Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste-Chapter 796 - 25

"Have there been any new oil field discoveries in the Northern Territory these past few years?" Perfikot, having returned to the Lord's Manor, summoned officials from the relevant departments to inquire about this.

"Are you referring to oil? Although we've dispatched exploration teams over the years to find new oil fields, we've only discovered a few small ones. Large-scale oil lakes like those in Death Valley are rare." The officials didn't understand what Perfikot wanted to know and simply relayed the situation as they understood it.

Perfikot wasn't surprised by this; she nodded and continued to ask, "Is the demand for the oil industry in the Northern Territory strong now?"

"Overall, there's an upward trend, but the main growth is concentrated in lubricants and chemical fibers, while fuel demand has decreased." The officials reported the relevant information and specific numbers to Perfikot, causing her to furrow her brow.

Perfikot set aside her work, looking at the official, asking, "Why has the demand for fuel decreased? Given the current climate in the Northern Territory, this should be increasing."

"My Lord, it's primarily due to issues with fuel storage and transport, as well as the inconvenience in its use." The official hurriedly explained to Perfikot, particularly emphasizing, "The freezing point of fuel is very low, and most of the fuel freezes as temperatures drop. It has to be thawed with fire before use, which is quite inconvenient.

Additionally, fuel is highly volatile. A barrel of oil tends to reduce considerably if left at room temperature for a period, which is an unacceptable loss for the common people. After trying a few times, they no longer wish to purchase it.

Moreover, the volatility of fuel also poses substantial risks, with several severe fires occurring before being the main reason people are reluctant to use it."

Perfikot was aware of these issues as well; they indeed are significant factors affecting ordinary people's decisions.

In comparison, using coal is indeed safer and more convenient, and from an economic perspective, coal is also relatively cheaper. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Furthermore, coal stoves are relatively more accessible for most people, and the cost of an oil-burning stove is higher than that of a coal-burning one.

"My Lord, should we promote the use of fuel within the territory?" The official nervously sought instructions from Perfikot.

Perfikot's attention to the oil industry was well-known throughout the Northern Territory. Many had heard her mention more than once that oil would be the direction of human future development.

Therefore, when Perfikot expressed concern over the development of the oil industry and questioned the decline in fuel demand, the official naturally linked it to Perfikot's intention to support and promote the related industry.

This is not difficult to achieve for the Northern Territory, requiring only the issuance of some official documents and decrees and then providing fiscal subsidies for fuel use.

As for the expenses of fiscal subsidies, these are not significant expenditures, and fuel subsidies will boost the development of the oil industry, which is entirely in the hands of the Lord's Manor in the Northern Territory.

In other words, as long as the policy is implemented, the Lord's Manor will naturally profit. The subsidized amount would just increase the cost slightly in the expected returns.

However, Perfikot did not show interest in this; after a few more questions, she set the matter aside.

"The technology and timing are not yet mature." This was the only response given to the official.

Subsequently, Perfikot inquired about the development situation of various industries, including steel, coal, construction, and mechanical processing, and made specific policy decisions after understanding the difficulties and issues each industry faced.

These involved solving policy problems, providing relevant support and technological upgrades, and even directly having the Northern Territory government engage in commercial investment and new industry development.

This is immensely beneficial for the development of the Northern Territory.

According to the official's calculations, although the negative impacts and losses caused by the snowstorm severely hit the economy and industrial production of the Northern Territory, if this wave of development can be implemented effectively, these losses can be compensated for.

If these policies and technologies are effectively implemented, the overall industrial strength of the Northern Territory could increase by at least 20%.

Moreover, in Perfikot's words, there seemed to be hints of another plan, one that appeared to encompass almost all industrial sectors of the Northern Territory.

The official dared not speculate what this plan might be, but he was full of anticipation.

After all, this was a grand plan for which even Perfikot was doing so much preparation. Even guessing with their eyes closed, one could predict how astonishing this plan would be.

With this understanding, the official found himself working with much more vigor.

Perfikot was pleased with this outcome; the more invested and diligent her officials were in this matter, the more confidence and foundation she would have when implementing this plan later, easing the implementation of her grand plan.

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"If the whole plan is to be implemented smoothly, the industrial strength of the Northern Territory is still somewhat lacking; even if the policies are implemented, it will only suffice for the preliminary preparatory work…" After the official left, Perfikot summarized the situations again, the results still failing to satisfy her.

She looked at the industrial strength statistics of the Northern Territory in front of her, sighing helplessly.

Although she had been strongly developing the Northern Territory, and the migration of the Imperial Center had brought substantial gains to the Northern Territory, she could never ignore the fact that the construction time in the Northern Territory had only been five years so far.

In five years, she had developed the Northern Territory to its current scale, giving Perfikot every right to be proud, but she wasn't satisfied with this.

She wasn't dissatisfied with her achievements or the development of the Northern Territory.

What she was dissatisfied with was this era and this environment; if it were a peaceful period without apocalyptic disasters, she could have achieved even more brilliant accomplishments in five years.

If this era wasn't set in the first industrial revolution, but in the second industrial revolution, what she wanted to accomplish would have been done much more easily.

Of course, in a peaceful time, she might not have achieved the status she has today.

The interplay of opportunities and circumstances is indeed difficult to articulate.

However, Perfikot is not one to lament and blame externalities; after compiling all the data and analyzing the current situation, she only considers how to adjust her plans to achieve what she wants to do with existing conditions.

As for not accomplishing something and blaming insufficient conditions, Perfikot would never do such a thing.