Critical Juncture 1: Operational Challenges
Your team must wait until there are 2 mins
or less remaining before selecting its decision.
*** New Options (Technology Enhancements) Added Below ***
Context
Amazonia recently witnessed a significant leadership change due to severe underperformance. With production rates, cost of production, and profitability consistently falling below targeted levels, this situation has raised concerns not only for the US parent company Energy Nexus, but also for Petrobras, the company’s majority shareholder.
Key production data and additional details are below:
Production Data:
- Region: Amazon Basin (actual)
- Barrels per Day: 30,000
- Cost of Production: USD $60 / Barrel
- Employees: 800 Brazilians, 50 Foreign Nationals
Profitability:
- Region: Amazon Basin (actual)
- Price USD: $70 / barrel
- Daily Profit USD: $300,000
Following the recent oil spill, Amazonia’s strategy to mitigate oil price volatility through its Amazon Basin operations has faced heightened challenges, significantly increasing operational costs due to cleanup and regulatory compliance efforts. This situation, coupled with global market fluctuations—from geopolitical tensions to the shift towards renewables—has intensified the complexity of achieving financial stability. Despite crude oil’s price rebound to approximately $70 USD per barrel, Amazonia contends with market unpredictability and competition from technologically advanced regions boasting lower production costs.
The spill has necessitated a strategic overhaul for Amazonia, urging improvements in operational efficiency, cost management, and the adoption of sustainable practices. As the company strives to recover and adapt to the evolving market landscape, prioritizing these adjustments is crucial for maintaining competitiveness and ensuring long-term profitability. This approach is essential not only for financial recovery but also for reinforcing Amazonia’s commitment to environmental stewardship in one of the planet’s most ecologically sensitive areas.
Your Operations Manager, Shamus O’Brien, will be in contact with you shortly to provide further information on the operational challenges facing Amazonia.
Task
Select the best approach from the options below to deal with the current operational challenges:
Options
Discuss and fully consider the options below with your team members.
Refine operational processes to boost efficiency and safety, focusing on identifying and mitigating environmental risks. Incorporate advanced environmental management systems to enhance spill prevention and response capabilities.
- Advantages: Increases efficiency and environmental safety, potential cost savings.
- Disadvantages: Resource-intensive, may require significant time to implement fully.
Implement eco-friendly technologies that can swiftly improve operational efficiency and reduce environmental impact, such as enhanced oil recovery techniques tailored to minimize ecological footprint.
- Advantages: Quick impact on efficiency and sustainability, strengthens competitive position.
- Disadvantages: Requires upfront investment, may face a skills gap in new technologies.
Expand employee training programs to cover advanced operational skills, environmental management, and spill response, enhancing workforce capability to tackle current and future challenges.
- Advantages: Improves skill sets; supports long-term operational and environmental goals.
- Disadvantages: Time-intensive; benefits may not be immediate.
Adapt production strategies to market demands and environmental considerations, employing flexible drilling techniques and eco-conscious production methods to swiftly respond to market and environmental changes.
- Advantages: Enhances adaptability to market and environmental changes; stabilizes operations.
- Disadvantages: May introduce logistical challenges, requires careful resource planning.
Strengthen the supply chain by identifying alternative suppliers and routes, focusing on environmental sustainability and resilience to disruptions, enhancing reliability, and supporting local economies.
- Advantages: Reduces risk of operational disruptions; improves access to markets.
- Disadvantages: Could cause initial disruptions; adds complexity to supply chain management.
Upgrade health and safety protocols to address both routine and spill-related risks, emphasizing rigorous Health & Safety audits, spill response training, and enhanced Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for all operations within the Amazon Basin.
- Advantages: Protects employee well-being, ensures compliance with stricter environmental and safety standards.
- Disadvantages: Incurs immediate costs, requires allocation of time and resources away from other operational activities.
Decision
After carefully assessing all of the options above, choose the best option (select below) to to deal with the current operational challenges:
