Journal articles: 'Sunlaw Energy Partners (Firm)' – Grafiati (2024)

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This study develops multi-dimensional partner reconfiguration strategies and addresses how they affect firm performance in a series of alliance portfolios by applying the dynamic sustainable perspective. Using data collected from 565 fund product alliance portfolios initiated by 61 Chinese fund firms during a five-year period from 2007 to 2011, the empirical results indicate that both dropping active partners and adding new ones will reduce firm performance. By contrast, reintroducing previous partners will increase firm performance. The average tie strength of the last alliance portfolio moderates the influences of partner reconfigurations on firm performance. Specifically, it negatively moderates the effect of dropping active partners and positively moderates the effect of adding new partners. However, its moderating effect on the influence of reintroducing previous partners is insignificant. These findings have positive theoretical and practical significance for firms pursuing sustainable development by clarifying when and how partner reconfiguration strategies influence firm performance.

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Background: Strategic alliance is a popular strategic option for business entities to strengthen the competitive advantages of all partners in a partnership. The global logistics industry has witnessed the formulation of several successful strategic alliances. However, the Vietnamese logistics industry seems to grow slowly and lacks long-term inter-firm partnerships. In such a context, it is critical to have a more effective approach to selecting partners in strategic alliances to increase long-term relationships and firm performance. Method: Thus, this study proposes using the SBM-I-C DEA model to examine and suggest partners for Vietnamese logistics firms to form strategic alliances. Results: Our findings show that integrating technology in managing strategic alliances will foster companies in the alliance to formulate a better strategy with up-to-date information on policies. Conclusion: Using the SBM-I-C DEA model, companies can minimize operating costs and optimize delivery time. Thus, companies can better satisfy customers. From the research findings, some implications are proposed for Vietnamese logistics companies.

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The adoption of automatic warehousing systems, a type of green technology, has been an emerging trend in the logistics industry. In this study, we develop a conceptual model using a technology–organization–environment framework to investigate the factors which influence logistics firms to adopt green technology. Our model proposes that the adoption of green technology is influenced by perceived advantage, cost, technological turbulence, business partner influence, firm size, firm scope and operational performance. The objective of this study is to identify the conditions, as well as the contributing factors, for the adoption of automatic warehousing systems in logistics firms. Data were collected from 98 firms in China, and structural equation modeling with partial least squares is adopted to analyze the data. The results suggest that high perceived relative advantage, firm size, cost, firm scope, operation performance, technological turbulence and influence of business partners are important factors affecting IT adoption in small businesses. Therefore, decision support should be provided for enterprises from the three aspects of technology, organization and environment to improve the adoption of automatic warehousing systems.

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Under mandatory rotation, the switching cost may be the most influential factor to be considered for experienced mandatory audit rotations. This study attempts to explore the impacts of the mandatory rotation mechanism on company information disclosure and signaling strategies by examining the audit partner and audit firm switching activities of the mandatory rotation company. Are companies that experience mandatory audit rotation more likely to engage industry specialist auditors with better industry-specific knowledge and reputations to minimize the costs of mandatory rotations? Furthermore, in the case of being required to rotate audit partners, do companies rotate only audit partners, rather than changing both audit partners and audit firms at the same time, to minimize switching costs? To explore these problems, this study examined auditor rotations of listed companies in Taiwan from 2004 to 2016; and expected that, to minimize switching costs, mandatory rotation companies are more likely to select industry specialist auditors to be their successor auditors, and are less likely to rotate audit partners and audit firms at the same time. For the audit partner rotations, we find that, compared to voluntarily rotated companies, a higher percentage of companies choose industry specialist auditors to be their successor audit partners under mandatory rotation. Furthermore, the empirical results support our expectations that companies that experience mandatory audit partner rotation are significantly more likely to engage industry specialists to be their successor audit partners and are more likely to rotate only audit partners rather than rotating both audit partners and audit firms around mandatory audit rotation periods.

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Prior research has mainly emphasized the strategic importance of a collaborative green innovation (CGI) between the manufacturer and supplier in a supply chain, leading to an overlook at the decision-making mechanism and determinants of CGI. Guided by the transaction cost economics and social exchange theory, our study constructs a mathematical game model to incorporate the key dimensions of an effective inter-firm collaboration for green innovation. Applying the Nash game bargaining principles, our evolutionary game model analysis provides an analytic system to understand the mechanisms of forming and operating a collaboration partnership between the manufacturer and supplier for green innovation. Based on various scenarios from the numerical simulation parameters for the involved influencing factors, our simulation has produced the Nash equilibrium solutions and identified the major determining factors for successfully forming and operating CGI. They are the trust level between the manufacturer and supplier as the CGI partners, value/profit sharing ratio between the partners, knowledge complementarity of the partners, and product type for the green innovation.

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This paper examines corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices among travel agents and tour operators within the Australia–China tourism supply chain. A sequential, exploratory mixed-methods approach was employed, combining key-informant interviews with a reduced form of discrete choice analysis—best-worst scaling. The findings highlight that while Australian and Chinese travel intermediaries differed significantly in terms of their preferences regarding the different CSR factors, they were unanimous in regard to their belief that commitment to CSR was critical to firm performance. The research also reports universal support for a partial-mediating relationship, suggesting that firm performance is enhanced by strong alignment in the CSR orientation of supply chain intermediaries. This finding reinforces the inter-dependent nature of tourism supply chains, emphasizing that firms and society can benefit from supply chain partners working more closely together.

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In today’s dynamic era, a firm must continuously innovate to adapt to the rapid changes in business environment. Information and Communication Technology firms do not always need to invest heavily in new capital expenditures to come out with new technology, products or services, but can consider adopting business model innovation, as a novel and efficient way, to gain competitive advantage. The dynamic nature of the Information and Communication Technology industry shortens the life cycles of services and products. Thus, in many cases heavy capital expenditures may not make financial return justifiable. Business model innovation, which initiates novel ways of performing activities, linking customers, suppliers and partners, and/or changing participants in the transactions, may become an alternate solution. Information and Communication Technology firms can maximize business model innovation to leapfrog ahead of competition as first mover in a of high growth opportunity zone. This study investigates the role of business model innovation in embracing changes in the dynamic business environment of the Information Communication Technology industry, leading to competitive sustainability and firm performance. Using Structural Equation Modeling, this study performs the Confirmatory Factor Analysis tests on the observed and latent variables of business model innovation and firm performance and examines the structural model defining the relationships between these two latent variables. The study concludes that business model innovation has positive and direct impact to firm performance, and attained its objectives of contributing a theory based on synthesis and empirical evidence to further understanding how business model innovation impacts firm performance.

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AbstractThe dynamic drivers of interfirm interactions across space have rarely been explored in the context of disaster recovery; therefore, the mechanism through which shocks propagate is unclear. This paper uses stochastic actor-oriented modeling to examine how trade networks among the 500 largest Japanese companies evolved during 2010 and 2011, i.e. before and after the Great East Japan Earthquake to identify sources of vulnerability in the system. In contrast to previous reports on broken supply chains, the network displayed only modest change even in the directly affected areas. Controlling for distance and for firm size, we find that when firms changed their partners, they preferred firms that were popular among other firms, that had partners in common with them and that also bought some products or services from them. These findings concur with a criticism that Japanese firms avoid external actors and exhibit inflexibility in reorganizing their networks in times of need, which contrasts with the non-cliquish network structures observed in high-performing economic sectors. The results also highlight the role of energy firms in disaster resilience. Unlike other large Japanese companies that cluster in major urban centers, energy firms are distributed across Japan. However, despite their peripheral physical locations, energy firms are centrally located in trade networks. Thus, while a disaster in any region may affect some energy firms and lead to large-scale temporary shocks, the entire network is unlikely to be disconnected by any region-specific disaster because of the spatial distribution of the topological network core formed by energy companies.

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The electric vehicle industry involves various technological cooperative innovations, meaning that electric vehicle companies must not only cooperate and innovate with similar enterprises in the same industry, but also collaborate with enterprises across the industry and research institutions (RIs). This paper empirically analyzed the structure and evolution characteristics of cooperative innovation networks, based on the patent application data in the field of electric vehicles from 2006 to 2021. It was found that the firm–firm intra-industry and inter-industry cooperative innovation networks, and firm–RI cooperative innovation networks have the characteristics of phased evolution in structure, and the network structure in the evolution process has similarities and differences. Furthermore, during the industrial formation period, inter-industry cooperative innovation focuses on the cooperation between the midstream and downstream industries of the industrial chain; but in the industrial growth period, inter-industry cooperative innovation has been widely extended to multiple industries in the upper, middle and lower reaches of the industrial chain. While the scale of intra-industry and industry–research institution cooperative innovation continues to expand with the development of the industry, the collaboration is concentrated in the five industries in the middle and downstream of the industrial chain. The research conclusion can provide a reference for different cooperative innovation partners of electric vehicles and other emerging industries to formulate differentiated policies.

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The involvement of firms in innovation cooperation with different partners has become a widespread phenomenon in the contemporary business landscape. Our paper provides a review of extant alliance, innovation, open innovation and inter-firm collaboration literature and organizes it based on a conceptual framework featuring three levels of analysis: (a) the dyadic level, (b) the network level, and (c) the location level. The article identifies roadmaps in each of these areas and also highlights existing gaps in the present understanding of innovation cooperation. Thereby, it outlines a research agenda by identifying key research questions and issues in the areas where further research is needed and encouraged.

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In today’s global marketplace, management teams spend a significant amount of effort on managing their organizations’ image. Stellar reputations help to secure financing, attract business partners, and entice customers. Across two studies, we examine the extent to which a firm’s financial and sustainability reputations are influenced by two distinct organizational activities: its status as a first mover in the field of sustainability and its chief executive officer’s actions. We accomplish this by utilizing a basic semiotics framework to analyze the process by which a firm’s reputation is created between the object (the firm), different signs (organizational activities), and an interpretant (the firm’s reputation). Among other reported findings, we confirm that a firm’s first mover status significantly impacts its financial reputation. In addition, the first mover status and the actions of its CEO both significantly impact the firm’s sustainability reputation. In examining sustainability reputation more closely, we confirm a strong and significant effect of the firm’s sustainability reputation on consumer attitudes toward the firm, which is mediated by the attitude toward the CEO and attitude toward the firm’s first mover status. Do consumers care what organizations do? The answer is yes.

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Environmental dimensions have been included in every area of life and every activity with the increasing environmental sensitivity and the concern to leave resources for future generations. This strategic path and strategic decisions gained an environmental dimension under the name of green supply chain management and green supplier selection, and attracted great attention in both academic and corporate life. New strategies such as green principles and related environmental performance are imperative and very important for companies, with increasing awareness of environmental issues and increasing concerns for future generations and our world. In order to address the growing environmental concerns of various stakeholders, companies have focused on external partners in the supply chain. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the effect of green supply chain practices on firm performance. To this end, a survey was conducted with the managers of 120 large-scale firms operating in Turkey in order to measure this effect. Explanatory and confirmatory factor analyses, correlation analysis and multiple regression estimators were used in the empirical analysis. Since all items of the Green Supply Chain Applications Scale and Firm Performance Scale had factor loads (>60), all items remained in the analysis. In DFA, item factor weight values with 3 sub-dimensions are in the range (0.73; 0.90). According to these results, the internal and external supply chain practices have a positive and significant effect on all the indicators of firm performance that are reduction of pollutants, reduction of green costs and firm competitiveness. Similarly, reduction of pollutants and reduction of green costs, two indicators of green performance, positively affect firm competitiveness.

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Blockchain technology developed as a technical platform for electronic money. It is now considered a next generation information technology tool for sustainable growth in supply chain (SC) management. However, its study is relatively rare in the literature on SC collaboration and sustainability management research, despite its advantages in sustaining connectivity and reliability among SC partners. This study investigates how the use of blockchain in SC activities can influence (increase or decrease) SC partnership efficiency and growth, thereby affecting SC performance outcomes. Specifically, this study empirically validates a measurement and structural equation model with 306 SC experts from various industries. The findings show that the blockchain technology characteristics (information transparency, information immutability, and smart contracts) have significant positive effects on partnership growth and marginal effects on partnership efficiency. Though partnership growth has a positive effect on firm performance, partnership efficiency shows a negative effect.

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Open innovation has been found to have many benefits and tangible results for those who partake in it. This study aims to showcase the importance of open innovation, and through a theoretical example present how an organization (university, research center, company, firm, etc.) can take action to implement open innovation guidelines. In this paper, firstly, a demonstration showing how open innovation can work with multiple partners is shown. Secondly, a model is presented that shows the steps an organization must follow to successfully implement open innovation. This model covers the introduction of an organization to open innovation from the initial interest to the implementation of the final product. Several success stories are also presented to demonstrate how these steps have been used by major organizations during several collaborations as well as the results produced from implementing open innovation.

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Abstract: A high-performance network is a necessary component of any company's IT infrastructure. All operations, including internal and external communication across different corporate sites, as well as communication with clients and partners, should operate smoothly to enable smooth business activities. Failures and malfunctions in operational procedures can easily result in lost time and money. In order to maintain track of the availability, performance, and bandwidth utilization in an IT network, network monitoring software that continuously monitors operations in the network, does analysis, and warns IT workers as soon as an error happens or critical values are surpassed is highly recommended. If the administrator is not on site, network monitoring allows him or her to intervene swiftly, even if he or she is not there. Of course, each firm has unique requirements for a network monitoring solution, and with so many tools and solutions on the market, careful selection of an appropriate solution is essential. This paper discusses the different alternatives that a network solution can provide provided the appropriate criteria are taken into account during the decision-making process. Keywords: Network, Network Monitoring Tools, IT infrastructure, Open Source

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There is still a lack of empirical evidence prevalent about innovation in knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS), and more particular, about determinants of innovations in small firms to sustain their future development. Studies in this area suggest that different determinants will affect different forms of innovation outputs of KIBS. This paper investigates the direction and the significance of these influences on propensity to innovate. The empirical evidence is based on quantitative and firm-level data gathered through an email questionnaire, which yielded 128 qualified responses from small KIBS in the Czech Republic. The analysis is based on binary logistic regression to identify the effects of determinants on the propensity to innovate. In addition to the consistent results produced by studies in this area, we found reverse relationships between innovation and selected determinants. Negatively evolving knowledge (especially lack of qualified employees) and market determinants (lack of information about the market), positively stimulated small KIBS towards the propensity to introduce organizational innovations (structural and human resources practices), followed by increasing intensity of competition positively related to introducing a new service to the firm (especially t-KIBS) and insufficient availability of business partners increasing the marketing efforts. It’s evident that some negatively evolving determinants perform as incentives or driving forces to specific types of innovations. The results of this study could also be useful for owners and managers in KIBS firms engaging in innovation activities and government support, or incentivize the propensity to innovate.

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Prior research of knowledge sharing between firms mainly focuses on enabling factors, such as benefits resulting from knowledge sharing, leading to an overlook at barriers. Guided by transaction cost economics and social exchange theory, our study constructed an evolutional game model to analyse the dynamic evolution process of the firm’s knowledge sharing behaviour in a setting of supply chain networks. Using a simulation in our game model, we firstly reveal how a long-term strategy for supply chain partners towards knowledge sharing is determined through reaching an equilibrium between enabling factors (revenue gained in various forms) and impeding factors (knowledge leakage) in a dynamic process. Secondly, our analysis demonstrates that the competition or rivalry side of the “co-opetition” relationship acts as the major barrier for knowledge sharing due to the sharer’s concern of knowledge leakage. Thirdly, our model has identified knowledge relevancy as the inherent property of knowledge and the firm’ ability of knowledge inference as two important factors influencing knowledge leakage.

