‘It’s all about reserves, in actuality and on their balance sheets. If their reserves are high the share price rises, Conquer’s investors, such as Jacques Bleulance, are happy, and so are pension funds. Most funds worldwide have chunks of Conquer in their portfolios. Its executives feed themselves nice big bonuses. Oil companies like to present fat reserve figures. This indicates, on paper at least, they will always supply fuel for energy that the world is devouring at an alarming rate.’

‘So you think you’ll be a greater target if it can’t snare Shelf Energy?’

Haut gave a rueful look of agreement.

25 EXPOSE

25

EXPOSE

A month later, Cavalier had used contacts at Conquer’s oil company rivals to uncover a scandal. He emailed Haut and they had a phone conversation.

‘Any smoking gun?’ Haut asked.

‘Not in the way you want, but it’s something. Conquer has apparently sent big money to the state of North West Africa—NWA—as part of a three billion dollar deal to develop oil reserves there. The money should have gone into government coffers. It ended up in the oil minister’s secret bank account.’

‘Nice story! How did you uncover it?’

‘Not as hard as I thought it would be. I once investigated the activities of Russia’s Nafta Oil Company in the UK. It disappeared in about 1990, when Communism began collapsing. But from 1959 for thirty years it was used to spy on the entire US, UK and NATO defence systems in the UK and Europe. Nafta’s British and American opposition oil groups were happy to feed me information.’

‘I think I read about that in the Future Energy Global Intelligence Report.’

‘Those old contacts in the UK oil industry are proving more than useful now. So all that effort in the 1980s is paying off. I know where to go to collect insider detail on Conquer. As usual, opposition companies are only too willing to see their big rival exposed. The industry is reptilian in the way corporations attempt to devour each other.’

‘What will you do with the information?’

‘I’ll either use some mates in the UK media to make it public, or I’ll write it myself under a pseudonym.’

‘Use the mates. You don’t need Conquer coming after you, I can tell you.’

‘I hear you.’

‘What angle will you use?’

‘The article will imply that Conquer knew they were sending the money to the oil minister’s personal account.’

‘A very fat bribe.’

‘That will put Conquer on the back foot. Then someone has to lobby the Australian federal treasurer about Conquer not being allowed to take over big Australian oil fields, both actual and potential, like yours. The government will have two arguments. First, that a big foreign outfit should not be allowed to take control of Australia’s major energy operations and reserves. And second—’

‘That Conquer is unfit to take over Australian companies like Shelf Energy and my group?’