Developing Capability for a Continuous Improvement Culture in Petroleum Development Oman PDO

Objectives/Scope To highlight at a high level the successful method of building Continuous Improvement (CI) competence Pan Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) and the different pathways used to engage everyone at every level of the organization circa. 10,000 people as part of PDO transformation to a Continuous Improvement organization Methods, Procedures, Process PDO is developing a CI culture through 2 pathways, CI Professional & CI Generalist. CI Professionals, limited to 50 high potentials, spend 3 years full time developing CI competence to a level they can coach autonomously in the business. CI Generalists build CI skills though training and deliberate practice becoming Lean Practitioners, Lean Managers and Practical Problem Solving (PPS) practitioners & facilitators. Results, Observations, Conclusions A CI function has been created to own the development of staff, standards, and deployment. Having quarterly competence development reviews for CI Professionals, to discuss and monitor progress and establish goals for the next quarter have resulted in a step change in speed and quality of development. We have had 100+ CI Coaches through the development program as of July 2021, either returning to the business to germinate CI in their new teams or developing further to become a career CI specialist. Developing the CI competences for CI Generalist has seen an explosion in ideas circa 10,000 with 500 teams practicing CI Fundamentals, 200+ qualified PPS facilitators & 250+ Lean managers coaching in the business. Benefits to date include circa 150K M3 production gain and many millions saved from the budget. Observation is we are developing autonomous teams able to solve problems for themselves resulting in an engaged workforce:- Improving today for a better tomorrow. Sponsorship from the top is the imperative ingredient for success. Engagement of the workforce from the bottom up, staff doing the work, creates the momentum required to make a CI transformation successful. Novel, Additive Information Holistically the approach used can be transferred to any other business and although tailored for PDO is business/sector is agnostic. The coaches who have graduated through our internal certification can and are applying Continuous Improvement in our business and externally in other organizations. Looking to the future we can partner with universities to have Continuous Improvement as part of the curriculum either as modules or a whole syllabus.

On the Electrochemical Insertion of Mg2+in Na7V4(P2O7)4(PO4) and Na3V2(PO4)3 Host Materials

Next generation energy storage technologies need to be more sustainable and cheaper. Among Post-Li chemistries, Mg batteries are emerging as a possible alternative with desirable features like abundance of Mg on the Earth`s crust and a doubled volumetric capacity with respect to the current Li metal. However, research and development of Mg-batteries is still in its infancy stage and still many hurdles are to be understood and solved. For instance, cathode materials showing high capacities, operating at high potentials and with sufficient fast kinetics need to be designed and developed. Polyanionic materials are a class of sustainable and environmentally friendly materials that emerged as possible Mg2+ hosts. In this work the insertion of Mg cations inside the NASICON Na3V2(PO4)3 and, for the first time, in the mixed phosphate phase Na7V4(P2O7)4(PO4), is reported, structurally and electrochemically characterized.

Reversible electrochemical oxidation of sulfur in ionic liquid for high-voltage Al−S batteries

Sulfur is an important electrode material in metal−sulfur batteries. It is usually coupled with metal anodes and undergoes electrochemical reduction to form metal sulfides. Herein, we demonstrate, for the first time, the reversible sulfur oxidation process in AlCl3/carbamide ionic liquid, where sulfur is electrochemically oxidized by AlCl4− to form AlSCl7. The sulfur oxidation is: 1) highly reversible with an efficiency of ~94%; and 2) workable within a wide range of high potentials. As a result, the Al−S battery based on sulfur oxidation can be cycled steadily around ~1.8 V, which is the highest operation voltage in Al−S batteries. The study of sulfur oxidation process benefits the understanding of sulfur chemistry and provides a valuable inspiration for the design of other high-voltage metal−sulfur batteries, not limited to Al−S configurations.

Pilot-Scale Groundwater Monitoring Network for Earthquake Surveillance and Forecasting Research in Korea

Although there is skepticism about the likelihood of predictive success, research on the prediction of an earthquake through precursory changes in natural parameters, including groundwater, has continued for decades. One of the promising precursors is the changes in groundwater, i.e., the level and composition of groundwater, and the monitoring networks are currently operated to observe earthquake-related changes in several countries situated at the seismically active zone. In Korea, the seismic hazards had not been significantly considered for decades since the seismic activity was relatively low; however, the public demands on the management and prediction of earthquakes were raised by two moderate-size earthquakes which occurred in 2016 and 2017. Since then, a number of studies that were initiated in Korea, including this study to establish a pilot-scale groundwater-monitoring network, consisted of seven stations. The network is aimed at studying earthquake-related groundwater changes in the areas with relatively high potentials for earthquakes. Our study identified a potential precursory change in water levels at one particular station between 2018 and 2019. The observed data showed that most monitoring stations are sufficiently isolated from the diurnal natural/artificial activities and a potential precursory change of water level was observed at one station in 2018. However, to relate these abnormal changes to the earthquake, continuous monitoring and analysis are required as well as the aid of other precursors including seismicity and geodetic data.