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Purpose This paper aims to propose and test a research model that links social media usage with networking capabilities on the commercialization performance. Design/methodology/approach The target population of this study consisted of 530 managers and experts in knowledge-based firms in Science and Technology Parks of Isfahan (Iran), which were active in the electronics and electronic engineering, bio, renewable energy, nano and information and communication technologies. To determine the effects of the social media and networking capability on the commercialization performance in knowledge-based firms, this study collected the data through a questionnaire survey with knowledge-based firms and conducted statistical analysis. The unit of analysis is the entire firm. The random sampling method was applied in this study. This study mainly uses the validated existing scales of previous studies on Likert-type scales with response options ranging from 1 to 5. To increase the response rate and accuracy, the researchers in this study also conducted phone and e-mail survey. A total of 230 questionnaires were conducted to remove the questionnaires with inadequate or missing answers, and the final 220 cases were selected as valid samples. Findings First, this research confirmed that social media usage can positively improve commercialization performance. Second, this research confirmed the mediating role of the networking capability on the relationship between social media usage and commercialization performance. In fact, social media tools represent a potential vehicle to help firms create better relationships with partners and increase commercialization performance via these mechanisms. Originality/value This study contributes to the existing literature by integrating the domains of social media usage and business networks perspective. Social media has revolutionized the way firms interact with business partners. A salient characteristic of today’s business setting is that partners use social media to nurture and sustain their network relationships with others (Kim et al., 2016). Moreover, based on the dynamic capability theory and business networks perspective, the authors introduce the impression management capability as a networking capability dimension that has been neglected and mentioned only briefly.

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ASEAN communities seek such resources as technologies and products from other countries to develop solar energy for sustainable development. In response to that, major renewable-utilization advanced countries including China has introduced funds, technology, and products into ASEAN. Despite the fact that China SMEs have a strong willingness to enter ASEAN solar energy market and ASEAN has demanded to develop the solar energy industry, only a few of them have succeeded in operation in the long-run. Introducing renewable energy technology and products from one place to another or bringing them from laboratory into community is not just a process of capital equipment supply from one firm to another but also includes the transfer of skills and know-how for operating and maintaining technology hardware, and knowledge for understanding this technology so that further independent innovation is possible by recipient. The purpose of this research was to determine the dynamic elements for China SMEs entering into the solar energy market of middle-income ASEAN member states. This participatory research collects data from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data sources include a questionnaire for 408 respondents of whom background across government officials, research personnel and industry, and interviews for 24 of them. Secondary data include reports from the Asian Development Bank, ASEAN Centre for Energy and other related documents from ASEAN governments. Data collected from the questionnaire were firstly analyzed through quantitative way: the value of Mean, Standard Error of Mean, Median, Standard Deviation (Std.) and Variance of each element were calculated. Information collected from interviews were then analyzed through the qualitative way. The results showed that policy environment, level of industrial and economic development, people’s willingness to cooperate, correct policy interpretation, capacity building and the presence of a third-party intermediary agency are the determinants of Chinese SME's successful entry to ASEAN renewable energy market. The mature policy environment of the ASEAN, need of industrial upgrading and sound economic development would facilitate the development of renewable energy industry, meanwhile, the strong willingness to cooperate, correct policy interpretation on preferential policies, well capacity building of both cooperative sides and the presence of a third-party intermediary agency would promote the cooperation between Chinese SMEs and relevant partners of ASEAN and the sustainable operation of Chinese SMEs in ASEAN.

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There is a growing need for more systematic, robust, and comprehensive information on the value-add of climate services from both the demand and supply sides. There is a shortage of published value-add assessments that focus on the decision-making context, involve participatory or co-evaluation approaches, avoid over-simplification, and address both the quantitative (e.g., economic) and qualitative (e.g., social) values of climate services. The 12 case studies that formed the basis of the European Union-funded SECLI-FIRM project were co-designed by industrial and research partners in order to address these gaps while focusing on the use of tailored sub-seasonal and seasonal forecasts in the energy and water industries. For eight of these case studies, it was possible to apply quantitative economic valuation methods: econometric modelling was used in five case studies while three case studies used a cost/loss (relative economic value) analysis and avoided costs. The case studies illustrated the challenges in attempting to produce quantitative estimates of the economic value-add of these forecasts. At the same time, many of them highlighted how practical value for users—transcending the actual economic value—can be enhanced; for example, through the provision of climate services as an extension to their current use of weather forecasts and with the visualisation tailored towards the user.

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This research examines supply chain collaboration effects on organizational performance in global value chain (GVC) infrastructure by focusing on GVC disaggregation, market turbulence, inequality, market globalization, product diversity, exploitation, and technological breakthroughs. The research strives to develop a better understanding of global value chains through relational view, behavioral, and contingency theories along with institutional and stakeholder theories of supply chains. Based on conflicting insights from these theories, this research investigates how relationships and operational outcomes of collaboration fare when market turbulence is present. Data is obtained and analyzed from focal firms that are engaged in doing business in emerging markets (e.g., India), and headquartered in the United States. We investigate relational outcomes (e.g., trust, credibility, mutual respect, and relationship commitment) among supply chain partners, and found that these relational outcomes result in better operational outcomes (e.g., profitability, market share increase, revenue generation, etc.). From managerial standpoint, supply chain managers should focus on relational outcomes that can strengthen operational outcomes in GVCs resulting in stronger organizational performance. The research offers valuable insights for theory and practice of global value chains by focusing on the GVC disaggregation through the measurement of market turbulence, playing a key role in the success of collaborative buyer–supplier relationships (with a focus on US companies doing business in India) leading to an overall improved firm performance.

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There is still a lack of empirical evidence about smart service in general, and more particularly, in small and medium sized firms (SMEs). For SMEs, where the implementation of smart technologies is more demanding, the importance of cooperation with other business partners and innovation flexibility increases dramatically. The purpose of this article is to determine how the cooperation and innovation flexibility of SMEs affect the propensity to provide smart services in the electrical engineering industry. This paper also contributes a deeper insight into the intensity scale of collaboration within SME providers of smart services regarding the types of smart services offered. The empirical evidence is based on quantitative and firm-level data gathered through an email questionnaire which yielded 112 SME companies from the electrical engineering industry in the Czech Republic. The analysis is based on factor analysis, non-parametric tests, and binary logistic regression to identify the differences and effects of collaboration and innovation flexibility. The results of the factors affected confirmed external cooperation flexibility with customers and innovative flexibility in relation to the products as significant with inverse relationships between external collaboration with customers and the propensity to provide smart services. It is evident that weak ties in external customer cooperation flexibility operate as incentives or driving forces in the provision of smart services to establish closer relationships. The deeper research insights as well as the theoretical and practical implications are discussed at the end of the paper.

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Purpose The majority of the environmental impacts in a typical supply chain can arise beyond the focal firm boundaries. However, no standardised method to quantify these impacts at the supply chain level currently exists. The purpose of this paper is to identify the quantitative methods developed to measure the environmental performance of supply chains and evaluate their key features. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review is conducted at the intersection of performance measurement and green supply chain management (GSCM) fields, covering 78 publications in peer-reviewed academic journals. The literature is reviewed according to several perspectives, including the environmental aspects considered, the main purpose of measurement, model types and the extent of supply chain covered by performance measurements. Findings Adopted environmental metrics show a low degree of standardisation and focus on natural resources, energy and emissions to air. The visibility and traceability of environmental aspects are still limited; the assessment of environmental impacts does not span in most cases beyond the direct business partners of the focal firms. A trade-off was observed between the range of environmental aspects and the extent of the supply chain considered with no method suitable for a holistic evaluation of the environmental supply chain performance identified. Three major streams of research developing in the field are identified, based on different scope. Originality/value This paper is the first attempt to examine in detail what tiers of the supply chain are actually involved in green performance assessment, ultimately contributing to clarify the scope of the supply chain dimension in GSCM performance measurement research. The work also recognises which methods are applicable to extended supply chains and explores how different methodologies perform in terms of supply chain extent covered.

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Subject area The case study reflects issues and challenges in the fields of strategy, management, competitive intelligence and new organizational designs. Study level/applicability The case study is recommended for MBA and postgraduate courses in strategy, management, competitive intelligence and new organizational designs. The case can also be used in executive development programs focusing on business strategy and innovation. Case overview It is 2009. LK Company has newly been established as lighting products manufacturer. Based in Thailand, the firm commences its business operations with an aggressive pricing strategy (low-cost products). At the time of the establishment and launch of operation activities, the market leader [an international multinational company (MNC)] has above 35 per cent market share, leaving LK with an initial 2 per cent market share. While the share of LK grew from 2 to 10 per cent in the past five years, competition in the industry nevertheless remains harsh. Companies are confronted with pressures to invest in the development of new energy-saving lamps, and in this context, LK's company executive board needs to make a strategic decision on which way to follow to sustain the business: shall this be with or without foreign MNCs. Expected learning outcomes Students will be able to better understand; analyze and assess the importance of resource management in highly competitive environments, as well as the importance of designing alternative growth strategies by identifying and assessing changes in the market/environment. They are introduced to characteristics of co-opetition strategies, advantages and disadvantages of co-opetitive business structures and impact of the choice of business partners over time. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

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Purpose Organizational silos that build on the existing organizational structures are often considered to have negative effects in the form of focus on private narrow objectives and organizational fragmentation. To avoid such harmful outcomes, competence management is called for, and in this, the human resources (HR) function takes a key role. Among other things, it can provide basis for emergence and utilization of communities of practice (CoPs) that build on common interests and effectively cross organizational boundaries. These features of CoPs allow them to carry competences and ease knowledge transfer and to break down the harmful isolation. Quite paradoxically, the challenge is that CoPs can also form within silos, thereby strengthening isolation, and HR as a utility department can itself be particularly prone to the silo effects. Examination of boundaries and silos through an original study conducted in a Finnish energy sector company suggests that HR managers need competences outside their own expertise area and courage to augment their CoPs across the functional boundaries to break out of the HR silo and to assist other functions to do the same. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on qualitative research data gathered in four focus group interviews with HR personnel from an energy sector company in November 2012. Totally, 19 professionals were interviewed (five HR partners, five talent development and performance managers, five vice presidents of HR and four HR managers) in the four focus groups. The company’s HR personnel represented units from Finland, Sweden, Poland and Estonia. Findings Examination of boundaries and silos in the Finnish energy sector suggests that HR managers need competences outside their own field (e.g. knowledge of the business and offerings of the firm) and courage to augment their CoPs across the functional boundaries to break out of the HR silo and to assist other functions to do the same. Originality/value Research provided that CoPs can have different effects on silos. As they are capable of crossing organizational and functional boundaries, they may effectively mitigate adverse silo effects; however, if CoPs are formed within silos, they may strengthen isolation and fragmentation. In addition, utility departments and supporting functions are particularly prone to the risk of CoPs forming within silos. The HR function is one manifestation of this. Paradoxically, it also has the potential to enhance the other type of effects that CoPs can exert, as competence management can be used to foster intentional and self-organizing CoPs that counter silo effects.

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The cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline system was impossible to “keep on the lowdown” as industrial attacks of limited scale often are. The shutdown of a 2.5 million B/D system of 5,500 miles of pipeline spanning from the US Gulf Coast to the East Coast does not go unnoticed. And early unconfirmed reports of a ransom payment made to decrypt the seized data intensified the spotlight on the incident. (Continental CEO Joseph Blount confirmed a $4.4-million payment on 19 May.) During what surely was a crisis management nightmare involving not only Colonial but also the US Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (all agencies thanked by Colonial in a 15 May tweet), the information made public has heightened concerns about the security of data and critical infrastructure globally. Foremost is the escalation in the multiple layers of bad actors involved in a single attack. The FBI identified the ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) DarkSide, which it has been investigating since October 2020. Criminal partners conduct attacks and then share the proceeds with the ransomware developers. The agency released a flash alert about DarkSide on 10 May with indicators of compromise and mitigation measures once infected. “Mitigation measures once infected.” The alert may have come too late for Colonial, whose business network was hit rather than its operational technology (OT) networks that control the pipeline. To contain the damage, it took down its own OT network. An example supporting this action of last resort occurred last year when a ransomware attack on an unidentified natural gas company’s business networks moved into its control systems at a compression facility, halting operations for 2 days, according to a DHS alert. DHS said the company did not have a plan to respond to a cyberattack. A report by FireEye, a cybersecurity firm that confirmed its hiring by Colonial, said since initially surfacing in August 2020, the creators of DarkSide and its partners have infiltrated organizations in more than 15 countries. Affiliates retain a portion of each ransom fee, ranging from 25% for fees less than $500,000 to 10% for fees greater than $5 million. Ransomware operators are masters in extortion and are using new tactics to widen their net of exploitation. In April, the DarkSide operators said in a press release that they were targeting organizations listed on the NASDAQ and other stock markets and were willing to give stock traders advance notice of upcoming attacks to allow them to reap profits when stock prices dropped as a result of the breach, according to FireEye. In another example, an attacker obtained the victim’s cyber insurance policy’s coverage limits and used that knowledge during ransom negotiation, refusing to lower the ransom fee. What this means for organizations is that their boards should assess the full spectrum of risk from prevention to detection as a business risk and have a plan in place to execute when an attack occurs. The investment required may be far less than the increasingly exorbitant ransom fees and the costs associated with the theft or destruction of data and disruption to the business.

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Guyana Prepares for Offshore Licensing Round The Guyanese government is preparing to launch its first bidding round for offshore exploration and production of hydrocarbon blocks. New fiscal terms and conditions are being finalized which the country hopes will allow it to gain the maximum economic benefits. The 2022 bidding round, which according to the nation’s Department of Public Information, is expected to be officially launched soon and will be opened for several months to give interested companies sufficient time to prepare their competitive packages and bid to win the available acreages offshore. With the upcoming bidding round the government expects Guyana’s offshore areas to emerge as a potential super basin with over 11 billion BOE discovered to date. The process seeks to ensure the country gets a fairer share of revenues from oil and gas resources through improved fiscal arrangements, as well as safeguard the safety of people and the environment by following international best practices in offshore development. The new round also aims to be competitive with other global energy projects and assure investors of stability, predictability, and security of any investment. The government seeks to balance its developmental agenda with its climate change goals. Ault Drills Successful Smackover Well in Mississippi Ault Energy completed drilling the Harry O’Neal 20-9 No. 1 in Holmes County, Mississippi, and logged productive oil results across multiple pay zones in the Smackover formation. Completion work has begun on the well, and it is expected to be on stream soon. Ault was formed by parent BitNile this past summer to make strategic oil and gas acquisitions. The company obtained participation rights with for the O’Neal No. 1 well and future oil wells when it invested $12 million in Ecoark Holdings in June. Ault Energy exercised its participation right and acquired a 40% working interest in the well, which is the first project in an expected long-term partnership between Ecoark and Ault parent companies White River and BitNile, respectively, with the intention to drill approximately 100 oil wells over 5 years. White River’s next drilling project is expected to be a 14,000-ft-deep vertical oil well in the Wilcox, Austin Chalk, and Tuscaloosa Marine Shale formations in the Coochie oil field in Concordia Parish, Louisiana. White River also plans to drill three consecutive deep vertical drilling projects at approximately 13,000 ft in the Rodessa and Hosston sand formations on the Pisgah Field Lease in Rankin County, Mississippi. Hess Brings Another Llano Well On Stream Hess brought its Llano-6 well in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) on stream. The new well, like the other Llano wells, is tied back to Shell’s Auger facility. Hess is planning increased activity in the Llano area based on the success of Llano-6, quality of the reservoir, and adjacent high-value prospects. Hess holds a 50% interest in the long-producing Llano field, located about 150 miles off the Louisiana coast in the Garden Banks area in an estimated 2,600 ft of water. Shell, the operator, holds a 27.5% interest, and ExxonMobil has the remaining 22.5%. The field was discovered in 1997 and achieved first oil in 2004. Recent seismic reprocessing and analysis confirmed additional development opportunities in the field. Hess expects more high-value opportunities at Llano with wells planned for 2023 and 2024 and is finalizing plans for a year-long drilling campaign starting in early 2023 that will focus on tieback and hub-class opportunities in the GOM. Mubadala Discovers Gas Field Off Malaysia Mubadala Energy and its partners have announced a new gas discovery offshore Malaysia via the Cengkih-1 exploration well in Block SK 320. The exploration well was drilled to a total depth of 1680 m and encountered a 110-m gas column in the Miocene Cycle IV/V pinnacle carbonate reservoirs. The Cengkih-1 well is located nearly 220 km off the Bintulu coast in Sarawak. The discovery is near the Pegaga gas field, also located within Block SK 320. Mubadala Energy and its partners began production from the Pegaga field in March 2022. The Pegaga field has been developed with an integrated central processing platform built to handle throughput of 550 MMcf/D of gas plus condensate. A new pipeline transports gas from the platform into an existing offshore gas network and subsequently to the onshore Petronas LNG Complex. Mubadala Energy is the operator of Block SK 320 with a 55% stake. Partners Petronas and Sarawak Shell hold 25% and 20%, respectively. Petrobras Progresses Sale of Potiguar Basin Assets Petrobras entered the binding phase of the sale of 40% of its stake in the BM-POT-17 exploratory concessions, in which the Pitu well discovery assessment plan is being developed (Blocks POT-M-853 and POT-M-855), and the POT-M-762_R15 concession (Block POT-M-762), located in deep waters in the Potiguar Basin—Equatorial Margin–off the coast of Rio Grande do Norte. Petrobras currently holds a 100% stake in these concessions and will continue as operator of the partnership after the sale. Petrobras said the search for partnership in these assets is aligned with its portfolio management strategy and the improvement of the company’s capital allocation, aiming to maximize value. POT-M-853 and POT-M-855 are exploratory blocks acquired in the 7th Bidding Round of the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) in 2006. Petrobras is conducting the discovery assessment plan for the Pitu well, with a firm commitment to drill an exploratory well (Pitu Oeste) scheduled for 2023. POT-M-762 is an exploratory block acquired in the 15th ANP Bidding Round in 2018. Petrobras plans to drill the Anhangá well between 2023 and 2024. TotalEnergies Sews Up PSA on Oman’s Block 11 TotalEnergies, along with its partners, has signed an Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement (EPSA) with the Ministry of Energy and Minerals (MEM) of the Sultanate of Oman for onshore Block 11. The first stage of the EPSA activities will see seismic acquisition in late 2022, with a first exploration well planned to be drilled in 2023. TotalEnergies will hold a 22.5% interest in the block, OQ 10% and Shell with 67.5% will be the operator. Block 11 contains undeveloped discoveries and exploration potential. “Our recent activities in Oman are a demonstration of TotalEnergies’ strategy of transformation into a multi-energy company,” said Laurent Vivier, senior vice president Middle East and North Africa, exploration and production, at TotalEnergies. “Today’s entry into the Block 11 gives us the opportunity to unlock additional potential to meet domestic and export gas demand. It strengthens our strategic relationship with the Sultanate of Oman, as illustrated last December by our entry into the neighboring Block 10 gas concession and the start of construction last July of 17-MW peak solar photovoltaic systems providing power to a desalination plant.” In 2021, TotalEnergies’ production in Oman was 39,000 BOE/D. The operator produces oil in Block 6 (4%), as well as LNG through its participation in the Oman LNG (5.54%)/Qalhat LNG (2.04% via Oman LNG) liquefaction complex with an overall capacity of 10.5 mtpa. In 2021 TotalEnergies signed a concession agreement to develop natural gas resources on the onshore Block 10 (26,55%), with first gas expected in 2023. TotalEnergies also operates exploration Block 12 (80%). India Lets New Contracts Related to Small Discovered Fields, CBM The Indian government has signed contracts for 31 discovered small fields under the third round of bidding, and for four coalbed methane (CBM) blocks under the fifth round of bidding with 14 domestic companies. These blocks have been awarded. Among these blocks, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has signed six contracts for discovered small fields, with three each for fields in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. These include four contract areas as sole bidder and two contract areas in partnership with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. The ONGC has also signed two contracts for CBM fields situated in Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. Cairn Oil & Gas has signed pacts for eight fields. The third round for discovered small fields was launched by the government in June 2021 where 75 fields were offered under 31 contract areas. The CBM bidding round was launched in September 2021, which concluded at the end of May 2022 with 15 blocks under offer.

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Valaris Adds Fresh Rig Contracts to Backlog Valaris has scooped a number of new contracts and contract extensions, adding an associated $466 million to its contract backlog. The company received a 540-day contract with Equinor offshore Brazil for use of drillship Valaris DS-17. The rig will be reactivated for this contract, which is expected to begin in mid-2023. The total contract value is around $327 million, including an upfront payment totaling $86 million for mobilization costs, a contribution toward reactivation costs, and capital upgrades. The remaining contract value relates to the operating day rate and additional services. Also in Brazil, Valaris received a contract extension with TotalEnergies EP Brasil offshore Brazil for the use of drillship Valaris DS-15. The option is in direct continuation of the current firm program. “We are particularly pleased to have been awarded another contract for one of our preservation stacked drillships, Valaris DS-17, and look forward to partnering with Equinor on their flagship Bacalhau project in Brazil,” said Valaris Chief Executive Anton Dibowitz. “We expect Brazil to be a significant growth market for high-specification floaters over the next several years, and we are well positioned to benefit by now adding a third rig to this strategic basin.” The contractor also was awarded a two-well contract extension with Woodside offshore Australia for semisubmersible Valaris DPS-1. The two-well extension has an estimated duration of 38 days and will be in direct continuation of the existing firm program for Woodside’s Enfield plug-and-abandonment (P&A) campaign. The P&A work covers 18 wells in total. Woodside also awarded Valaris a separate one-well extension for the rig. The work has an estimated duration of 60 days with Woodside’s Scarborough development campaign. Elsewhere, Shell awarded a 4-year contract for heavy-duty modern jackup Valaris 115 offshore Brunei. The $159-million contract is expected to begin in April 2023. The contract was also awarded various short-term deals for jackups with Shell in the UK, an undisclosed operator in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), Cantium in the GOM, and GB Energy offshore Australia. Shell Joins Equinor in GOM Sparta Development Shell has agreed to purchase 51% of Equinor’s interest in the North Platte deepwater development project in the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM). Equinor will retain 49% interest in the project, and Shell will become the new operator of the field. The new partners also have agreed to rename North Platte to Sparta. Sparta straddles four blocks of the Garden Banks area, 275 km off the coast of Louisiana in approximately 1300 m of water depth. Front-end engineering and design has been matured for the project. Equinor and Shell will review the work that has been completed and update the development plan. Shell said that Sparta aligns with its strategy to pursue upstream investments that can remain competitive over time, both from a financial and environmental-intensity perspective. North Platte was discovered by Cobalt Energy and Total in 2012. The partners said the Wilcox-aged discovery would require 20K-psi technology to develop. Cobalt went bankrupt in 2017 and its stake in the asset was sold to Equinor and Total. In early 2022, TotalEnergies walked away from the project and its operatorship to focus on other projects, leaving Equinor with 100% interest. BP Awarded King Mariout Block in Egypt’s West Med BP has been awarded the King Mariout exploration block offshore Egypt following its participation last year in the limited bid round organized by the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company. The King Mariout Offshore area is located 20 km west of the Raven field in the Mediterranean Sea and covers 2600 km2 with water depths ranging between 500 and 2100 m. The block is within the West Nile Delta area, for which material gas discoveries could be developed using existing infrastructure. BP holds a 100% stake in the block. BP is a major player in Egypt investing more than $35 billion in the area over the past 60 years. LLOG Begins Production From Spruance in GOM LLOG has kicked off production from its operated Spruance Field located in Ewing Bank Blocks 877 and 921 in the US GOM. The two-well subsea development is producing, in combination, approximately 16,000 B/D of oil and 13 MMcf/D via a 14-mile subsea tieback to the EnVen-operated Lobster platform in nearby Block 873. The Spruance Field was initially discovered by LLOG and its partners in mid-2019 via a subsalt exploratory well, the Ewing Bank 877 #1, which was drilled in 1,570 ft to a total depth of 17,000 ft and logged around 150 net ft of oil pay in multiple high-quality Miocene sands. A second well, the Ewing Bank 921 #1, was drilled from the same surface location as the discovery well to a total depth of 16,600 ft in early October 2020. The well delineated the main field pays and logged additional oil pay in the exploratory portion of the well, finding a total of more than 200 net ft of oil. LLOG is the operator of the Spruance Field and owns a 22.64% working interest with partners Ridgewood Energy (23.89%), EnVen (13.5%), Beacon Asset Holdings (11.61%), Houston Energy (11.2%), Red Willow (11.15%), and CL&F (6%). Egypt Signs Agreement With Chevron To Drill First Exploration Well in East Med Chevron is planning to drill the first exploration well in its concession area in the Eastern Mediterranean this September. The well plans come as Egyptian Natural Gas Holding signed a memorandum of understanding with the US-based producer to cooperate in transporting, importing, and exporting natural gas from the area. Chevron expanded its presence in the area following its $5-billion acquisition of Noble Energy in 2020. The two companies will evaluate options for natural gas transmission from the East Mediterranean to Egypt to optimize its value through liquefaction before re-exporting and selling it, according to the memorandum. In addition, the two firms will perform research on low-carbon natural gas. APA Suriname Campaign Offers Mixed Results APA Corporation successfully flow tested its Krabdagu exploration well (KBD-1) on Block 58 offshore Suriname, while its Rasper exploration well on Block 53 offered disappointing results. Flow-test data collected in the two lower intervals, the Upper Campanian (32 m of net oil pay) and Lower Campanian (32 m of net oil pay), indicate oil-in-place resources of approximately 100 million bbl and 80 million bbl, respectively, connected to the KBD-1 well. Appraisal drilling will be necessary to confirm additional resource and development-well locations, according to APA. The exploration well encountered another high-quality interval in the Upper Campanian that was not in a location suitable for flow testing. This shallower Campanian zone will need to be flow tested in the appraisal stage from a better location. The APA-TotalEnergies joint venture is currently drilling the Dikkop exploration well in the central portion of Block 58 with drilling rig Maersk Valiant. Following completion of operations at Dikkop, the rig is expected to continue exploration and appraisal activities in the central portion of Block 58. APA Suriname and operator TotalEnergies each hold a 50% working interest in the block. Meanwhile, APA’s Rasper well in Block 53 off Suriname encountered water-bearing reservoirs in the Campanian and Santonian intervals. The Noble Gerry de Souza drillship has been mobilized to the next exploration prospect, Baja, in the southwestern corner of Block 53. Baja lies 11 km northeast of the recently announced Block 58 discovery at Krabdagu and will test Maastrichtian and Campanian targets. APA Suriname, the operator, holds a 45% working interest in the block, Petronas holds a 30% working interest, and CEPSA a 25% working interest. Novatek JV Wins North Yarudeyskoye License Novatek’s Yargeo joint venture has won the license to survey, explore, and develop production at the North Yarudeyskoye oil and gas condensate field over the next 27 years. The license area is in the Yamal-Nenets autonomous region in the Arctic, Russia’s principal gas-producing area. North Yarudeyskoye holds an estimated hydrocarbon resource potential of 93.5 million BOE. The greater Yarudeyskoye field began producing in 2015 and by 2017 was responsible for nearly a third of Novatek’s liquids production. The company, Russia’s largest private natural gas producer, noted that it had participated in the recent auction to explore and develop North Yarudeyskoye through Gazprom Bank’s Electronic Trading Platform and that the win was Novatek’s first on that platform. PDC Energy Gets Green Light for Kenosha, Broe Developments The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has approved PDC Energy’s Kenosha and Broe developments’ permit applications. The Kenosha development, which encompasses 69 wells on three pads in rural Weld County, Colorado, further increases PDC’s permitted inventory by another rig year and solidifies drilling and completion activity well into 2024. The Broe permit encompasses 30 wells in rural Weld County. The Broe plan was initiated by Great Western Petroleum, which was acquired by PDC in May 2022 and represents PDC’s first development plan approval on Great Western acreage. Combined with the Kenosha plan approval, PDC added 99 new wells to its inventory in June and will soon have more than 675 permits and drilled and uncompleted wells. Both fields are in the greater Wattenberg area. The new permits add to an already-established multiyear inventory of projects in the DJ Basin. Kenosha is the second oil and gas development plan to be approved, and the company anticipates further approvals with its Guanella area plan and others. PDC’s operations in the Wattenberg field are focused in the horizontal Niobrara and Codell plays. The Wattenberg represents PDC Energy’s largest asset with more than 85% of its 2021 production and 90% of its year-end 2021 proved reserves.

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Energean Secures Rig for Multiwell Program off Israel Energean has signed a contract with Stena Drilling for an up to five-well drilling program offshore Israel, which is expected to target the derisking of unrisked prospective recoverable resources of more than 1 billion BOE. The contract is for the drilling of three firm wells and two optional wells using drillship Stena Icemax. The first firm well is expected to spud in early 2022. The firm wells are all expected to be drilled during 2022. “Our five-well growth program off-shore Israel, commencing in the first quarter of 2022, has the potential to double Energean reserve base with resource volumes that can be quickly, economically, and safely monetized,” said Mathios Rigas, chief executive of Energean. “Combined with first gas from our flagship Karish gas development project in mid-2022, the next 12 months are set to be truly transformational for Energean.” One of the firm wells is the Karish North development well. The scope includes re-entry, sidetracking, and completion of the previously drilled Karish North well and completion as a producer. The Karish North development will commercialize 1.2 Tcf of natural gas plus 31 million bbl of liquids and is expected to deliver first gas during the first half of 2023. The program also includes the Karish Main-04 appraisal well and the Athena exploration well, located in Block 12, directly between the Karish and Tanin leases. Athena is estimated to contain unrisked recoverable prospective resource volumes of 0.7 Tcf of gas plus 4 million bbl of liquids. Exxon Hits, Misses off Guyana ExxonMobil made another new discovery in the Stabroek Block offshore Guyana but came away empty with a well on the Canje block. The Longtail-3 well on the Stabroek block struck 230 ft of net pay, including newly identified reservoirs below those intervals found in the Longtail-1 probe. “Longtail-3, combined with our recent discovery at Uaru-2, has the potential to increase our resource estimate within the Stabroek block, demonstrating further growth of this world-class resource and our high-potential development opportunities offshore Guyana,” said Mike Cousins, senior vice president of exploration and new ventures at ExxonMobil. Exxon operates the 6.6-million-acre Stabroek Block as part of a consortium that includes Hess and China’s CNOOC. The new well was drilled 2 miles south of Longtail-1, which was drilled in 2018 and encountered 256 ft of oil-bearing sandstone. The Uaru-2 well in the Stabroek Block was announced in April. That well struck 120 ft of pay. While Stabroek drilling success continues, the operator suffered a set-back on the nearby Canje block and its Jabillo-1 well. The Stena Carron drillship reached a planned target depth of 6475 m; however the well failed to encounter commercial hydrocarbons. According to partner Eco Oil and Gas, the well was drilled to test Upper Cretaceous reservoirs in a stratigraphic trap. Drillship Stena Drillmax will next mobilize to drill the Sapote-1 prospect located in the south-eastern section of Canje, in a separate and distinct target from Jabillo. Sapote-1 lies approximately 100 km southeast of Jabillo and approximately 50 km north of the Haimara discovery in the Stabroek Block, which encountered 207 ft of gas-condensate-bearing sandstone reservoir. Erdogan Touts Turkish Black Sea Natural Gas Discoveries Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the discovery of new natural gas deposits in the Black Sea, where the country plans to start production in 2023. State energy company Tpao found 135 Bcm of gas at the Amasra-1 off-shore well, bringing the total amount of deposits discovered over the past year to 540 Bcm, according to Erdogan. Turkey has ramped up offshore exploration for hydrocarbons over the past few years. Last year, explorers found 405 Bcm of gas at the Tuna-1 well in Sakarya field. Turkey currently imports nearly all the 50 Bcm of gas it consumes annually. Equinor Hits Oil Near Visund Equinor struck oil in Production License 554 with a pair of wells at its Garantiana West prospect. Exploration wells 34/6-5 S and 34/6-5 ST2 were drilled some 10 km north-east of the Visund field, with the former encountering a total oil column of 86 m in the Cook formation. The latter well encountered sandstones in the Nansen formation, but did not encounter commercial hydro-carbons. Recoverable resources are esti-mated at between 8 and 23 million BOE. “This is the first Equinor-operated well in the production license, and the fifth discovery on the Norwegian continental shelf this year,” said Rune Nedregaard, senior vice president, exploration and production south. “The discovery is in line with our roadmap of exploring near existing infrastructure in order to increase the commerciality.” Well 34/6-5 S was drilled using Seadrill semisubmersible rig West Hercules. Equinor operates the discovery; partners include Var Energi and Aker BP. ExxonMobil Eyes Flemish Pass Well ExxonMobil is looking to secure a semi-submersible to complete the drilling of a deepwater wildcat in the Flemish Pass offshore eastern Canada. The operator began drilling the Hampden K-41 probe in the spring of last year using Seadrill semisubmersible rig West Aquarius, but the unit was pulled off the well soon thereafter for reasons unknown. ExxonMobil is currently prequalifying companies to supply a mobile offshore drilling unit to continue the well at Hampden in Exploration License (EL) 1165A. The operator is targeting a mid-year 2022 start to the probe to be drilled in around 1175 m of water, some 454 km from St. John’s, Newfoundland. Meanwhile, China’s CNOCC has wrapped up drilling on its Pelles prospect, its first exploration well offshore Newfoundland. The prospect, in about 1163 m of water, is located within license EL 1144. The wildcat was originally set to spud in early 2020 but was delayed due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company confirmed that drilling operations onboard drillship Stena Forth were complete and the rig plugged and abandoned the well. The results of the well were not released. Equinor To Drop Mexican Offshore Leases Equinor will exit two Mexican deepwater blocks as part its upstream investment strategy to focus on assets offering rapid and strong returns. The two blocks located in the Salina Sureste basin were acquired in Mexico’s 1.4 bid round in an equal equity split with BP and TotalEnergies. Block 3, where Equinor holds a 33% operating interest, has water depths ranging from 900 to 2500 m. Block 1, where BP is the operator, has water depths ranging from 200 to 3100 m. Exploration commitments include a single well on each block, not yet drilled. The announcement to exit Mexico was made by Executive Vice President for E&P International Al Cook during the company’s Capital Markets Day event held in June. The company also unveiled plans to leave Nicaragua and Australia, as part of its upstream investment plans. Cook added that Equinor will only operate offshore assets moving forward and will no longer operate onshore, unconventional projects. The company will instead opt to partner with others on those projects. Equinor will also look to offload its exploration assets in the Austin Chalk play in the US and Terra Nova in Canada, he said. Var Energi Strikes North Sea Oil Var Energi has confirmed a discovery at its King and Prince exploration wells in the Balder area in the Southern North Sea. Success at the combined King and Prince exploration wells lifts preliminary estimates of recoverable oil equivalents between 60 and 135 million bbl. King/Prince was drilled in PL 027 by semisubmersible rig Scarabeo 8. The Prince well encountered an oil column of about 35 m in the Triassic Skagerrak formation within good to moderate reservoir sandstones, while the King well discovered a gas column of about 30 m and a light oil column of about 55 m with some thick Paleogene sandstone. An additional King appraisal side-track further confirmed a 40-m gas column and an oil column of about 55 m of which about 35 m are formed by thick and massive oil-bearing sandstone with excellent reservoir quality. The licensees consider the discoveries to be commercial and will assess tie-in to the existing infrastructure in the Balder area. The wells are located about 6 km north of the Balder field and 3 km west of the Ringhorne platform. Var Energi operates and holds a 90% stake of the license. Mime Petroleum holds the remaining 10%.

