Prudhoe Bay Oil Field: Discovery, Formation and Impacts

Prudhoe Bay Oil Field: Discovery, Formation and Impacts The Prudhoe Bay oil field: The largest oil discovery in the USA The Prudhoe Bay oil field is located in Alaska on the North Slope. The onshore field spans 214,000 acres. Due to the immense size, satellite fields are established within the field. These extract smaller quantities of oil and gas. In total, there are an estimated 24 billion bbls of OOIP and 40 tcf of OGIP (BP, 2006). The National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA) is also in the North Slope, which is owned by the federal government. In 1944 the U.S Geographical Survey conducted an extensive exploration program on behalf of the U.S navy costing over $55 million (Morgridge, 1969). Seismic, gravity and magnetic surveys were completed and 3 oil and 6 gas reservoirs were found. Without this survey, there is little doubt this field would have been discovered so soon by ARCO and Exxon in 1968. This was followed by 8 years of legitimacy issues where surrounding lease owners including BP and Exxon resolved their equity participation for the future oil extractions. Production then began in 1977. Currently, BP is the operator of the Prudhoe Bay field and all satellite fields on the Prudhoe Bay unit. ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil have the highest joint percentage ownership of 36% each followed by BP (26%) and lastly Chevron (1%) (BP, 2013). The stratigraphy and structural formations made it possible for the reservoir to form. During rifting, rocks were uplifted which gave rise to an unconformity; these rocks were buried again, giving rise to an unconformity trap. Figure 1 shows the cross section of the field and the most important reservoir is found in the Sadlerochit group. The western boundary of this reservoir is sealed by the structural straddle in the upper surface on the reservoir. A stratigraphic trap seals the reservoir; this is an unconformable layer composed of a cretaceous mudstone. At the start of production the depth of oil bearing sandstone was 600ft, recently the thickness average is 60ft. (Jamison, Brockett and McIntosh, 1983, pp. 279–302) The deposition of the sadlerochit layer occurred under 2 separate conditions giving rise to an upper and lower sequence, containing different compositions. The main composition of the lower sequence ranges is clastic sediments, such as sandstone. This was derived through a northerly source, and crucially deposition occurred in a shallow-marine environment – the believed source of the petroleum. The sediments from the upper layer were derived from the south where non-marine alluvial complexes were present. Figure 2 shows the age of the reservoir is the Triassic age and visually shows the sadlerochit group and the different rocks present including the dipping that occurs. The Ivishak layer contains sandstone and has a slight dip of 2O south; this layer produces the largest proportion of the oil in the field (Erickson and Sneider, 1997, pp. 18–22). The permeability varies across the field. The Ivishak layer is subdivided into 8 vertical zones and in descending order these zones are 4B, 4A, 3, 2C, 2B, 2A, 1B, and 1A. Zones are defined by the individual petrophysical properties of each vertical section. The permeability in each individual zone varies considerably, for example in zone 2A there is a 100-fold difference in minimum and maximum values- 25md to 2500md. This difference implies that there is a vast change in the pore system, not the magnitude of porosity (Sneider and Erickson, 1997, pp. 23–30). Figure 4 shows the varying rock type and thickness, as well as the geophysical properties. For example, the low gamma ray count indicates the presence of silt and shale. Development of the field has been hugely successful. There were 25 billion bbls of oil, of which only 9.6 billion bbls was initially thought to be recoverable. This estimate has increased to 13 billion bbls due to technological advances in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and through gas reinjection programs (ConocoPhillips, 2006). Of these 13 billion bbls, 11.3 billion bbls of oil has been extracted. Production rates of oil began to exceed one million bbls in 1969 and peaked in 1987 to 1.6 million bbls a day (Alaska Department of Administration, 2013). Since 1991 daily output began to decline annually at a rate of 7-12% a year; this is shown through Figure 5 (Standing, 2000). Nowadays, the Prudhoe Bay field produces 271,000 bbls of oil a day. Miscible gas injection is a successful EOR method used in Prudhoe Bay. Miscible gas acts as a solvent, vaporizing the oil from the residual oil content, thus more oil reaches the producing wells (BP, 2006). Once miscible gas is injected, water is then pumped into the reservoir. This method increases efficiency by preventing gas channeling within the reservoir. This EOR method is known as water-alternating-gas. In 1983, the Prudhoe Bay miscible gas project began. The project aimed to optimise the oil recovery of the field by carrying out a number of trials where the amount of miscible gas injected was varied. Each trial was ranked in order of efficiency in terms of produced oil and in respect to the amount of solvent retained in the reservoir (Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, 1983). The most efficient injection ratio remained which is one of the reasons the ultimate recovery is around 60% of the initial reserves. Of this 60%, the miscible gas injection contributes up to 10% of the recovery in certain areas. This project occurred early in the field’s production increasing the oil production from the onset. Oil extracted from the Prudhoe Bay field is transported along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). The TAPS spans from the Prudhoe Bay field to the Valdez Marine terminal located 800 miles away; here up to 7.13 million barrels of oil can be stored which can then be loaded on tankers (Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, 2011). Without the pipeline, resources extracted from the North Slope cannot be monetised as the product cannot reach the market for sale due to the field’s location. The