Response of methanogen communities to the elevation of cathode potentials in bioelectrochemical reactors amended with magnetite

Electromethanogenesis refers to the process where methanogens utilize current for the reduction of CO 2 to CH 4 . Setting low cathode potentials is essential for this process. In this study, we test if magnetite, an iron oxide mineral widespread in the environment, can facilitate the adaption of methanogen communities to the elevation of cathode potentials in electrochemical reactors. Two-chamber electrochemical reactors were constructed with inoculants obtained from paddy field soil. We elevated cathode potentials stepwise from the initial -0.6 V vs the standard hydrogen electrode (SHE) to -0.5 V and then to -0.4 V over the 130 days acclimation. Only weak current consumption and CH 4 production were observed in the bioreactors without magnetite. But significant current consumption and CH 4 production were recorded in the magnetite bioreactors. The robustness of electro-activity of the magnetite bioreactors was not affected by the elevation of cathode potentials from -0.6 V to -0.4 V. But, the current consumption and CH 4 production were halted in the bioreactors without magnetite when the cathode potentials were elevated to -0.4 V. Methanogens related to Methanospirillum were enriched on the cathode surfaces of magnetite bioreactors at -0.4 V, while Methanosarcina relatively dominated in the bioreactors without magnetite. Methanobacterium also increased in the magnetite bioreactors but stayed off electrodes at -0.4 V. Apparently, the magnetite greatly facilitates the development of biocathodes, and it appears that with the aid of magnetite, Methanospirillum spp. can adapt to the high cathode potentials performing efficient electromethanogenesis. IMPORTANCE Converting CO 2 to CH 4 through bioelectrochemistry is a promising approach to the development of green energy biotechnology. This process however requires low cathode potentials, which takes cost. In this study, we test if magnetite, a conductive iron mineral, can facilitate the adaption of methanogens to the elevation of cathode potentials. In the two-chamber reactors constructed by using inoculants obtained from paddy field soil, biocathodes were firmly developed in the presence of magnetite, whereas only weak activities in CH 4 production and current consumption were observed in the bioreactors without magnetite. The elevation of cathode potentials did not affect the robustness of electro-activity of the magnetite bioreactors over the 130 days acclimation. Methanospirillum were identified as the key methanogens associated with the cathode surfaces during the operation at high potentials. The findings reported in this study shed new light on the adaption of methanogen communities to the elevated cathode potentials in the presence of magnetite.

Reviewing Chitin/Chitosan Nanofibers and Associated Nanocomposites and Their Attained Medical Milestones

Chitin/chitosan research is an expanding field with wide scope within polymer research. This topic is highly inviting as chitin/chitosan’s are natural biopolymers that can be recovered from food waste and hold high potentials for medical applications. This review gives a brief overview of the chitin/chitosan based nanomaterials, their preparation methods and their biomedical applications. Chitin nanofibers and Chitosan nanofibers have been reviewed, their fabrication methods presented and their biomedical applications summarized. The chitin/chitosan based nanocomposites have also been discussed. Chitin and chitosan nanofibers and their binary and ternary composites are represented by scattered superficial reports. Delving deep into synergistic approaches, bringing up novel chitin/chitosan nanocomposites, could help diligently deliver medical expectations. This review highlights such lacunae and further lapses in chitin related inputs towards medical applications. The grey areas and future outlook for aligning chitin/chitosan nanofiber research are outlined as research directions for the future.

The different faces of international posting: Why do companies use posting of workers?

The importance of the posting of workers across EU borders has grown considerably in the past decade, causing concern regarding its impact on labour standards in Europe. This article asks why posting has taken such a flight. Building on quantitative analysis and in-depth interviews set against other sources, we shed light on employer motives for deploying posted workers. We develop a typology of posting which shows that while cost minimization is a crucial motive, especially in sectors where labour cost is an important competitive concern, a much wider set of motives are at play. Skill shortages across all levels of the skills spectrum play a crucial role in every sector. In addition, companies use sub-contracting for highly specialized temporary work as well as for routine tasks. Posting is also used for career development, especially of high potentials. Based on the wide array of employer motives for the use of posting, our typology distinguishes between ‘competition posting’, ‘specialisation posting’ and ‘expert posting’. The article discusses some implications for EU policy vis-a-vis posted work.