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Shell Selling Onshore Egypt Assets Shell Egypt and one of its affiliates have signed an agreement with a consortium made up of subsidiaries of Cheiron Petroleum Corporation and Cairn Energy PLC to sell its upstream assets in Egypt’s Western Desert for a base consideration of $646 million. Additional payments of up to $280 million between 2021 and 2024 will be made contingent on the oil price and the results of further exploration. The transaction is subject to government and regulatory approvals and is expected to complete in the second half of 2021. The package of assets comprises Shell Egypt’s interest in 13 onshore concessions and the company’s share in Badr El-Din Petroleum Company. Shell will shift its exploration focus in Egypt offshore, which includes seven new blocks in the Nile Delta, West Mediterranean, and Red Sea. Chevron Begins Production From Sarta-2 Well in Iraq Chevron has started production from the Sarta-2 well at the Sarta field in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, partner Genel Energy said. Gross field production now stands at more than 10,000 B/D. Sarta production is expected to increase from the existing two producing wells as facility optimization continues after production startup. A fresh appraisal drilling campaign is scheduled to begin soon, with the Sarta-5 and Sarta-6 wells set to be drilled back-to-back. Chevron is operator of the Sarta production-sharing contract (50%) with partners Genel Energy (30%) and the Kurdistan Regional Government (20%). Colombia Eyes Licensing Round Results in November Colombia is expected to soon reveal the schedule for its 2021 licensing round offering 32 blocks for oil and gas exploration, with results expected in November. In 2020, the nation awarded three areas to Canada-based companies Parex Resources and Canocol Energy despite the double-whammy of crashing crude demand and a global pandemic. With oil prices on the mend and an aggressive vaccine dissemination program, Colombia is hopeful that interest in its oil and gas acreage returns to pre-pandemic levels. The National Hydrocarbon Agency (ANH) expects to award at least half of the available tracts, which are part of more than 500 areas identified by the ANH in the country and include mature fields, emerging basins, and bordering areas. Exploration in Colombia fell dramatically in 2020 with only 18 wildcats drilled vs. the 45 planned, with most of the expected investment deferred to 2021-2022. While the country has allowed pilot projects testing for unconventional oil, there currently is a ban on fracking operations in the country. Israel Begins Prep Work for Fourth Offshore Round Israel’s Ministry of Energy has announced plans to launch the fourth offshore bidding round (OBR 4) for exploration licenses in the country’s exclusive economic zone soon. OBR 4 is part of a multiyear program to encourage the exploration and development of Israel’s natural resources to provide low-cost, environmentally friendly energy to Israel’s consumers and businesses and to develop markets for Israeli natural gas beyond its borders. As in OBR 2, the Ministry is planning to offer several zones to qualified companies, with each zone comprising approximately four licenses having a total area of up to 1600 sq km. Around 25 exploration licenses (blocks) have been mapped and will be grouped into six clusters. The exact dates of the stages of the bid round and grouping of the licenses in clusters will be determined later. No decision has yet been made on the winner of the license for natural gas and oil exploration in Block 72 in the third competitive bid round carried out in 2020. The Ministry will announce the formal commencement of OBR 4 and its delineation in the near future and provide detailed information on its website www.energy-sea.energy.gov.il at that time. Exxon Drills Dud at Bulletwood Offshore Guyana Exxon encountered noncommercial hydrocarbons with a test of its Bulletwood prospect in the Canje Block in the Guyana-Suriname basin. The well, located in 2846 m of water, was drilled to its planned target depth of 6690 m using drillship Stena Carron. Data collection from the Bulletwood-1 well confirms the presence of the Guyana-Suriname petroleum system and the potential prospectivity of the Canje Block, said partner Westmount Energy. Bulletwood-1 was the first of three scheduled wells to be drilled on the block in 2021. Wells Jabillo-1 and Sapote-1 are expected to spud over the coming months. Exxon operates the Canje Block via its Esso Exploration and Production Guyana unit, which has a 35% stake. Total has 35%, JHI 17.5%, and Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas 12.5. Westmount holds a 7.7% stake in JHI. While the well results were disappointing, Exxon’s success rate in the area is still around 80% from 18 wells and expects its production from the region to reach 750,000 B/D by 2026. Neptune Earmarks $150 Million for Exploration and Appraisal in 2021 UK-based independent Neptune Energy said its exploration and appraisal spend for 2021 will remain flat at around $150 million. The company said it had up to 11 wells planned for the year including followup wells at the Dugong and Maha discoveries as well as a wild-cat at Dugong Tail. Dugong was discovered in the Norwegian portion of the North Sea in 2020. Neptune believes the prospect holds between 40–120 million BOE. Dugong is located 158 km west of Florø, Norway, at a water depth of 330 m, and is close to existing production facilities. The Dugong prospect comprises two reservoirs that lies at a depth between 3250–3500 m. The Maha discovery offshore East Kalimantan is estimated to hold gas resources in excess of 600 Bcf. In 2019, Neptune and its partners, Eni (operator) and Pertamina, were awarded the West Ganal production-sharing contract that holds the Maya find. An exploration well targeting the Dugong Tail prospect, adjacent to the south of the Dugong find, is slated for the third quarter of this year and will be drilled using Odjfell semisubmersible Deepsea Yantai. Interest Wanes in Norway’s Arctic Frontier Seven companies applied for new acreage in the Barents Sea in Norway’s latest licensing round, down from 26 in a similar round in 2013. The government had offered 125 new blocks in eight frontier regions of the Barents. More than 60% of the undiscovered hydrocarbons offshore Norway are in the Barents frontier, according to the nation’s petroleum directorate. However, appetites for frontier drilling have diminished as oil prices weakened and recent results from the region have disappointed. Companies that applied for the new acreage round were Norske Shell, Equinor, Idemitsu Petroleum Norge, Ineos E&P Norge, Lundin Norway, OMV Norge, and Var Energi. Oman Transfers Ownership of Massive Block 6 The government of Oman has transferred its stake in one of the Middle East’s largest oil blocks to a newly established firm. By royal decree, the new, state-controlled Energy Development Oman (EDO) will hold the country’s 60% stake in Block 6. The stake was moved from Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), another government-run company. Oman, which is struggling under a soaring budget deficit, is looking to finance its spending by leveraging its energy assets. Block 6 has a production capacity of 650,000 BOED. Shell holds 34% in the block, while Total holds the remaining 4%. The government appointed Haifa Al Khaifi as head of EDO in January. She joined from PDO and is also chairwoman of the Saudi Arabian unit of State Street Corp., the Boston-based custodian and money manager. EDO will also be able to invest abroad and deal in renewable-energy products.

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KrisEnergy Pumps Cambodia’s First Crude in 17 Years A Cambodian concession has commenced production after years of delays in a venture between Singapore’s KrisEnergy and the government. The crude comes from oil fields in Block A, comprising 3083 km2 of the Khmer basin in the oil-rich Gulf of Thailand, off the southwestern coast of Sihanoukville. The concession will progress in phases once new wells are commissioned and completed. Kelvin Tang, chief executive of KrisEnergy’s Cambodian operations, called the 29 December event “an important strategic milestone” for the company, while Prime Minister Hun Sen hailed the first extraction as “a new achievement for Cambodia’s economy” and “a huge gift for our nation.” Ironbark Australian Exploration Well Declared Dry; Co-Owner Stocks Plummet BP has come up dry at its Ironbark-1 exploration well, the anticipated multi-trillion-scf prospect off the west Australian Pilbara coast. The disappointing prospect was once seen as a potential gas supplier to the emptying North West Shelf (NWS) LNG plant, where BP is a co-owner, within 5 to 10 years. After 2 months of drilling to a total depth of 5618 m, “no significant hydrocarbon shows were encountered in any of the target sands,” according to co-owner New Zealand Oil and Gas (NZOG). Petrorecôncavo Buys Petrobras’ Onshore Bahian Stake for $30 Million Brazilian operator Petrobras on 23 December signed a contract with independent producer Petrorecôncavo to sell its entire stake in 12 onshore E&P fields, the Remanso Cluster, in the state of Bahia. The sale value for the fields was $30 million; $4 million was paid on signing, $21 million at the closing of the transaction, and $5 million will be paid 1 year after that. The Remanso Cluster comprises the onshore fields of Brejinho, Canabrava, Cassarongongo, Fazenda Belém, Gomo, Mata de São João, Norte Fazenda Caruaçu, Remanso, Rio dos Ovos, Rio Subaúma, São Pedro, and Sesmaria. Zion Spuds the Israeli Megiddo-Jezreel #2 Well On 6 January, Zion Oil and Gas officially spudded the Megiddo­Jezreel #2 on its 99,000­acre Megiddo­Jezreel license area in Israel. “With unique operating conditions in the COVID­19 environment, our crews have performed an amazing task,” Zion CEO Robert Dunn said. “Mobilizing a rig into a new coun­try during a pandemic and rigging up is the most challenging part of the drilling operation,” Zion’s vice president of operations, Monty Kness, added. Exxon Declares a Dud at Second Guyana Well Exxon Mobil said on 15 January that its exploration well in the prolific Stabroek Block off Guyana’s coast did not find oil in its target area. Exxon, which operates the Stabroek Block in a consortium with Hess and China’s CNOOC, has made 18 discoveries in the area in 5 years, totaling more than 8 billion BOE, for a combined potential for producing up to 750,000 B/D of crude. The Hassa­1 exploration well was the giant’s second setback to its drilling campaign in recent months. Heirs Holdings Buys 45% of Shell Nigeria’s OML 17 Field Shell Nigeria announced on 15 January it had completed a $533 million sale of its stakes in an onshore OML 17 oil field in Nigeria to African strategic investor Heirs Holdings, Nigeria’s largest publicly listed conglomerate. The deal is one of the largest oil and gas financings in Africa in more than a decade, with a financing component of $1.1 billion provided by a consortium of global and regional banks and investors. Heirs Holdings, in partnership with Transcorp, one of the largest power producers in Nigeria with 2000 MW of installed capacity, purchased 45% stake in the field. It acquired the stakes of Shell, Total, and Eni to further its expansion into the oil and gas industry. Apex Discovers Oil in Egypt’s Western Desert Privately held independent E&P firm Apex International Energy, backed in part by UK energy investment firm Blue Water Energy, on 18 January announced a discovery in the Southeast Meleiha Concession (SEM) in the western desert of Egypt. The discovery was made at the SEMZ-11X well located 10 km west of Zarif field, the nearest producing field. The well was drilled to a total depth of 5,700 ft and encountered 65 ft of oil pay in the Cretaceous sandstones of the Bahariya and Abu Roash G formations. Testing of the Bahariya resulted in a peak rate of 2,100 B/D with no water. Additional uphole pay exists in the Bahariya and Abu Roash G formations that can be added to the production stream in the future. Kosmos Announces Oil at Winterfell Well Dallas-based E&P independent Kosmos Energy announced on 19 January an oil discovery in deepwater US Gulf of Mexico. The Winterfell discovery well, the product of infrastructure-led exploration (ILX), was drilled to a total depth of approximately 23,000 ft and is located in approximately 5,300 ft of water. This subsalt Upper Miocene prospect in off-shore Louisiana encountered approximately 85 ft of net oil pay in two intervals. ILX exploration, which has featured prominently in upstream operators’ portfolios in recent years of relatively low oil prices, is exploration around producing hubs that can be hooked up to those facilities easily and cheaply. The development sidesteps the need for costly and time-consuming individual hub construction. Equinor Gets Permit To Drill North Sea Wildcat Well The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate has granted Equinor a drilling permit for wildcat well 31/11-1 S in the North Sea offshore Norway, 62 km south of the Troll field. The drilling program is the first exploration well to be drilled in production license 785 S, awarded on 6 February 2015 (APA 2014). Operator Equinor and Total E&P Norge are 50/50 partners in the license, which consists of parts of Blocks 26/2 and 31/11. Petrobras, ExxonMobil Hit Hydrocarbons at Urissanê Well, Offshore Brazil Brazilian state-owned Petrobras announced on 29 January it had discovered hydrocarbons in a well located in the Campos Basin presalt off Brazil’s coast of Campos dos Gotyacaze in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Well 1-BRSA-1377-RJS (informally called Urissanê) is located in Block C-M-411, at a depth of 2950 m approximately 200 km offshore. Petrobras, which operates the block in a 50/50 partnership with Exxon Mobil, said it would analyze the well data to better target exploratory activities and assess the potential of the discovery. BP Offloads 20% Share of Oman’s Block 61 To PTTEP Marking another significant step in its divestment program, BP will sell a 20% participating interest in Oman’s 3950 km2 Block 61 in central Oman to Thailand’s national PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP) for $2.59 billion. BP will remain operator of the block, holding a 40% interest.‎ The sale comprises $2.45 billion payable on completion and $140 million payable contingent on preagreed conditions.‎ After the sale, BP will hold 40% interest in Block 61, while OQ holds 30%, PTTEP ‎20%, and ‎Petronas 10%.‎ Block 61 contains the largest tight gas development in the Middle East.

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Angola Opens Congo, Kwanza Blocks in Ongoing Bid Round Angola’s National Oil, Gas, and Biofuel’s Agency has opened blocks for licensing in the Onshore Lower Congo Basin and the Onshore Kwanza Basin as part of its 2020 oil and gas licensing round. This latest call to tender is part of the agency’s ongoing 2019–2025 hydrocarbons licensing strategy. The Onshore Lower Congo Basin Blocks include CON1, CON5, and CON6; while the Onshore Kwanza Basin Blocks comprise KON5, KON6, KON8, KON9, KON17, and KON20. The round aims to expand research and evaluation activities across sedimentary basins, increase geological knowledge of Angola’s hydrocarbon potential, and invite a new wave of explorers to yield new discoveries. Raven Field Startup for BP in Egypt Natural gas has begun flowing from the BP-operated Raven field, the third stage of the company’s major West Nile Delta (WND) development off the Mediterranean coast in Egypt. The $9-billion WND development includes five gas fields across the North Alexandria and West Mediterranean Deepwater offshore concession blocks in the Mediterranean Sea. Raven is currently producing approximately 600 MMcf/D with a peak potential of 900 MMcf/D and 30,000 B/D of condensate. Raven follows the Taurus/Libra and Giza/Fayoum projects, which started production in 2017 and 2019, respectively. It produces gas to a new onshore processing facility, alongside the existing WND onshore processing plant. In total, the WND development includes 25 wells producing gas to the onshore processing plant via three long-distance subsea tiebacks. The onshore facilities—including the new Raven facility—now have a total gas processing capacity of around 1.4 Bcf/D of gas. All gas produced is fed into Egypt’s national grid. BP is the operator and has an 82.75% stake in the WND development, with Wintershall Dea holding the remaining 17.25% interest. CGX Secures Rig for Kawa-1 Well off Guyana CGX Energy and Frontera Energy, joint venture partners in the Petroleum Prospecting License for the Corentyne block offshore Guyana, have secured semisubmersible Maersk Discoverer to drill the Kawa-1 well. An early third quarter spud for the exploration well is targeting a Santonian age, stratigraphic trap, interpreted to be analogous to the discoveries immediately to the east on Block 58 in Suriname. The well is anticipated to be drilled to a total depth of approximately 6500 m in a water depth of approximately 370 m. The contract has an estimated duration of 75–85 days and has a one-well option attached. If exercised, that probe would spud in the nearby Demerara Block and take an estimated 40 days to reach its target. Talos’ Bulleit Reservoir in US Gulf Smaller Than Expected A technical assessment of the main producing sand performance at Talos Energy’s Green Canyon Block 21 Bulleit field in the US Gulf has indicated a smaller reservoir than originally anticipated. Project partner Otto Energy said the assessment included detailed bottomhole pressure and reservoir performance data collected after hookup and first production. The Block 21 field is flowing via a single subsea well tied back to a platform in nearby Green Canyon Block 18. While additional technical work is ongoing, the currently favored path forward is to move away from the current sand and execute a recompletion of the well in the shallower DTR-10 sand. A DTR-10 recompletion will require the procurement of long-lead items from manufacturers, which are expected to cost $3.5 million with payment expected in mid-2021. The recompletion is expected to begin in mid-2022, with production from the DTR-10 immediately following in mid-to late 2022. Captain Field EOR Stage 2 Project a Go Ithaca Energy, operator of the Captain field, has sanctioned the Captain Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) Stage 2 project in the UK Central North Sea after receiving Field Development Plan Addendum consent from the Oil and Gas Authority. EOR Stage 2 is designed to significantly increase hydrocarbon recovery by injecting polymerized water into the reservoir through additional subsea wells, subsea infrastructure, and new topsides facilities. Stage 1 of the project demonstrated that polymer EOR technology can work, with the production response in line with or better than expected across all injection patterns, helping maximize economic recovery. The Captain field was discovered in 1977, in Block 13/22a located on the edge of the outer Moray Firth. The billion-barrel field achieved first production in March 1997—over 24 years ago. Ithaca Energy holds 85% working interest, while partner Dana Petroleum holds the remaining 15%. Equinor Touts new Tyrihans Field Discovery Equinor and partners Total E&P Norge AS and Vår Energi AS have struck oil and gas in a new segment belonging to the Tyrihans field in the Norwegian Sea. Exploration well 6407/1-A-3 BH in production license 073 was drilled from sub-sea template A at Tyrihans North. The well was drilled to a measured depth of 5332 m by semisubmersible drilling rig Transocean Norge and struck a gas column of about 43 m and an oil column of about 15 m in the Ile formation, including about 76 m of moderate to good reservoir quality sandstone. In the Tilje formation, moderate to good quality water-bearing reservoir was struck. The Tyrihans field is in the middle of the Norwegian Sea, some 25 km southeast of the Åsgard field and 220 km northwest of Trondheim. The licensees consider the discovery commercial and intend to start production immediately. Recoverable resources are so far estimated at between 19 and 26 million BOE. Maersk Awarded Intervention Work off Brazil Maersk Drilling has been awarded a contract with Karoon Energy Ltd. for the semisubmersible rig Maersk Developer to perform well intervention on four wells at the Baúna field offshore Brazil. The contract is expected to begin in the first half of 2022, with a firm duration of 110 days. The value of the contract is $34 million, including rig modifications and a mobilization fee. The contract contains options to add up to 150 days of drilling work at the Patola and Neon fields. Carnarvon Completes Farmout of Buffalo Project Carnarvon Petroleum has completed the farmout of 50% of the Buffalo project to Advance Energy PLC. On 17 December 2020, Carnarvon announced that Advance Energy would acquire 50% of the Buffalo project off the west coast of Australia by funding the drilling of the Buffalo-10 well up to $20 million on a free carry basis. Advance met this funding requirement and now has a 50% interest in the project. The well is on track to be drilled in late 2021, subject to securing a drilling rig, where the tendering process is already underway. Following the well, the joint venture will acquire development funding from third-party lenders and any additional funding will be provided by Advance as an interest-free loan. The current plan is to suspend a successful well as a future producer and begin early development studies during 2021. Shell Hires Seadrill Rig for Brazilian Campaign Shell has contracted Seadrill’s drillship West Tellus for a new drilling campaign offshore Brazil this year. The program is expected to start in BC-10 of the Campos Basin, where Shell operates the Parque das Conchas made up of the Abalone, Argonauta, and Ostra fields. BC-10 has produced more than 100 million bbl since oil first started flowing from the block in 2009. The drillship will be used on the third phase of BC-10 activity, which includes five additional production wells and two water-injection wells at the Massa and Argonauta O-Sul fields, with the wells connected to the Espirito Santo FPSO. Shell owns a 50% operating stake in BC-10. India’s ONGC retains a 27% minority share and Qatar Petroleum the remaining 23%. Following the BC-10 work, the operator is expected to drill the first wells in the Campos Basin’s C-M-791 block, which was acquired during the 15th bid round held in 2017. Shell owns a 40% operating stake in the block, with Chevron retaining a 40% interest and Portugal’s Galp Energia the remaining 20%. Panoro Energy Kicks Off 2021 Drilling Campaign Offshore Gabon Panoro Energy has initiated its 2021 Gabon drilling campaign with the spudding of the Hibiscus Extension well on the Dussafu Marin Permit. That well will be followed by drilling at Tortue and Hibiscus North. Hibiscus and Tortue are two out of a total of six discovered fields within the Dussafu Permit offshore Gabon. Panoro currently holds a 7.5% interest in the license and has entered into an agreement to acquire an additional 10% working interest in the Dussafu Permit, bringing its total ownership to 17.5% following completion of the transaction. The Extension well is being drilled with the jackup Borr Norve and is the first well in a three-well campaign planned on Dussafu during 2021. The well is planned as a vertical well to test structure, oil, and reservoir presence in what is believed to be a possible northerly extension of the Gamba reservoir in the Hibiscus field. The well is positioned about 3 km northwest of the Hibiscus discovery well drilled by the joint venture in 2019. The initial well and its appraisal sidetrack established a 2P gross recoverable reserves of just over 46 million bbl at the Hibiscus field. The Extension well is expected to take around 30 days to drill and log to a total depth of 3500 m. Success at the probe could prompt one or two appraisal side-tracks to further delineate the field. Following the Hibiscus Extension, the rig will move to drill a horizontal production well, DTM-7H, at the Tortue field. This will complete the Phase 2 development of Tortue and, along with DTM-6H, will bring the total number of production wells at Tortue up to six. An exploration well at the Hibiscus North prospect, located approximately 6 km north-northeast of the initial Hibiscus well is also scheduled. Hibiscus North is a separate 10–40 million bbl prospect that could be tied into the Hibiscus/Ruche development project. Puma West Strike for BP in the US Gulf An exploration well at the Puma West prospect in the deepwater US Gulf has yielded a significant oil discovery for operator BP. The well, on Green Canyon Block 821, was drilled using Seadrill drillship West Auriga to a total depth of 23,530 ft and encountered oil pay in a high-quality Miocene reservoir with fluid properties like productive Miocene reservoirs in the area. Preliminary data supports the potential for a commercial volume of hydrocarbons. The Puma West partners will begin planning an appraisal program to better define the discovered resource. The discovery well has been suspended as a keeper well to preserve future utility. Puma West is located west of the BP-operated Mad Dog field and is approximately 131 miles off the coast of Louisiana in 4,108 ft of water. The Puma West is operated by BP with a 50% working interest. Partners include Chevron with 25% and Talos Energy with the remaining 25%. Petrobras Pushes First Oil at Mero Into 2022 Petrobras has postponed first oil from its Mero 1 field via the FPSO Guanabara in the Santos Basin offshore Brazil due to delays with the production system. Startup at Mero 1 was originally expected in the fourth quarter of this year and is now expected to begin flowing during the first quarter of 2022 due to COVID-19 pandemic-related delays with the buildout of the production system in China. The FPSO will be installed in the Mero field, which belongs to the Libra Block, in the Santos Basin pre-salt area, with a processing capacity of 180,000 OPD. The field is operated by Petrobras (40%) in partnership with Shell Brasil Petróleo (20%), Total E&P (20%), CNODC Brasil Petróleo e Gás (10%), CNOOC Petroleum Brasil (10%), and Pré-Sal Petróleo, which is the contract manager.

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CNOOC Turns Taps on Bohai Bay Fields Volumes are flowing from two new CNOOC-operated field developments in the Bohai Sea, offshore China. Production began at the Luda 5-2 oil field north phase 1 project in Liaodong Bay. The field is in an average water depth of around 32 m. CNOOC installed one thermal recovery wellhead platform and one production platform, and connected processing facilities serving the Suizhong 36-1 oil field. The company plans to drill a total of 26 production and two water-source wells, with peak crude oil production of 8,200 B/D targeted for 2024. Oil also is flowing at the Kenli 6-1 oil field 4-1 block development in the southern Bohai Sea. A new wellhead platform in about 17 km of water is connected to processing facilities at the Bozhong 34-9 oil field. CNOOC plans a total of seven producer and five water-injector wells at Kenli 6-1, with peak oil production later this year of around 4,000 B/D. CNOOC holds a 100% stake in both projects. Sailaway for GTA FPSO Expected by Year-End A BP executive told conference goers in Senegal recently that the FPSO destined for that country’s Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) gas project is expected to leave China prior to year-end. BP Executive Vice President for Production and Operations Gordon Birrell added that the first phase of the GTA project is 80% complete. The main function of the FPSO will be to remove water and condensate and reduce impurities in the gas stream before exporting processed gas to a nearby FLNG facility and domestic gas offtake. BP and Kosmos Energy are leading the development of GTA and Yakaar-Teranga, Senegal’s first natural gas projects. GTA straddles the border between Senegal and Mauritania. Phase 1 of the planned development is expected to start delivering gas by the end of 2023. Birrell added that BP is in discussions with Senegal and Mauritania about GTA’s second phase and other projects in both countries, but did not get into specifics, according to Reuters. Phase two should double expected production from 2.5 to 5.0 mtpa. ReconAfrica, NAMCOR Reach Target Depth on Namibia Well Reconnaissance Energy Africa and its joint venture partner NAMCOR, the state oil company of Namibia, confirmed the third stratigraphic test well in the Kavango basin of northeast Namibia, 1819/8-2, reached target depth. The well was drilled to a total depth of 2056 m reaching all geological targets. However, the duo did not reveal what was found in the well. Instead, the pair said current operations were focused on well data capture and initiating analysis of the data. Company-owned rig Jarvie-1 will remain on site until logging and coring operations are completed. A vertical seismic profile tool will also be run to total depth to tie into the 2D seismic program. Processing of the second phase of 761 km of 2D seismic is near completion, where early results are being used to refine drilling locations for the upcoming stratigraphic wells. The next well of this planned continuous drilling program was scheduled to have the rig on location by the end of last month. Pantheon Resources Alaska Discovery Deemed “World Class” Pantheon Resources has uncovered a “world-class” oil discovery on its Theta West acreage in Alaska, according to independent consultants brought in to assess the area’s potential. Baker Hughes Advanced Hydrocarbon Stratigraphy (AHS) was charged with compiling a report based on data collated after a successful appraisal well drilled early this year. The firm believes there is a continuous column of oil-bearing cuttings of at least 1,360 ft that is host to a light crude in the order of 37–39 °API. The AHS report concluded there are “abundant good-quality reservoirs” with an “ultimate, nonpermeable seal” at 7,070 ft. Pantheon said the results are supportive of analyses of cuttings from previous work on the acreage on Alaska’s prolific North Slope. The company estimated the project, which is close to infrastructure, is host to 17 billion bbl of which 10%, or 1.7 billion bbl, is deemed recoverable. Invictus Well in Zimbabwe a “Game Changer” The Mukuyu-1 exploration well being drilled in Zimbabwe by Australian firm Invictus Energy in partnership with the government is being called “a game changer” for the country by President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The well is in license SG 4571, which covers 250,000 acres located in the most prospective portion of the Cabora Bassa Basin in northern Zimbabwe. The license is currently in the second exploration period which runs to June 2024. Invictus entered into an agreement with the Zimbabwe government in March 2022 to increase the license area sevenfold to 1.77 million acres. Previously explored by Mobil Oil, the project contains the largest undrilled structure in onshore Africa. The Muzarabani anticline feature has more than 200 km2 under closure and up to 1500 m vertical relief at favorable depths for conventional oil and gas. Invictus completed the acquisition of 840 km of high-resolution infill 2D seismic data ahead of spudding the well using Exalo Rig 202 in August. Drilling Results a Mixed Bag for APA Offshore Suriname APA Corporation has made an oil discovery offshore Suriname with its Baja-1 well in Block 53 but came away empty with a probe in Block 58. Baja-1 was drilled to a depth of 5290 m and encountered 34 m of net oil pay in a single interval within the Campanian. Preliminary fluid and log analysis indicates light oil with a gas/oil ratio (GOR) of 1,600 to 2,200 scf/bbl, in good-quality reservoir. The discovery at Baja-1 is a down-dip lobe of the same depositional system as the Krabdagu discovery, 11.5 km to the west in Block 58. Evaluation of openhole well logs, cores, and reservoir fluids is ongoing. The success at Baja marks the sixth oil discovery in which APA has participated in offshore Suriname and the first on Block 53. The company said the result confirms its geologic model for the Campanian in the area and helps to de-risk other prospects in the southern portion of both Blocks 53 and 58. APA recently received regulatory approval regarding an amendment to the Block 53 production-sharing contract, which provides options to extend the exploration period by up to 4 years. The company is currently proceeding with formalizing the first one-year extension, for which all work commitments are complete. APA is operator and holds a 45% working interest in Block 53; partners Petronas and CEPSA hold 30% and 25% stakes, respectively. Baja-1 was drilled using drillship Noble Gerry de Souza in water depths of approximately 1140 m. The rig will mobilize to Block 58 following the completion of current operations, where it will drill the Awari exploration prospect, approximately 27 km north of the Maka Central discovery. APA was not as fortunate with its Dikkop exploration well in Block 58. The well encountered water-bearing sandstones in the targeted interval and has been plugged and abandoned. Operator TotalEnergies holds a 50% working interest, while APA holds the remaining 50% stake. The drillship Maersk Valiant will be moving to the Sapakara field to drill a second appraisal well at Sapakara South, where the joint venture conducted a successful flow test late last year. Helix Energy Solutions Secures Production, P&A Work With Thunder Hawk Buy Helix Energy Solutions Group subsidiary Deepwater Abandonment Alternatives (DAA) acquired all of MP GOM’s 62.5% interest in Mississippi Canyon Block 734, comprising three wells and related subsea infrastructure, collectively known as the Thunder Hawk field. MP GOM is a subsidiary of Murphy Oil. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “This acquisition furthers Helix’s energy transition business model by taking on decommissioning obligations in exchange for production revenues,” said Owen Kratz, president and chief executive of Helix. “We have long communicated our unique position as a qualified offshore field operator that can also assume and efficiently discharge decommissioning obligations. We continue to pursue opportunities that enable us to enhance and extend the life of existing reserves and safely perform the related decommissioning of the infrastructure in transactions that allow producers to remove noncore assets from their balance sheets.” Under the terms of the transaction, Helix receives the benefit of ownership of MP GOM’s interest, with a 1 November 2021 effective date purchase price adjustment resulting in nominal cash paid by MP GOM at closing, in exchange for the assumption of MP GOM’s abandonment obligations at the Thunder Hawk Field. In addition to anticipated future production revenue, DAA will operate the Thunder Hawk field with Helix eventually expected to perform the required plug and abandonment operations. Kolibri Continues Tishamingo Program in Oklahoma Kolibri Global Energy has completed the location work for the Glenn 16-3H and Brock 9-3H wells, which are the third and fourth wells in its 2022 drilling program. A fifth location is also being prepped. All three wells in the Tishamingo area of the SCOOP play are planned to be drilled back-to-back, and the completion operations for the Glenn 16-3H and Brock 9-3H wells have been tentatively scheduled for the first week of October. Neptune Energy Confirms New Discovery in the Gjøa Area Neptune Energy and its partners announced a new commercial discovery at the Ofelia exploration well (PL 929), close to the Gjøa field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. Neptune has completed drilling of the Ofelia well, 35/6-3 S, and encountered oil in the Agat formation. The preliminary estimate of recoverable volume is in the range of 16 to 39 million BOE. In addition to the Agat volumes, north of the well there is an upside of around 10 million BOE recoverable gas in the shallower Kyrre formation, which brings the total recoverable volume to approximately 26 to 49 million BOE. Located 15 km north of the operated Gjøa platform, at a water depth of 344 m, Ofelia will be considered for development as a tieback to Gjøa, in parallel with the company’s recent oil and gas discovery at Hamlet. The Ofelia well, drilled by Odfjell-operated semisubmersible Deepsea Yantai, confirmed an oil/water contact at 2639 m total vertical depth. It is the third discovery by Neptune Energy in the Agat formation, a reservoir which until recently was not part of established exploration models on the Norwegian Shelf. The first was at the Duva field, which is now onstream and being operated by Neptune. The second was the company’s discovery at Hamlet, with estimated recoverable volumes between 8 and 24 million BOE.

