Cement Packer - Another Chance for 2nd Hand Late Life Medco E and P Offshore Field

South Natuna Sea Block B PSC (Block B PSC) is one of the key player in Indonesia for supplying gas demand to Singapore and Malaysia. After its acquisition in 2016 by Medco Group, the field is expected to have sustainable gas supply for another 8 years. Hence, to support the plan, aggressive drilling and well service campaigns are enforced to meet the production goal. On mature field, Well Service activity is taking an important role in arresting production decline and in adding short marginal production gain from time to time. With typical well on Block B PSC has multi-zone reservoir, the opportunity to increase production rate is available by accessing the unexploited zone, which some are located above the current Production Packer. The challenge is on how to drain these marginal unexploited zones while maintaining low operational cost. Another challenge is Natuna field has unique characterization compared to other field, not only in terms of geographical condition, but also the way the wells are located on unmanned, minimum facility offshore Platforms. This provide another challenge for the modus operandi of Well Service in Block B PSC fields. The paper describes the challenges and learning curve that Medco E&P Offshore has to address by applying cement packer operation to gain well production, the benefit it has compared with other method, and why cement packer is the chosen method by looking from cost optimization, operational limits and technical limits.

Production of lactic and acetic acids during fermentation of milk fortified with kiwi juice using Saccharomyces boulardii and lactobacilli

Purpose: To investigate the synergistic effect of Saccharomyces boulardii and lactobacilli on lactic and acetic acids produced during fermentation of milk fortified with kiwi juice, relative to fermentation of unfortified milk. Methods: Skimmed milk was fortified with kiwi juice (4 % v/v) and fermented for 12 h at 37 °C by a combination of S. boulardii and lactobacilli strains. Lactic and acetic acids were determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GS-MS). Results: The presence of kiwi juice in the milk stimulated the production of lactic (1.35 g/100g) and acetic (0.29 mg/g) by S. boulardii in the absence of lactobacilli. When S. boulardii was inoculated with Lb. casei 20975, the production of lactic acid and acetic acid increased to 2.36 g/100 g and 0.71 mg/g, respectively. Furthermore, acid production increased when Lb. plantarum RS (35-11), Lb. casei LCS, and Lb. plantarum JXJ (6 - 12) were inoculated into milk free of kiwi juice in which S. boulardii was grown. Saccharomyces boulardii resulted in marginal production of acids by Lb. fermentum F9. Conclusion: These results show that acid production is positively affected by some lactobacilli strains in the milk whether fortified with kiwi juice or free of this juice. However, fermentation of these formulations for a period longer than 6 h may result in losses in acid yield.

A Theory of ICOs: Diversification, Agency, and Information Asymmetry

This paper develops a theory of financing of entrepreneurial ventures via crypto tokens, which is not limited to platform-based ventures. We compare token financing with traditional equity financing, focusing on agency problems and information asymmetry frictions associated with the two financing methods, as well as on risk sharing between entrepreneurs and investors. Token financing introduces an agency problem not present under equity financing (underproduction), while mitigating an agency problem often associated with equity financing (entrepreneurial effort underprovision). Our theory abstracts from all institutional and potentially transient differences between tokens and equity and is based on a single intrinsic characteristic of tokens: they represent claims to a venture’s output. We show that tokens are likely to dominate equity for ventures developing goods or services that involve low marginal production costs, those for which entrepreneurial effort is crucial, and/or those with relatively low payoff volatility. In addition, tokens can have an advantage over equity in signaling venture quality to outside investors. This paper was accepted by Kay Giesecke, finance.

Observable Cyber Risk on Cournot Oligopoly Data Storage Markets

With the emergence of global digital service providers, concerns about digital oligopolies have increased, with a wide range of potentially harmful effects being discussed. One of these relates to cyber security, where it has been argued that market concentration can increase cyber risk. Such a state of affairs could have dire consequences for insurers and reinsurers, who underwrite cyber risk and are already very concerned about accumulation risk. Against this background, the paper develops some theory about how convex cyber risk affects Cournot oligopoly markets of data storage. It is demonstrated that with constant or increasing marginal production cost, the addition of increasing marginal cyber risk cost decreases the differences between the optimal numbers of records stored by the oligopolists, in effect offsetting the advantage of lower marginal production cost. Furthermore, based on the empirical literature on data breach cost, two possibilities are found: (i) that such cyber risk exhibits decreasing marginal cost in the number of records stored and (ii) the opposite possibility that such cyber risk instead exhibits increasing marginal cost in the number of records stored. The article is concluded with a discussion of the findings and some directions for future research.

Impact of resource reconfiguration on total factor productivity of service industry

Using the Chenery-Syrquin model, this paper investigates the effect of resources reallocation on the TFP of China’s service industry from 2003 to 2016.The main findings are as follows: there are significant structural changes in the production factor configuration of various industries within the service industry. The growth of service industry is still driven mainly by factor input. The resource reconfiguration effect has not yet become the main force driving the growth of TFP of the service industry. However, the structural dividend has become more and more obvious after 2008. The marginal production of capital in most service industries has reached a stage of total reduction and rapid convergence, and there is a convergence of marginal returns of capital within the service industry. The marginal production of labor in most service industries is on the stage of decrease in growth rate and increase in the total amount. Although the marginal production of labor still exhibits divergent characteristics, it has begun to show signs of convergence at the end of the study period. There are phenomena of “mismatching resources”, and the state control or monopoly industry is more serious. The government should improve the property rights system, expand openness, and formulate supporting policies to different industries to promote the optimal allocation of resources.

