the ground.
“This idea.”
President Raj understood as soon as he saw the painting.
Building a sand blaster is simple enough, but it’s a powerful machine that can even strip ship paint.
Hardened oil residues fly away at once.
“Chief Raj, please share some work with me. I’m going to see the branch manager of ONGC, and so ask the ironworks if not then directly contact TISCO or IISCO distributors around here to make some sandblasters. Please hire a welding technician as well.” New chapters come out on g.com first.
“You want to recruit welding technicians?”
“Absolutely. I will give you at least 200 per day, so please collect as much as possible from veterans.”
“You really do not hold back in your work.”
All of this is possible as long as there is sufficient funding.
Because $90,000 was deposited in Cairo, and Alfred asked me to pay back $100,000 later.
In addition, additional orders from Cairo are flooding in, so there is no problem.
“I have to remove the horns as well.”
This government is attracting investment from everywhere, surely the investment money will flow like a flood into the Heavy Industry.
At that time, this abandoned factory will also attract attention, so I have to preoccupy it first.
“You’re thinking of taking over this big factory, that’s a big deal.”
President Raj made a somewhat concerned expression.
“Are you worried that I will fail? Don’t worry. ONGC will grab me by the crotch of my trousers and ask me to take it to this factory.”
I had already thought of a weapon to seduce ONGC.
In the meantime, I just saw this abandoned factory.
After all, you have to do a site visit before starting anything.
In business, information is vital.
“… um… is that really going to happen?”
“Leave it. Come on, let’s hurry up. Come on.”
“Yes, boss.”
President Raj and I immediately broke up.
Raj headed to the ironworks alley, and I drove to the outskirts of the complex.
There is always an aggregate store on the outskirts of an industrial complex that is expanding like this, and the items I want to seduce ONGC are also handled at the aggregate store.
‘Will the aggregate dealer handle the material here?’
It was a good opportunity to try my luck.
**
「Haldia Aggregate」
“It was easy to find.”
Driving out of the factory, I was able to quickly find an aggregate store.
“Boss, are you there?”
I went straight to the office without hesitation.
“welcome. What are you looking for?”
“Is there activated clay here?”
“Activated clay?”
“It’s Bentonite.”
“ah!! Are you Bento? There is.”
Bentonite should be called activated clay if it is purified, but it is almost called bento or multani mitti in the field.
Bentonite has so many uses, it’s used as an additive in cement and paint, pottery, industrial waste water coagulant, soil improver, wool bleach, and even cat litter in the 21st century.
Generally, it is a material used as special sand, but it is also a material that has made a mark in the history of the oil refining industry.
In the late 1960s, it was discovered that mixing Bento into crude oil and refining it increased the efficiency of gasoline and diesel extraction by more than 10%.
Bento was a catalyst to increase purification efficiency.
Of course, after that, it is replaced by silica alumina with better efficiency, and in the 21st century, it is completely replaced by a rare earth material called zeolite that shows extreme efficiency.
In the 21st century, this is why bento is only recognized as cat litter.
That means that if I bait ONGC with Bento, it’s unlikely to cause a negative butterfly effect in my future.
.
Besides, if I apply for a patent for zeolite, I wonder if Indian or oil refining technology will compete for the lead with the US, not the world’s top 4 or 3 in the 21st century.
“How many?”
“There are about 10 tons.”
“10 tons…”
10 tons?
“Recently, pottery companies that used Bento have gone bankrupt. Tsk-tsk, who uses pottery these days! In the yard where everyone changes to… well…”
The 50’s are the 50’s.
This means that stainless steel bowls are perceived as more luxurious than porcelain bowls.
Anyway, it seems my luck is going to pierce the sky.
That’s why Bento remains like this.
“What is the price of bento these days?”
“It’s 0.2 per kilo.”
“Then, let’s pay ₹0.12 a kilo.”
“What kind of…”
“I buy all 10 tons. Can I give you that much ? I’ll give you 800 as a down payment.”
I counted out the bills and handed them over.
At times like this, I thought it would be nice to have a 50 bill at least.
“I’ll give you the remaining 400 by bill, so cover the bento with a tarp. You can verify the authenticity of the bill by calling Nayara Corporation directly or by going to the bank if that is not reliable.”
I handed my business card to the aggregate dealer.
“Uh… where can I deliver it?”
“Don’t worry, I will carry it when you need it.”
I ordered delivery for no reason, and the information that I was buying Bento could spread.
There was nothing wrong with being careful.
“Can I take one bag in advance?”
“As much as you like. You gave me a down payment of 800 .”
When I bought all of the bento, the president of the aggregate store politely bent his waist at 90 degrees.
“If there are more bentos that cost 0.12 per kilo, I buy more. If it’s more expensive than 0.12 I don’t need it.”
“Hey, do you need more bento? Then I’ll look into it.”
“Then please do your best.”
The aggregate dealer seemed to think of me as a guy who tried to corner Bento, so I felt like he was even slightly mocking me.
Yes, Bento was a useless material at this time.
Please keep thinking like that.
“I need sulfuric acid to turn Bento into a catalyst, so where do I go?”
I sat in the car and thought for a while.
To make bento a catalyst, water and sulfuric acid had to be mixed and stirred.
That way, Bento grains, which are just special sand, have holes like basalt, so they have great reactivity with crude oil.
In the 21st century, sulfuric acid would be all you need to find a chemical specialty store, but…
“Aha! Plating plant!”
Isn’t that the 50’s?
As a representative polluting industry, it entered the realm of specialized companies in the 21st century, but now, if you search a little, you will easily find a plating factory.
I laughed at the thought of tempting ONGC with such a footstep.
I love 21st century technology!
***
ONGC haldia factory front gate.
“ONGC”
A company that uses the original ONGC’s logo as its logo.
As the only oil company in India after taking over all the foreign assets of other Companies, Only PSU and Company in Petroleum industry now.
Well in that timeline it’s somehow reduced its footprint.
But now It makes money, it is a company that can build and look at oil refineries, regardless of whether it is in Asia or the Middle East.
“Whoa, calm down. Rohit!!”
I took a deep breath at the main gate of ONGC.
It took some time to make a catalyst by pouring sulfuric acid on Bento, but it was enough time until the reception.
Before meeting the branch manager here, I had to organize my thoughts to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.
Business should always be structured and planned.
Especially when it comes to getting investment or starting a joint project.
“ONGC…ONGC…how did it start?”
I groped from memory.
ONGC can be said to be the subject of love and hatred in the Indian oil refining industry.
As the first PSU in the oil Industry, he was a pioneer in arranging opportunities for many foreign companies to invest in India, but as much as that, he was a company that’s nationally important but can’t do its part independently as it’s under heavy regulatory even for its budget.
“Maybe ONGC can independently invest around this time, right? Otherwise this all of plan is waste”
Since the Indian government decided to partly convert its Sterling balance and attract investment, well It was officially called a commercial loan, but surely by 1954 it will have its large oil refinery capacity is not it.
“Since according to the reports the investment of 25 million dollars has already been decided by the government, the discretionary power of the head of this branch will be about 2.5 million dollars, is not it?.”
This is because the branch manager’s discretion is always about 1/10 of that of Delhi, and they have 10 branch offices now.
In the end, it is the conclusion that if we can get the closed plant and other rights within 2.5 million dollars, we can make a deal with the Bengal branch manager.
“considering the deal of Construction and the abandoned plant for $2.5 million… I think it’s crazy.”
It was ridiculous that a guy with about $200,000 in operating funds was trying to make a deal for $2.5 million.
I couldn’t give up though.
This kind of plant business is my field of specialization, and if I get the oil refinery construction business and even the abandoned plant, I will be able to fly high in the sky with both wings.
If you secure the construction right and this connection then spin all kinds of fertilizers and fibers, you will make money like crazy.
It was even a righteous thing, I can single handedly independent this country in Urea and Nitrogen based fertilizers production.
I have to do it, it’s my only chance to get a solid domestic connection and enter Civil Engineering and Chemical Business.
It was equivalent to expanding 10 times in 6 years.
It is an aid scam comparable to the IMF Runstar and WB IDA, so the more I tighten ONGC, the less the outflow of national wealth through foreign companies in chemical and fertilizer sector.
“let’s go!”
Let’s take a big bite!