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Sonadrill Lands Contract for Drillship Seadrill confirmed a new contract has been secured by Sonadrill Holding, Seadrill’s 50:50 joint venture with an affiliate of Sonangol for the drillship West Gemini. Sonadrill has secured a 10‑well contract with options for up to eight additional wells in Angola for an unknown operator. Total contract value for the firm portion of the deal is expected to be around $161 million, with further revenue potential from a performance bonus. The rig is expected to begin the work in the fourth quarter of this year with a firm term of about 18 months, in direct continuation of the West Gemini’s existing contract. The West Gemini is the third drillship to be bareboat chartered into Sonadrill, along with two Sonangol‑owned units, the Sonangol Quenguela and Sonangol Libongos. Seadrill will manage and operate the units on behalf of Sonadrill. Together, the three units position the Seadrill joint venture as an active rig operator in Angola, furthering the goal of building an ultradeepwater franchise in the Golden Triangle and driving efficiencies from rig clustering in the region. Petrobras Receives TotalEnergies, Shell Payments for Atapu TotalEnergies and Shell have formalized payments to Petrobras for separate, minority stakes in the pre‑salt Atapu field in the Santos Basin. TotalEnergies paid $4.7 billion reais ($940 million) while Shell paid closer to $1.1 billion. The Atapu block was acquired by the consortium comprising Petrobras (52.5%), Shell (25%), and TotalEnergies (22.5%) in the Second Bidding Round for the Transfer of Rights auction held 17 December 2021. The payments are compensation for monies spent thus far by Petrobras, which was granted contractual rights to produce 550 million BOE from Atapu in 2010. The partners will now work together to produce additional volumes from the field. Production at Atapu started in June 2020 via the P-70 FPSO. The unit is in about 2000 m of water and has the capacity to produce 150,000 BOED. CNOOC Brings New Bohai Sea Discoveries On Stream CNOOC Limited has kicked off production from its Luda 5‑2 oil field North Phase I project and Kenli 6‑1 oil field 4‑1 Block development project. Luda 5‑2 is in the Liaodong Bay of Bohai Sea, with average water depth of about 32 m and utilizes a thermal recovery wellhead platform and production platform tied into the Suizhong 36‑1 oil field. A total of 28 development wells are planned, including 26 production wells and two water‑source wells. The project is expected to reach its peak production of 8,200 B/D of oil in 2024. Kenli 6‑1 is in the south of Bohai Sea, with average water depth of about 17 m. The resource is being developed by a wellhead platform in addition to fully utilizing the existing processing facilities of the Bozhong 34‑9 oil field. A total of 12 development wells are planned, including seven production wells and five water‑injection wells. The field is expected to reach its peak production of 4,000 B/D of oil later this year. CNOOC Limited is operator and sole owner of the Luda 5‑2 oil field North and the Kenli 6‑1 oil field 4‑1 Block. Stabroek Block Bounty Off Guyana Gets Bigger The partners in the prolific Stabroek Block have again increased the gross discovered recoverable resource estimate for the area offshore Guyana. The owners now believe they have discovered reserves of at least 11 billion BOE, up from the previous estimate of more than 10 billion BOE. The updated resource estimate includes three new discoveries on the block at Barreleye, Lukanani, and Patwa in addition to the Fangtooth and Lau Lau discoveries announced earlier this year. The Barreleye‑1 well encountered approximately 70 m of hydrocarbon‑bearing sandstone reservoirs of which 16 m is high‑quality oil‑bearing. The well was drilled in 1170 m of water and is located 32 km southeast of the Liza field. The Lukanani‑1 well encountered 35 m of hydrocarbon‑bearing sandstone reservoirs of which approximately 23 m is high‑quality oil‑ bearing. The well was drilled in water depth of 1240 m and is in the southeastern part of the block, approximately 3 km west of the Pluma discovery. The Patwa‑1 well encountered 33 m of hydrocarbon‑bearing sandstone reservoirs. The well was drilled in 1925 m of water and is located approximately 5 km northwest of the Cataback‑1 discovery. “These new discoveries further demonstrate the extraordinary resource density of the Stabroek Block and will underpin our queue of future development opportunities,” said John Hess, chief executive of Hess and a partner in Stabroek. The co‑venturers have sanctioned four developments to date on Stabroek with both Liza and Liza Phase 2 on stream. The third planned development at Payara is ahead of schedule and is now expected to come on line in late 2023; it will utilize the Prosperity FPSO with a production capacity of 220,000 BOPD. The fourth development, Yellowtail, is expected to come on line in 2025, utilizing the ONE GUYANA FPSO with a production capacity of 250,000 BOPD of oil. At least six FPSOs with a production capacity of more than 1 million gross BOPD are expected to be on line on the Stabroek Block in 2027, with the potential for up to ten FPSOs to develop gross discovered recoverable resources. The Stabroek Block is 6.6 million acres. ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited is operator and holds 45% interest; Hess Guyana Exploration holds 30% interest; and CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited holds 25%. ConocoPhillips Gets Ekofisk License Extension Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (MPE) has extended production licenses in the Greater Ekofisk Area from 2028 to 2048 with ConocoPhillips as operator. The company said the license extension provides long‑term operations and resource management aligned with the company’s long‑term perspective on the Norwegian continental shelf. Fields on the shelf are required to operate with a valid production license where the operator and licensees enter into an agreement with the authorities, including relevant field activities. The authorities may require commitments, leading to increased oil recovery. The existing production licenses 018, 018 B, and 275 in the Greater Ekofisk Area were set to expire on 31 December 2028; however, the MPE approved an extension through 2048. The new terms provide a potential for extending Ekofisk’s lifetime to nearly 80 years. The license partners are ConocoPhillips (operator, 35.11%), TotalEnergies EP Norge (39.896%), Vår Energi (12.388%), Equinor (7.604%), and Petoro (5%). BHP’s Wasabi Disappoints in US GOM Australian operator BHP encountered noncommercial hydrocarbons with its Wasabi‑2 well in the US Gulf of Mexico. BHP said the well in Green Canyon Block 124 was plugged and abandoned following the disappointing results. “This completes the Wasabi exploration program, with results under evaluation to determine next steps,” the company said. The well was targeting oil in an early Miocene reservoir. Transocean drillship Deepwater Invictus spudded the well in 764 m of water in November 2021. The previous Wasabi‑1 well had a mechanical problem and was plugged and abandoned 4 days earlier, prior to reaching its prospective targets. BHP operates Wasabi with a 75% interest. Lukoil Says Titonskaya Holds 150 Million BOE Russia’s Lukoil believes it has discovered around 150 million BOE following analysis of the two wells it drilled at the Titonskaya structure on the Caspian Sea shelf. Work is now underway to refine the seismic models of productive deposits and study deep samples of formation fluids. The results of the assessment will be submitted to the State Reserves Commission of the Russian Federation. The structure is in the central part of the Caspian Sea, not far from the Khazri field. Lukoil drilled the first well at the Titonskaya structure in 2020 and announced the new discovery in April 2021. According to that assessment, the probable geological resources of the Titonskaya are 130.4 million tons. In 2021, drilling of the second prospecting and appraisal well began to identify oil and gas deposits in the terrigenous‑carbonate deposits of the Jurassic‑ Cretaceous age. The well was drilled using the Neptune jackup drilling rig. The new find at Titonskaya will likely be tied into Khazri infrastructure. Petrobras’ Roncador IOR Project Comes On Line Petrobras has successfully started production from the first two wells of the improved oil recovery (IOR) project at the Roncador field in the Campos Basin offshore Brazil. The two wells are the first of a series of IOR wells to reach production. Startup is almost 5 months ahead of schedule and at half of the planned cost, according to partner Equinor. The wells will add a combined 20,000 BOED to Roncador, bringing daily production to around 150,000 bbl and reducing the carbon intensity (emissions per barrel produced) of the field. Through this first IOR project, the partnership will drill 18 wells that are expected to provide additional recoverable resources of 160 million bbl. Improvements in well design and the partners’ combined technological experience are the main drivers behind the 50% cost reduction across the first six wells, including the two in production. Roncador is Brazil’s fifth‑largest producing asset and has been in production since 1999. Petrobras operates the field and holds a 75% stake. In 2018, Equinor entered the project as a strategic partner with the remaining 25% interest. In addition to the planned 18 IOR wells, the partnership believes it can further improve recovery and aims to increase recoverable resources by a total of 1 billion BOE. The field has more than 10 billion BOE in place under a license lasting until 2052. The strategic alliance agreement also includes an energy‑efficiency and CO2‑emissions‑reduction program for Roncador. Gazania-1 To Spud Off South Africa Africa Energy will move ahead with its planned Gazania‑1 wildcat well offshore South Africa after securing partner Eco Atlantic’s $20 million in capital requirements for its portion of the probe. The well will be drilled in Block 2B. Island Drilling semisubmersible Island Innovator has been contracted for the work and is expected to mobilize from its current location in the North Sea for the 45‑day trip to South Africa. The Block 2B joint venture plans to spud the well by October with drilling expected to last 30 days, including a full set of logs if the well is successful. The block has significant contingent and prospective resources in relatively shallow water and contains the A‑J1 discovery that flowed light sweet crude oil to surface. Gazania‑1 will target two large prospects 7 km updip from A‑J1 in the same region as the recent Venus and Graff discoveries. Block 2B is located offshore South Africa in the Orange Basin where both TotalEnergies and Shell recently announced significant oil and gas discoveries offshore Namibia. The block covers 3062 km2 approximately 25 km off the west coast of South Africa near the border with Namibia in water depths ranging from 50 m to 200 m. The Southern Oil Exploration Corp. (Soekor) discovered and tested oil on Block 2B in 1988 with the A‑J1 borehole, which intersected thick reservoir sandstones between 2985 m and 3350 m. The well flowed 191 B/D of 36 °API oil from a 10‑m sandstone interval at around 3250 m. Africa Energy has a 27.5% interest in Block 2B offshore South Africa. The block is operated by a subsidiary of Eco Atlantic which holds a 50% interest. A subsidiary of Panoro Energy holds a 12.5% stake, and Crown Energy AB indirectly holds the remaining 10%. Brazil Grants New Exploration Blocks Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels (ANP) has granted 59 exploratory blocks of oil and natural gas to 13 companies, including Shell, TotalEnergies, and 3R Petroleum. The awards were part of a permanent bid offer round held in Rio de Janiero in April. The auction totaled 422.4 million reais in signature bonuses with leases granted in six Brazilian states: Rio Grande do Norte, Alagoas, Bahia, Espírito Santo, Santa Catarina, and Paraná. The awards will result in investments of 406.3 million reais in the exploratory phase of the contracts. Shell Brazil (70%) was granted six blocks in the Santos Basin in a consortium with the Colombian Ecopetrol (30%). The blocks leases were SM‑1599, SM‑1601, SM‑1713, SM‑1817, SM‑1908, and SM‑1910. TotalEnergies won two areas in the same basin while Brazilian company 3R Petroleum received six areas in the Potiguar Basin. Petro‑Victory was also awarded 19 new blocks in Potiguar, increasing its holdings in Brazil to 38 blocks (37 in Potiguar). The new blocks are nearby Petro‑Victory infrastructure at the Andorinha, Alto Alegre, and Trapia oil fields. Eni Finds More Oil in Egypt’s Western Desert Eni struck new oil and gas reserves with a trio of discoveries in the Meleiha concessions of Egypt’s Western Desert. The finds have already been tied into existing infrastructure in the region and have added around 8,500 BOED to overall production from the area. The operator drilled the Nada E Deep 1X well, which encountered 60 m of net hydrocarbon pay in the Cretaceous‑Jurassic Alam El Bueib and Khatatba formations Meleiha SE Deep 1X well, which found 30 m of net hydrocarbon pay in the Cretaceous‑Jurassic sands of the Matruh Khatatba formations, and the Emry Deep 21 well, which encountered 35 m of net hydrocarbon pay in the massive cretaceous sandstones of Alam El Bueib. The results, added to the discoveries of 2021 for a total of eight exploration wells, give Eni a 75% success rate in the region. The company added that additional exploration activities in the concession are ongoing with “promising indications.” With these discoveries, Eni, through AGIBA, a joint venture between Eni and EGPC, continues to pursue its near‑field strategy in the mature basin of the Western Desert, aimed at maximizing production by containing development costs and minimizing time to market. Eni is planning a new high‑resolution 3D seismic survey in the Meleiha concession this year to investigate the gas potential of the area. Eni is currently the leading producer in Egypt with an equity production of around 360,000 BOED.

