Auburn Channel Petroleum

[Prydania]

​

Auburn Channel Petroleum (Prydansk: Auburnrás Jarðolía, Norsi: Auburn Kanál Ropa, Saintongeaise: Pétroles du canal auburn) is a multi-national company that jointly owned three ways by the governments of the Kingdom of Prydania, Empire of Norsia, and Kingdom of Saintonge.

Auburn Channel Petroleum's origins lay in the discovery of oil reserves between the Prydanian mainland and island of Stormurholmr. Prydania was long thought to be devoid of oil. This deposit, however, lay within Prydanian territorial waters. The discovery occured in the midst of the Civil War, in late 2011. Syndicalist plans to tap the deposit were not actionable due to anti-Syndicalist activity on and around Stormurholmr, Austurland, and the instability of the Syndicalist Republic of Prydania's puppet state in Korova.

The Winter Offensive in early 2013 saw Stormurholmr and Austurland cleared of Syndicalist forces. Victory in Hadden in late 2015 saw the FRE seize the entirety of the Prydanian mainland's Auburn Coast. Tapping the oil was a low priority, however, as the FRE organized a governing structure for the liberated territories, printed money, and continued the war effort.

The FRE's victory in the summer of 2017 finally brought the issue of the oil deposits to the forefront. It also highlighted the government's unwillingness to invest in the infrastructure needed to tap and extract it. Prydania had long been a breadbasket economy and the new government focused its resources and foreign aid to rehabilitating rural farms and infrastructure along with urban centres.

"The oil is there," then-Prime Minister of Prydania William Aubyn said. "If we invested in the infrastructure to tap it, it may be there for five years. Maybe even ten or twenty. It's finite though. The soil though, our agriculture. That's lasted Prydania for centuries and will last Prydania for centuries longer."
It was a matter of algebra. Prydania's resources- both on hand and in the form of foreign aid- were not unlimited. Rebuilding what was lost was seen as a more pressing priority.

It was the Norsians who broached the topic of a partnership. Norsia would develop the infastructure and extract the oil. A portion of the workforce would be Prydanian, and Prydania would get a share of the profits. It was a more long-term, co-equal plan than other would-be suitors who suggested paying a one time rights fee for the deposits.
Prydania's network of foreign aid also included the Santonians, who had invested in a number of businesses in the country. Including planned collaboration for nuclear power plants. This foray into the energy sphere brought the Santonians into contact with their Norsian counterparts and the possibilities of Auburn Channel oil being extracted for alternative energy initiatives was brought up. Saintonge reached a deal with Norsia and Prydania, where they would shoulder some of the infrastructure costs to become co-equal partners with Norsia.

Auburn Channel Petroleum was created to be jointly owned by the three countries. Its board comprises of government officials from all three, though not evenly. Prydania's share of its own reserves is less than either Saintonge or Norisa's (both of whom have equal shares) as it is not paying into the cost of infrastructure and extraction. What it does get is a 25% cut from profits of its own oil in perpetuity (subject to potential increases through renegotiations down the line), which will easily surpass any one-time rights fee offered.

Auburn Channel Petroleum is but one new initiative among many looking to rebuild and reorient Craviter's economy as decades of political instability finally come to an end.

OOC Note: ACP made with @Zyvun and @Kyle