The Production Function of the Hospitals in Iran: A Systematic Review

Context: Hospitals are the most important section in relation to health economy, accounting for 50-80% of the health budget in developing countries. Objectives: The present study aimed to estimate the production functions of the hospitals in Iran. Data Sources: This systematic review was conducted via searching in the international databases of Scopus, ISI, PubMed and Persian databases of IDML, SID, MagIran for access to data in 2019 with no time limits using keywords such as hospitals, hospital performance, hospital performance assessment, production function estimation, and Iran. The required data on the authors, year of publication, language of publication, and number of hospitals were extracted from the articles using a checklist. The extracted data were categorized and interpreted in the Excel software. Results: The initial search yielded 334 articles, which were extracted and reviewed based on their title, abstract, and elimination of the duplicates. In total, 12 articles were obtained for the final analysis. The mean elasticity of the inputs for physicians, nurses, active beds, and other staff was 0.22, 0.55, 0.64, and 0.36, respectively. In addition, the marginal production of the factors for physicians, nurses, active beds, and other staff was 53.22, 32.56, 41.10, and 38.56, respectively. The marginal production of all the inputs was positive. Conclusions: Considering the positive marginal production of all the inputs, it is suggested that the utilization of the inputs increase due to their elasticity in order to improve efficiency, which is a priority for using active hospital bed. It is also advisable to assess various sections of each hospital rather than on a hospital level and evaluate productivity and efficiency.

Risk-Sharing Agreements in Pharmaceutical Markets

In this article, we model the relationship between a health authority and a pharmaceutical firm when the real efficacy of the drug manufactured by the firm is uncertain. The ex-ante information on the efficacy of the new drug is provided by the outcomes of a clinical trial. We focus on two types of contracts. On the one hand, the health authority can set a unit price regardless of the ex-post real effectiveness of the drug (traditional contract, i.e. no risk sharing). Alternatively, the health authority can make the payments contingent upon the observed ex-post effectiveness (risksharing contract). The optimal contract depends on the trade-off between the monitoring costs, the marginal production cost and the health cost derived from treatment failure. When the efficacy of the drug in the clinical trial is relatively high, a traditional contract is optimal for relatively low marginal costs. When the efficacy in the clinical trial is relatively low, the health authority always prefers to condition the payments upon the effectiveness outcomes.

A financing model with rebate contract in a capital-constrained supply chain

In a two-level supply chain that includes one supplier and one capital-constrained retailer, this paper investigates a new bank financing model (Model N), in which, the supplier requires the retailer to order a quantity that is not less than a specified minimum ordering quantity (MOQ), rebates the per unit excess that sells over the MOQ, and promises to provide a partial warranty for the bank credit risk if the revenue is below the bankruptcy level of the retailer with the MOQ. This study shows that retailer's optimal order quantity increases with MOQ level and decreases with rebate rate, while supplier's optimal wholesale price shows an opposite tendency. Compared to the traditional bank financing model (Model T), the model N with an appropriate rebate contract will result in a larger order quantity of retailer. Furthermore, model N would benefit the entire supply chain and a Pareto zone of MOQ (or rebate rate) exists, in which, model N outperforms model T for each player. The numerical experiments are performed to illustrate that with increasing the marginal production cost of supplier, the MOQ level is decreasing while rebate rate is increasing in the Pareto zone.

KUALIFIKASI MANAJERIAL TEKNIS PRODUKSI TELUR PERUSAHAAN UD. FITRA ABADI, KECAMATAN LEIHITU, KABUPATEN MALUKU TENGAH

The technical managerial ability to produce eggs from farmers and farm company managers is an indicator of how well businesses organize successful production and business activities. This study aims to determine the technical indicators of production efficiency in the laying hens company UD. Fitra Abadi. The study used a survey method, the location was selected purposively, and the study lasted 31 days in October 2018. The sample used was one cage block with 2,100 hens laying hens. The results showed the laying hens, UD. Fitra Abadi applies a technology package that is lower in capacity by mixing shop food (35%), corn feed (45%), and bran feed (20%). Egg production produced an average of 1,738 eggs per day (82.76% of 2,100 chickens) is below the best capacity of the peak egg-laying period of 95%. Technical indicators of production show the average production of eggs per kg of food 6.43 eggs, marginal production of -0.3 eggs, and elasticity of -0.047. The efficiency of the company's production becomes negative, and the company operates in a loss phase.

PERENCANAAN KAPASITAS PRODUKSI DENGAN PENDEKATAN BIAYA MARJINAL PADA PABRIK TAHU “SBR” BENGKULU

Production capacity planning with a marginal cost approach and marginal sales proceeds to get the maximum profit at Bengkulu's "SBR" factory. This study aims to find out what the marginal production capacity planning will be produced with the marginal cost approach at Bengkulu's "SBR" plant. This research method is to establish a direct relationship with the tuhu factory "SBR" Bengkulu. The method of analysis is qualitative and quantitative analysis. The variables analyzed in this study are capacity planning and marginal cost. The calculation results are known that the factory knows "SBR" produces marginal production of 120 packs, with the minimum marginal cost of Rp 156.25 occurring in the third quarter of 2012. When compared with production knew that in the fourth quarter of 2012, the factory knew that Bengkulu's "SBR" had a marginal production of 80 packs with a marginal cost of Rp. 2000, so it would be more profitable when marginal production was 120 packs. These results can be concluded that production capacity planning with a marginal cost approach will benefit the factory knowing "SBR" Bengkulu.