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Purpose – Improved environmental performance of products and services have lately become one of the main strategic and operational goals of manufacturers. This is due to influences from various stakeholders including government, consumers, societies and the business partners. Evidently, different manufacturers differently implement their environmental practices for sustainable product development depending on various driving factors such as customer awareness, legislation, economic benefits and competitive strategies, etc. In theory, manufacturers can efficiently undertake sustainable product development by implementing life cycle thinking into their system. This way, they can monitor the environment hot spots throughout a product life cycle and be able to minimise the environmental impact effectively. Therefore, several researchers have focused on developing tools and strategies to support the manufacturers in implementing sustainable manufacturing and product development studies. However, in reality, each manufacturer may operate their manufacturing system differently to accommodate different demands and constraints induced by firm characteristics and its regional location. Their attempts to implement the sustainable tools and strategies to their companies would also be different. Thus far, a number of studies have studied the implementation for a specific company. No studies have examined the relationship between their decisions and implementation for different characteristics of firms and different manufacturing locations. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to comprehensively investigate the practices of manufacturers towards sustainable product development. Design/methodology/approach – A detailed statistical analysis was conducted on the survey data gathered from 330 manufacturing organisations in 13 countries. The research questions mainly cover implementation approaches, decision tools and techniques used and main driving forces at the strategic and operational levels concerning environmental practices in sustainable product development. This is to bridge the gaps between the research outputs and implementations in practice for the developed sustainable strategies and tools. Results highlighted interesting relationships of the implementations across different geographical regions (locations) as well as types and sizes of manufacturers. They can be used to shed some light for future research direction, the dominant driving forces of consumers and regulations importance towards the manufacturer practices to improve not only the environmental performance but also their social responsibility. In total, 12 null hypotheses were formulated to test the relationships as well as the correlations between the manufacturing characteristics and the research questions which cover several driving forces in implementing the environmental strategies. Findings – The results of this large-scale global research highlighted that different geographical/manufacturing regions are driven mainly by legislation, competition and consumer pressures whilst manufacturers of different sizes utilise various decision tools. Design tools such as LCA, DFE and ECQFD methods are likely to be utilised in the medium-and high-complexity product development by OEM and ETM manufacturers. Environmental responsibility plays an important role and also enhanced by other driving forces such as the economic benefits, the long-term survival in the market and the company image. Research limitations/implications – Future work may include some or all of the following; such as respondents of this survey may be re-contacted and comparative data can be gathered from these manufacturers to capture the changes over the years. Further investigation of the sustainable supply chain management approaches, influences of dynamic driving forces and the environmental practices towards cleaner production practices such as improving energy efficiency, minimising waste, recycling scraps and reusing product as well as the product recovery practices for used products would be beneficial to gather and evaluate. This would support to address the current trends and emerging practices. Practical implications – Results highlighted interesting relationships and thus provide some answers on strategies adopted by many manufacturers for the sustainability approaches and implementations across different geographical regions (locations) as well as types and sizes of manufacturers. The wave of change towards sustainability is clearly on enterprises, industries, communities and governments for thinking about solutions to increase the awareness in environmental sustainability thus reduce carbon footprint. In some areas there is clear progress but for many, this process is just beginning. Social implications – There is an overwhelming amount of information, methods and opinions, and proliferation of initiatives. It is in this climate that not only manufacturers but society must provide a practical and effective way to develop and disseminate the skills and knowledge required to fuel an environmentally sustainable economy. To achieve this, results of global surveys like this paper may support manufacturers who need to work with communities and stay well connected to their stakeholders. This may lead to developing training packages that accurately reflect industry needs and provide leadership in communities and workforce development. Originality/value – There is generally an understanding of the sustainable product development and the use and role of tools and techniques to improve environmental performance of manufacturers at micro-level (within companies based on selected product, process, environmental tools and manufacturing characteristics). Whereas, a large-scale research like this paper, to present the status of sustainable product and process development approaches used by manufacturers located around the globe, of different sizes, types within existing operational and corporate strategies and eco-design initiatives have not been detailed.

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Shell’s Namibia Wildcat Encounters Light Oil Supermajor Shell has struck light oil with its Graff-1 exploration well offshore Namibia, according to the country’s national oil company, a partner in the probe. The National Petroleum Corporation of Namibia (Namcor) confirmed the discovery. Partners in the Orange Basin well included Shell Namibia Upstream and QatarEnergy. The probe was located about 270 km away from Oranjemund, and was drilled to a total depth of 5376 m in water depths of 2000 m. The drilling operations on Graff-1 utilizing the Valaris DS-10 drillship began in early December 2021 and were completed in early February. “While we can learn a great deal from the results of Graff-1, we anticipate that further exploration activity, including a second exploration well, will be required to determine the size and recoverable potential of the identified hydrocarbons,” Namcor said. TotalEnergies has drilled the Venus-1 well in a neighboring block to the west where results are imminent. Shell Namibia Upstream operates the Graff find with 45% interest; QatarEnergy also holds a 45% stake; Namcor holds the remaining 10% interest. Namcor said extensive laboratory analyses will be performed in coming months to gain a better understanding of the reservoir quality and flow rates potentially achievable. Eni’s First Offshore Exploration Well in Abu Dhabi Strikes Gas Eni has encountered gas shows in its first exploration well, XF-002, currently drilling in offshore Block 2, northwest of Abu Dhabi, in 115 ft water depth. The interim well results indicate a range of 1.5–2.0 Tcf of raw gas in place in multiple good-quality reservoirs of the Jurassic exploration targets. The drilling operations will continue targeting the deeper exploration targets of the Khuff and Pre-Khuff formations. Eni has a 70% stake and operates offshore Block 2, which was awarded in January 2019 as a result of the first-ever competitive bid round for exploration blocks launched by ADNOC. PTTEP holds the remaining 30%. Eni has been present in Abu Dhabi since 2018. The company is the operator of three exploration licenses and has a participation with ADNOC in three offshore development and production concessions: Lower Zakum (5%), Umm Shaif and Nasr (10%), and Ghasha (25%). W&T Offshore Acquires US GOM Producing Properties W&T Offshore closed an acquisition of oil-and-gas-producing properties in US GOM from ANKOR E&P and KOA Energy. The operator paid $30.2 million for stakes in the Ship Shoal 230, South Marsh Island 27/Vermilion 191, and South Marsh Island 73 fields. The deal adds (internally estimated) proved reserves of 5.5 million BOE (69% oil) and proved and probable, or 2P, reserves of 7.6 million BOE (75% oil). The deal also adds more than 50 gross producing wells (average working interest of 80%) across the three shallow-water fields. Myanmar Coup Leads to Operator Exodus Thailand state oil and gas explorer PTTEP looks set to take over Myanmar’s biggest gas field as TotalEnergies and Chevron confirmed their exits, citing the worsening humanitarian situation following a coup. A move by PTTEP to become operator of Yadana field, in which it already has a 25.5% stake, would keep vital gas supplies flowing to Thailand and Myanmar. Both TotalEnergies and Chevron were part of a group operating the Yadana gas project off Myanmar’s southwest coast along with the Moattama Gas Transportation Company that runs a gas pipeline from the field to Myanmar’s border with Thailand. PTTEP would have an 85% stake in Yadana if it took all the interest held by TotalEnergies and Chevron. PTTEP already operates Myanmar’s smaller Zawtika field with an 80% stake; Myanmar’s state energy firm Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise holds the remaining 20%. Yadana produced 770 MMcf/D of gas in 2021, of which 570 MMcf/D was supplied to Thailand and the rest used to generate Myanmar’s electricity. New Malaysian Bid Round Launched State-owned Petronas is offering 14 exploration blocks, six clusters of discovered resource opportunities (DRO), and one cluster of late-life assets (LLA) in its Malaysia Bid Round 2022 launched in late January. The 14 exploration blocks on offer are in prolific geological provinces within the Malay, Sabah, and Sarawak basins. Most of these blocks contain existing oil and/or gas discoveries. The six DRO clusters are Meranti, Ubah, Baram Jr., A, C, and D, mostly in shallow water and near existing production infrastructure. In addition, the single LLA, which includes a cluster of three fields named the Abu Cluster, provides the opportunity for a new operator to sweat the remaining oil in place using existing facilities. Petronas is also offering technical study arrangements for two exploration areas in southern Malay Basin and northwest Sabah Basin to offer investors a better understanding of the potential of the acreages prior to submitting a bid proposal. Petronas is hosting a virtual data room which will be accessible from launch until the end of June 2022, allowing potential investors to conduct data review during the bid-round period. Equinor Secures 26 New Production Licenses Equinor has been awarded 26 new production licenses by Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in the 2020 Award in Predefined Areas. A dozen of the licenses have the company as operator with the remaining 14 as partner. The production licenses are divided as follows: 12 in the North Sea, 10 in the Norwegian Sea, and four in the Barents Sea. In 2022, Equinor plans to take part in around 25 exploration wells, mainly near existing infrastructure. Most of the wells will be drilled in the North Sea, some in the Norwegian Sea, and a few in the Barents Sea. Petrobras Details Potiguar Cluster Asset Sale to 3R Petrobras has signed a deal to sell 100% of its interest in 22 concessions of onshore and offshore production fields, along with its infrastructure situated in the Potiguar basin (together called the Potiguar Cluster) in the Rio Grande do Norte, north of Brazil, to 3R Potiguar, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of 3R Petroleum Óleo e Gás, for $1.38 billion. The transaction also includes the Potiguar Clara Camarao refinery with a processing capacity of 39,600 BOPD. 3R Potiguar will pay Petrobras $1.04 billion at closure and four annual installments of $58.75 million each until March 2024. The agreement will require regulatory approval from Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels (ANP). The Potiguar Basin comprises three subclusters (Canto do Amaro, Alto do Rodrigues, and Ubarana), having an aggregate of 22 fields across 19 onshore and three offshore concessions, and incorporates access to the infrastructure necessary for processing, refining, logistics, storage, transportation, and export of oil and natural gas. Ubarana subcluster concessions are in shallow waters around 10 km and 22 km off the coast of the municipality of Guamaré-RN, while subclusters Canto do Amaro and Alto do Rodrigues are onshore. The average output from three of these subclusters last year was 20,600 BOPD and 58100 m3/d of natural gas. Neptune Energy Increases Production From Gjøa Platform Production from the Neptune Energy-operated Gjøa platform in the Norwegian North Sea increased by 2 million BOE from 2020 to 2021. Gross production over the Gjøa platform ended on 42 million BOE in 2021, compared with 40 million BOE in 2020. Just over three-quarters (76%) of the production was gas, all of which is exported through the FLAGS pipeline to the St. Fergus Gas Terminal in the UK. The increased production was due mainly to production startup from the Gjøa P1 infill development in February and the Duva field tieback in August. In addition, production from the tieback field Vega, operated by Wintershall Dea, and the Gjøa field itself, has been better than expected. Estimated reserves on the Gjøa field have increased by 38% since the Plan for Development and Production was approved in 2007. Neptune expects to add a fourth tie-in field to the Gjøa facilities—Wintershall Dea’s Nova field. In addition, the operator plans to drill two exploration wells in the area and will continue to mature other nearby discoveries and exploration opportunities as tie-in candidates. Kuwait’s KUFPEC Makes First Operated Offshore Discovery in Indonesia Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC) has confirmed its subsidiary KUFPEC Indonesia has made a commercial discovery of natural gas and condensate in the Anambas Block, offshore Indonesia. The discovery was made via the Anambas-2X well, which was drilled using a jackup rig in 288 ft of water to a total depth of 10,509 ft. Located in the Natuna Sea near an existing block in which KUFPEC is a partner, the Anambas Block was awarded to KUFPEC Indonesia through a competitive bidding process in 2019. The block is fully operated by KUFPEC Indonesia with 100% interest. The company conducted two drillstem tests so far, one in the Lower Gabus formation and the other in the Intra Keras formation. These tests resulted in a stabilized combined flow rate of

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This study aims to investigate the features of managing intellectual capital regarding the influence on firm performance in the Russian banking sector after COVID-19. The study considered general importance of intellectual capital firm’s bundle of all knowledge assets that can be utilized for different strategic moves. The research used primary data collected from managers in the Russian financial sector using a structured questionnaire from 364 respondents. The intellectual capital aspects used were human, relational, and structural capital. Organizational learning capability was a mediator, while firm performance was the independent variable. The hypotheses were evaluated using Structural Equation Modeling. The study results indicated that relational and human capital have a positive and significant influence on firm performance, but not structural capital. Relational capital, structural capital, and human capital were found to positively and significantly influence firm performance. Organizational learning capability was found to have a positive and significant effect on firm performance and a mediator of the impact of intellectual capital on firm performance. The study recommends that managers in the banking sector enhance their relations and interactions with customers, suppliers, and trade partners.

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Maldives announced one of the most ambitious renewable energy projects so far, in 2009, with a plan to invest in a 200-million-dollar wind farm in Gaafaru lagoon (Burulu Falhu), north Malé Atoll, to be managed and operated by a US-based firm, Falcon Energy and its consortium partners. The project was designed to provide a 75-megawatts of wind-generated energy to the Greater Malé region and resorts in the area. The announcement of the project culminated in a lot of public hype and hope for reducing the country’s dependence on fossil fuel for energy generation and as a major step towards achieving a carbon-neutral economy. The technical feasibility, environmental impact assessments, and required funding possibilities were all pointing towards the project’s practicality. However, after the initial excitement of the project launching has subsided, the project slowly moved to doldrums and never saw the light of the day. At a later stage, there were rumours of project cost-estimation requiring a higher initial investment as planned, and news of a Chinese firm taking over the project from Falcon energy. Why did the project never materialise? What were the reasons behind the lack of enthusiasm to pursue this project and overcome the challenges? This case study provides a contextual background to the project, its potential environmental and economic benefits and the possible factors that contributed towards its failure to launch.

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With the increasing importance of designing for sustainability, that is, to leave the environment as least as good or better than before a design intervention, designing holistically is essential. By holistic design is meant a process where all issues ranging from the physical, such as energy consumption and lighting, to social issues, such as how spaces are used, are addressed, not just metaphorically, but in a rigorous and rational manner based on analysis. The traditional approach would have the architect call on engineering specialists at some stage in the design resulting in a number of problems that prevent holistic design. Among them are the following: 1) the difficulty of revising a design to meet technical requirements once it is too far advanced, 2) the difficulty of communication between architects and engineers regarding design intent, 3) the complexity of contemporary projects having outgrown the capability of a single person, the architect, to coordinate alone, and 4) professional bias on the part of the engineering consultants whereby the consultants propose solutions without providing the architect with the full range of alternatives. A solution to these problems is Integrated Design understood as a collaborative design process whereby engineering and other specialist consultants collaborate with the architect from the very beginning of a project in a mutually supportive, creative and sharing environment. One of the best examples of a firm of specialist consultants practicing in this way is the firm Transolar in Germany, headed my Mathias Schuler. This firm specializes in climate engineering. In collaborations with Transolar all design participants, whether architects, engineers or physicists are considered equal partners in the design process. While Transolar’s collaborations are a success story in terms of the collaborative process and the wonderfully creative buildings that have resulted from this process, it is proposed that to make Integrated Design more effective in general, that architects become conversant in the many discipline-specific software packages that are increasingly available and user-friendly. Ability to use such software packages with their embodied discipline-specific knowledge will allow architects to explore technical possibilities on their own without consultant bias to better prepare the architect for consultant meetings and to be in a better position to talk the same language as the engineering consultants. The paper will review some of the specialist software currently available that the author has used and how this software can assist in the Integrated Design process. As well, implications for the education of the architect will be brought into focus.

