Chapter 474

Franz naturally didn't know what happened in Egypt. Such a small matter didn't require the emperor's personal attention.

Recently, other than the outlook for agriculture, Austria's economy was generally doing well.

If there were no accidents, it would return to its peak before the economic crisis by the end of the year.

Looking at the latest economic report, Franz breathed a sigh of relief. The Near East Development Plan was essentially built with money, and there was no return in the short term.

In order to raise funds, the Government of Vienna had issued 500 million DND construction bonds, and the interest expenses reached 1.86 million every month.

This was just the beginning. As the Near East Development Plan continued to advance, the government's debt would continue to increase in the following days.

Coupled with the previous debt, Franz was surprised to find that the total debt of the government would soon surpass that of Russia.

"How far has the development of the oil fields in Iraq progressed?"

There was no way around it. The only project in the Near East that could see a return in the short term was the oil field discovered in Iraq.

There were so many oil fields in the Middle East, and Franz didn't know which oil field it was in the future.

These were all small problems. Anyway, those who discovered it first would mine it first, and those who discovered it later would mine it later. The oil buried underground could not run away.

Prime Minister Carr replied, "The equipment has been installed, and the pipeline is currently being built. It is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

It is expected that after production, the oil in Iraq will be enough to meet domestic demand within a year.

In order to reduce costs, the Austrian oil company is considering closing some of the small oil fields in the country to reduce the cost of crude oil extraction. "

Without a doubt, looking at the construction period, it was obvious that the pipeline was not directly laid to Austria, but to the Mesopotamian Basin. Then, it would be transported by boat to the Persian Gulf, and then changed to a tanker to transport it back to Austria.

Although the Government of Vienna allowed individuals to extract oil, the large oil fields discovered by the government in Iraq were still the food of state-owned enterprises.

Since the beginning of the second industrial revolution, Austria's demand for oil had been increasing. Even during the economic crisis, it maintained a double-digit growth rate.

By 1884, Austria's oil consumption had reached an unprecedented 15.8645 million barrels per year.

This number was not worth mentioning in the future. It was almost the consumption of some large countries in a day, but in this era, it was a record.

Due to the impact of Austria's oil demand, the international oil price rose to an all-time high of 5.6 DND per barrel.

The price of crude oil actually exceeded the price of food. The high value made the originally inconspicuous oil become "black gold."

If that was the case, then oil was still a niche commodity. After all, Austria's oil consumption exceeded that of other countries combined.

The entire crude oil market was only slightly more than 100 million DND, and the total volume of international crude oil trade was only a pitiful 20 to 30 million DND, of which the Russians accounted for half.

The real reason for optimism was the growth rate of oil demand.

From 1884 to 1885, Austria's demand for oil increased by 23.3%, and the global demand for oil also increased by 15.4%. Such a terrifying speed was self-evident.

The growth of the market was caused by many factors. The first was the introduction of diesel generators. Although the cost of generating electricity was higher than coal, it was small, portable, and easy to operate.

Mankind had just entered the electricity era. Even Austria's electricity industry was the most, and Austria's had blackout.

Ordinary people could just bear with it for a while. After all, the gas lamps that had just been eliminated could still be used. Even if it was lost, it could be used to light candles.

But factories couldn't. They couldn't stop working just because there was a blackout.

Under such circumstances, diesel generators with independent power generation capabilities became a necessity for many factories.

Not only factories, but aristocrats and capitalists also had them in their homes. Franz was no exception. The Palace of Vienna couldn't guarantee a blackout.

The seemingly inconspicuous little machine had, in fact, become a huge gas guzzler, and its growth rate was very rapid.

Tractors followed closely behind. Since 1880, when the world's first tractor powered by internal combustion engines was introduced in Vienna, it had been unstoppable.

In the short span of five years, this new model of tractor had been upgraded twice, and its performance had been greatly improved.

With the advantages of being light and easy to operate, it quickly defeated the steam tractor and became popular in industry and agriculture.

So far, there were more than 150,000 tractors in Austria, 67% of which were powered by internal combustion engines.

This was only the beginning. With the development of the Near East, the demand for tractors also increased.

If it wasn't limited by production capacity, it was estimated that the number of tractors in Austria would have exceeded the 200,000 mark.

The manufacturers were expanding production, and in a year or two at most, Austria would exceed this number.

Not to mention the various engineering equipment, they were all gas guzzlers.

In comparison, family cars were child's play. After all, it was only the patent of a few rich people, and it hadn't been popularized in the country.

From the current situation, Franz's original prediction of doubling fuel consumption in five years was a bit too conservative.

After all, the oil industry had just started. Before the second industrial revolution, the main role of oil was mainly oil lamps.

The market was limited, and with gas lamps and candles competing for the market, the demand naturally didn't increase. With a small base, the growth rate was naturally fast.

Affected by this, there was also a small wave of oil search around the world.

But all of this would soon be over. As soon as Iraq's oil was developed, the international shortage of crude oil would be fundamentally improved.

As for other areas, Franz didn't plan to start for the time being. Once the outside world found out that the Middle East was full of oil, it would not only attract hatred, but it would also cause oil prices to fall.

From the start of the Near East Development Plan, Franz made up his mind to use the oil dividends to make up for the government's financial investment.

"The government must pay close attention to this work. Based on the current situation, the domestic crude oil consumption would double in the next four years.

The oil fields in Iraq will soon become an important source of income for the government. Relying on this oil field, it won't be a problem to support the interest of the Near East Development Plan. "

There was no problem, it was the interest of capital. To support the capital investment, it wasn't something that could be done in a short period of time.

No matter how high the profit of oil extraction was, the scale of the market directly locked the profit ceiling.

The growth rate seemed fast, but this growth rate couldn't be sustained. With the increase of the base amount, the growth rate would gradually decline.

Austria's oil demand could double in four years, but it would be difficult to double in eight years.

Moreover, this kind of financial dependence on resources wasn't what Franz wanted.

From the beginning, he made up his mind to limit the oil production. In the case of domestic demand, a small amount of exports was enough.

Alright, this was also a way to attack his competitors. Driving up the international oil price, relying on high costs to delay the development of the British and French oil industry.