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PurposeThe need to stay competitive amidst ever-changing business environment has shifted competitive strategies from firms to supply chains. Managers are now basing competitive strategies on supply chains acknowledging that supply chains present competitive advantages among other resources. The purpose of the study is to explore the predictive relevance of supply chain collaboration and the extent to which it influences supply chain visibility, stakeholder trust, environmental and financial performances. This study focused on manufacturing firms due to their supplier relationships, consumption of resources, energy and emissions of greenhouse gasses.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a survey research design, a quantitative approach and partial least square structural equation modelling technique in making data analysis and interpretations due to its suitability for predictive research models as is the case in this study.FindingsThe study hypothesized that supply chain collaboration positively and significantly interacts with supply chain visibility, stakeholder trust, environmental and financial performances. The study results confirmed supply chain collaboration as a significant, positive and a robust influence on supply chain visibility, stakeholder trust, environmental and financial performances thereby projecting win-win scenarios for firms that engage in collaborative supply chain practices.Originality/valueThe study is among the few to indicate findings in relation to the scope of supply chain collaboration's potency in influencing performance from the perspective of manufacturing firms operational in an emerging economy. Thus, this study contributes to understanding the wider scope of supply chain collaboration, its interactions with other firm variables and how it informs decisions of managers, scholars and supply chain partners.

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Resource efficiency, including cleaner production and energy efficiency (CP/EE), play an important role in supporting Africa’s sustainable growth in the future. Since the 1990s both the governments and development agencies in Africa have promoted such strategies to help firms reduce their negative environmental impact while enhancing their economic performance. The main objective of this study was first to explore opportunities and constraints for the commercial financing of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) for resource efficiency and cleaner production (RECP) projects in East Africa (EA), and to develop a sustainable financial scheme for firm-level RECP programs; secondly, to interrogate financing opportunities for RECP advisory services allowing for the growth of the RECP agenda and providing the opportunity to make RECP programs self-sustaining; and thirdly, to increase the use of, and investment in RECP technologies by Enterprises (Industries and MSMEs) in EA. A survey was undertaken across EA and stratified sampling was used to ensure all the partner states were included in the sample. A mixed method approach was used where both primary and secondary data were collected. The sample size comprised of 36 financial institutions and 42 enterprises across the EA region. Key respondents across the industries were interviewed, and a semi–structured questionnaire was used. Quantitative data was analysed by descriptive analysis using SPSS and presented in form of frequency tables. Content analysis was used for the qualitative data and then presented in prose. A hybrid kind of scheme(s) was developed. The study recommends a guarantee scheme whereby the government and or development partners provide guarantee to commercial banks at 50% and the enterprises would be required to raise 50% collateral to unlock funding to enterprises. However, most MSMEs indicated the lack of capacity to raise the 50% collateral hence the study proposes a revolving fund supported by the development funds to set aside a kitty to cater for this category of enterprises. Additionally, a rigorous process has been put in place to implement these two models of financing. Through the study formulation of managerial policy and practice that promote better RECP practices and green growth will be operationalized.

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Longing on a large scale is what makes history.Don DeLillo, UnderworldIntroductionWhile the media industries have been rather thoroughly dissected for their capacity to generate enthusiasm through well-honed practices of marketing and patterns of consumerism, any analysis of the shift underway to capture and modulate the ‘enthusiastic’ and affective labour of media industry practitioners themselves may still have much to learn by reaching back to the long tradition in Western philosophy: a tradition, starting with the Greeks that has almost always contrasted enthusiasm with reason (Heyd). To quote Hume: “Hope, pride, presumption, a warm imagination, together with ignorance, are … the true sources of enthusiasm” (73). Hume’s remarks are contextualised in protestant theological debates of the 18th century, where enthusiasm was a term for a religious practice, in which God possesses the believer. Especially English preachers and theologians were putting considerable energy into demonising this far too ecstatic form of belief in god (Heyd). This ambivalent attitude towards enthusiasm time-travels from the Greeks and the Enlightenment period straight into the 20th century. In 1929, William Henry Schoenau, an early author of self-help literature for the white-collar worker, aimed to gain a wider audience with the title: “Charm, Enthusiasm and Originality - their Acquisition and Use”. According to him, enthusiasm is necessary for the success of the salesman, and has to be generated by techniques such as a rigorous special diet and physical exercises of his facial muscles. But it also has to be controlled:Enthusiasm, when controlled by subtle repression, results in either élan, originality, magnetism, charm or “IT”, depending on the manner of its use. Uncontrolled enthusiasm results in blaring jazz, fanaticism and recklessness. A complete lack of enthusiasm produces the obsequious waiter and the uneducated street car conductor. (7)Though William Henry Schoenau got rather lost in his somewhat esoteric take on enthusiasm – for him it was a result of magnetic and electric currents – we argue that Schoenau had a point: Enthusiasm is a necessary affect in many forms of work, and especially so in the creative industries. It has to be generated, it sometimes has to be enacted, and it has also to be controlled. However, we disagree with Schoenau in one important issue: For us, enthusiasm can only be controlled up to a certain degree. Enthusiasm in the Creative IndustriesSchoenau wrote for an audience of salesmen and ambitious managers. This was simultaneous with the rise of Fordism. Most labour in Fordism was routine labour with the assembly line as its iconic representation. In mass-production itself, enthusiasm was not needed, often not even wanted. Henry Ford himself noted dryly: “Why do I get a human being when all I want is a pair of hands” (Kane 128). It was reserved for few occupational groups situated around the core of the mass-produced economy, such as salesmen, inventors, and leaders like him. “Henry Ford had a burning enthusiasm for the motor car” (Pearle 196).In industrial capitalism enthusiasm on a larger scale was not for the masses. It could be found in political movements, but hardly in the realm of work. This was different in the first socialist state. In the 1920s and 1930s Soviet Union the leaders turned their experience in stimulating a revolutionary mindset into a formula for industrial development – famously documented in Dziga Vertov’s “Enthusiasm. Symphony of the Donbass”.In capitalist countries things changed with the crisis of Fordism. The end of mass production and its transformation to flexible specialisation (Piore/Sabel) prepared the ground for a revival of enthusiasm on a large scale. Post-industrial economies rely on permanent innovation. Now discourses in media, management, and academia emphasise the relevance of buzzwords such as flexibility, adaptability, change, youth, speed, fun, and creativity. In social science debates around topics such as the cultural economy (Ray/Sayers, Cook et al., du Gay/Pryke, Amin/Thrift), affective labour (Lazzarato, Hardt/Negri, Virno) and creative industries (Florida, Hartley) gained in momentum (for an interesting take on enthusiasm see Bröckling). Enthusiasm has become an imperative for most professions. Those who are not on fire are in danger of getting fired. Producing and Consuming EnthusiasmOur interest in enthusiasm as affective labour emerged in an ethnographic and experimental project that we conducted in 2003-2007 in London’s creative industries. The project brought together three industrial and one academic partner to produce a reality TV show tailor-made for IPTV (internet-protocol-based television). During this project we encountered enthusiasm in many forms. Initially, we were faced with the need to be enthusiastic, while we established the project coalition. To be convincing, we had to pitch the commercial potential of such a project enthusiastically to our potential partners, and often we had to cope with rejections and start the search and pitch again (Caldwell). When the project coalition was set up, we as academic partners managed the network. In the following two years we had to cope with our partner’s different directions, different rhythms and different styles of enthusiasm. The TV producer for example had different ways to express excitement than the new media firm. Such differences resulted in conflicts and blockades, and part of our task as project managers was to rebuild an enthusiastic spirit after periods of frustration. At the same time enthusiasm was one of the ingredients of the digital object that we produced: `Real’ emotions form the material of most reality TV shows (Grindstaff). Affects are for reality TV, what steel was for a Fordist factory. We needed an enthusiastic audience as part of the filmed material. There is thus a need to elicit, select, engineer and film such emotions. To this aim we engaged with the participants and the audience in complex ways, sometimes by distancing ourselves, other times by consciously manipulating them, and at even other times by sharing enthusiasm (similar processes in respect to other emotions are ethnographically described in Hesmondhalgh/Baker). Generating and managing enthusiasm is obviously a necessary part of affective labour in the creative industries. However, just as Hesmondhalgh/Baker indicate, this seemingly simple claim is problematic.Affective Labour as Practice‘Affective labour’ is a term that describes labour through its products: ‘A feeling of ease, well-being, satisfaction, excitement, or passion’ (Hardt/Negri 292-293). Thus, the term ‘affective labour’ usually describes a sector by the area of human endeavour, which it commodifies. But the concept looses its coherence, if it is used to describe labour by its practice (for an analogue argument see Dowling). The latter is what interests us. Such a usage will have to re-introduce the notion of the working subject. To see affective labour as a practice should enable us to describe in more detail, how enthusiasm shapes the becoming of a cultural object. Who employed affect when and what kinds of affects in which way? Analysing enthusiasm as social practice and affective labour usually brings about one of two contrasting perceptions. On the one hand one can celebrate enthusiasm – like Pekka Himanen – as one of the key characteristics for a new work ethic emerging alongside the Protestant Ethic. On the other hand we find critique of the need to display affects. Barbara Ehrenreich shows how a forced display of enthusiasm becomes a requirement for all office workers to survive in late capitalism. Judging from our experience these two approaches need to be synthesized: Much affective labour consists in the display of affects, in showing off, in pretending. On the other hand, enthusiasm can only realise its potential, if it is ‘real’ (as opposed to enacted).With Ehrenreich, Hochschild and many others we think that an analysis of affective labour as a practice needs to start with a notion of expression. Enthusiasm can be expressed through excited gestures, rapid movements, raised voices, eyes wide open, clapping hands, speech. For us it was often impossible to separate which expression was ‘genuine’ and which was enacted. Judging from introspection, it is probable that many actors had a similar experience to ours: They mixed some genuine enthusiasm with more or less enforced forms of re-enactment. Perhaps re-enactment turned to a ‘real’ feeling: We enacted ourselves into an authentic mood - an effect that is also described as “deep acting” (Grandey). What can happen inside us, can also happen in social situations. German philosopher Max Scheler went to substantial lengths to make a case for the contagiousness of affects, and enthusiasm is one of the most contagious affects. Mutual contagiousness of enthusiasm can lead to collective elation, with or without genuine enthusiasm of all members. The difference of real, authentic affects and enacted affects is thus not only theoretically, but also empirically rather problematic. It is impossible to make convincing claims about the degree of authenticity of an affect. However, it is also impossible to ignore this ambivalence. Both ‘authentic’ and ‘faked’ enthusiasm can be affective labour, but they differ hugely in terms of their productive capacities.Enthusiasm as Productive ForceWhy is enthusiasm so important in the first place? The answer is threefold. Firstly, an enthusiastic worker is more productive. He or she will work more intensively, put in more commitment, is likely to go the so-called extra mile. Enthusiasm can create a surplus of labour and a surplus of value, thus a surplus of productivity. Secondly enthusiasm is part of the creative act. It can unleash energies and overcome self-imposed limitations. Thirdly enthusiasm is future-oriented, a stimulus for investment, always risky. Enthusiasm can be the affective equivalent of venture capital – but it is not reified in capital, but remains incorporated in labour. Thus enthusiasm not only leads to an increase of productivity, it can be productive itself. This is what makes it to one of the most precious commodities in the creative industries. To make this argument in more detail we need to turn to one of the key philosophers of affect.Thinking Enthusiasm with SpinozaFor Spinoza, all affects are derivatives of a first basic drive or appetite. Desire/appetite is the direct equivalent of what Spinoza calls Conatus: Our striving to increase our power. From this starting point, Spinoza derives two basic affects: pleasure/joy and sadness/pain. Pleasure/joy is the result of an increase of our power, and sadness/pain is the result of its decrease. Spinoza explains all other affects through this basic framework. Even though enthusiasm is not one of the affects that Spinoza mentions, we want to suggest that Spinoza’s approach enables us to understand the productivity of enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is a hybrid between desire (the drive) and joy (the basic affect). Like hope or fear, it is future-oriented. It is a desire (to increase our power) combined with an anticipated outcome. Present and the future are tightly bound. Enthusiasm differs in this respect from its closest relatives: hope and optimism. Both hope and optimism believe in the desired outcome, but only against the odds and with a presumption of doubt. Enthusiasm is a form of ecstatic and hyper-confident hope. It already rewards us with joy in the present.With Spinoza we can understand the magical trick of future-oriented enthusiasm: To be enthusiastic means to anticipate an outcome of an increased power. This anticipation increases our power in the present. The increased power in the present can then be used to achieve the increased power in the future. If successful, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is this future-orientedness, which can make enthusiasm productive. Actions and PassionsIn its Greek origin (‘enthousiasmos’) to be enthusiastic meant to be possessed or inspired by a god. An enthusiast was someone with an intense religious fervour and sometimes someone with an exaggerated belief in religious inspiration. Accordingly, enthusiasm is often connected to the devotion to an ideal, cause, study or pursuit. In late capitalism, we get possessed by different gods. We get possessed by the gods of opportunity – in our case the opportunities of a new technology like IPTV. Obsessions cannot easily be switched on and off. This is part of affective labour: The ability to open up and let the gods of future-oriented enthusiasm take hold of us. We believe in something not for the sake of believing, but for the sake of what we believe in. But at the same time we know that we need to believe. The management of this contradiction is a problem of control. As enthusiasm now constitutes a precious commodity, we cannot leave it to mere chance. Spinoza addresses exactly this point. He distinguishes two kinds of affects, actions and passions. Actions are what we control, passions are what controls us. Joy (= the experience of increased power of acting) can also weaken, if someone is not able to control the affection that triggered the joy. In such a case it becomes a passion: An increase of power that weakens in the long run. Enthusiasm is often exactly this. How can enthusiasm as a passion be turned into an action? One possible answer is to control what Spinoza calls the ‘ideas’ of the bodily affections. For Spinoza, affections (affectiones) ‘strike’ the body, but affect (affectus) is formed of both, of the bodily affectiones, but also of our ideas of these affectiones. Can such ideas become convictions, beliefs, persuasions? Our experience suggests that this is indeed possible. The excitement about the creative possibilities of IPTV, for example, was turned into a conviction. We had internalised the affect as part of our beliefs. But we had internalised it for a prize: The more it became an idea the more stable it got, but the less it was a full, bodily affect, something that touched our nervous system. We gained power over it for the price that it became less powerful in its drive.Managing the UnmanageableIn all institutions and organisations enthusiasm needs to be managed on a regular basis. In project networks however the orchestration of affects faces a different set of obstacles than in traditional organizations. Power structures are often shifting and not formally defined. Project partners are likely to have diverging interests, different expectations and different views on how to collaborate. What might be a disappointing result for one partner can be a successful result for another one. Differences of interest can be accompanied by differences of the expression of enthusiasm. This was clearly the case in our project network. The TV company entered a state of hype and frenzy while pitching the project. They were expressing their enthusiasm with talk about prominent TV channels that would buy the product, and celebrities who would take part in the show. The new media company showed its commitment through the development of beautifully designed time plans and prototypes – one of them included the idea to advertise the logo of the project on banners placed on airplanes. This sort of enthusiastic presentation led the TV producer to oppose the vision of the new media’s brand developer: She perceived this as an example of unrealistic pipe dreams. In turn the TV producer’s repeated name-dropping led other partners to mistrust them.Timing was another reason why it seemed to be impossible to integrate the affective cohorts of all partners into one well-oiled machine. Work in TV production requires periods of heightened enthusiasm while shooting the script. Not surprisingly, TV professionals save up their energy for this time. In contrast, new media practitioners create their products on the go: hype and energy are spread over the whole work process. Their labour becomes materialised in detailed plans, concepts, and prototypes. In short, the affective machine of a project network needs orchestration. This is a question of management.As this management failed so often in our project, we could discover another issue in the universe of enthusiasm: Disappointed high spirits can easily turn into bitterness and hostility. High expectations can lead to a lack of motivation and finally to a loss of loyalty towards the product and towards other project partners. Thus managing enthusiasm is not just about timing. It is also about managing disappointment and frustration. These are techniques, which have to be well developed on the level of the self-management as well as group management.Beyond the ProjectWe want to conclude this paper with a scene that happened at the very end of the project. In a final meeting, all partners agreed – much to our surprise – that the product was a big success. At that time we as academic partners found this irritating. There were many reasons why we disagreed: we did not produce a new format, we did not get positive user feedback, and we could not sell the show to further broadcasters (our original aims). However, all of this did not seem to have any impact on this final assessment. At the time of the meeting this looked for us like surreal theatre. Looking back now, this display of enthusiasm was indeed perhaps a ‘rational’ thing to do. Most projects and products in the creative industries are not successful on the market (Frith). 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