TAPS was the largest privately funded construction when built, costing $8 billion; since then, 16 billions barrels of oil has been transport to the Valdez Marine terminal (ConocoPhillips , 2014). However, the decline of oil output is soon to be an issue; with no investment, the minimum flow rate may occur as soon as 2045, which will lead to the shutdown of the TAPS. This is because, if flow rate is not achieved, corrosion and ice will occur to a greater extent causing the pipe to wrinkle and kink. Gas is just as important a resource as oil. Since a gas pipeline from the North Slope is non-existent; gas is not marketable as it cannot be transported away from the North Slope. Since startup, the majority of the gas extracted with the oil was re-injected into the reservoir to enhance oil recovery while some supports power the production plants. Gas and water are separated from the oil at a separation plant where the gas is then transported to the world largest central gas facility (CGF) that is located in Prudhoe Bay. The CGF can handle 9 bcf of gas daily and has the world largest smokeless flare where excess gas is burnt. The gas in the CGF is cooled and separated according to the size of the gas particles, the cooling facility alone costs $1 billion to build (BP, 2006). Most of the larger natural gas liquids are mixed with the oil and sent along the TAPS. The rest is mixed with methane giving a miscible gas, which is injected into the reservoir as an EOR method. The unused gas i s sent to the central compression plant (CCP), where it is compressed and injected into the reservoir to maintain pressure, which aids oil recovery. Consequently, since production the reservoir pressure has only declined by 1000 psi (4300 to 3300psi) (Weaver and Uldrich, 1999). The future prospects of the field are less promising due to the depletion of the oil. However, these prospects can be restored if the Alaskan gas pipeline is approved. The Alaska liquefied natural gas project (LNG) would be one of the world’s largest construction projects with estimated costs of $45 billion to $65 billion, funded by Exxon, ConocoPhillips and BP (Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, 2014). The project includes an 800-mile pipeline shown in figure 6 spanning from Prudhoe Bay to Nikiski. LNG carriers would then transport the liquefied natural gas (LNG). The project includes a purpose built liquefaction plants and a gas purifying plant to remove carbon dioxide and other impurities. The pipeline will have the capacity to carry up to 3.5 billion cubic feet of gas, while the LNG plant will be capable of making up to 20 million metric tons of LNG a year (processing 2.5 billion cubic feet a day). This project would allow the gas extracted to be monetised and exp orted to countries with a free trade agreement with the United States. This includes South Korea, which is the second largest LNG importer (Hong, 2013). This project will increase the field’s economic outcome, attracting further investment. The productivity of the field is improved by establishing satellite fields. Figure 7 illustrates the 5 satellite fields. The Polaris and Orion satellite field produces the viscous oil in the formation that is difficult to extract at a depth of 4000-5000 ft. In comparison Midnight Sun extracts the hydrocarbon from a sandstone formation at a depth of 8000 ft. The Aurora and Borealis fields are established on similar formations. These fields combined contribute to around 30,000 barrels of oil a day (BP,2013). The satellite fields use existing infrastructure, which meant that the field was being optimised further by increase production while the initial costs were kept low. It is important to consider the impacts of oil and gas production in Prudhoe Bay. Approximately 2% of the land surface in the region has been altered due to the oil industry. Monitoring species diversity in the region has shown that there is little change due to this alteration. In fact, most animals use the oil field for nesting, breeding and summer forage. Some habitat has been lost which has resulted in some species being localised, however, there was no decline in population. This shows that the impacts of the oil industry on the North Slope are negligible showing sustainable development (Maki, 1992, pp. 1691–1707). Following the decline in production, exploration was renewed, which led to the discovery of two previously unutilised areas. The areas are in the west region of the field and the Sag River formation, which overlies the main Prudhoe Bay reservoir. Due to the potential of these new areas, BP has increased investment in Alaska by 25% to $1.2 billion. Part of this investment will be used to conduct a 190 square mile seismic survey and a new well pad. It is estimated that the investment may increase production by 40,000bpd, thus reduce the likelihood of the TAPS shutdown as minimum flow rate is easily overcome (Platts, 2014). The Sag River formation is a thin unexploited reservoir in which a 15 well test program will be conducted during 2015 and 2016. The success of this could enable a future 200 wells being built, this may yield 200 million barrels of oil once developed. The Western part of the field hasn’t been fully exploited yet with only the Borealis satellite field tapping in to a reservoir that is in a lower position than the main reservoir. Continuing west, the oil column reduces in thickness at times being only 30ft, this is in the Northwest Eileen. Horizontal drilling will be needed to maximize extraction of the thin oil column; this comes with the associated risks of water encroachment on top of the increased cost due to horizontal drilling (Bailey, 2013). Due to these issues, the decision to develop the Northwest Eileen is still in the pipeline and if approved would further increase production rates. To conclude, the possibilities and the history of Prudhoe Bay make it attractable to investors. Prudhoe Bay is a giant field where majority of the oil has been extracted resulting in a decline in production rates. The TAPS is vital for the success of the field and if minimum flow rate is not achieved then the oil can no longer be transported and sold. Investments to the pipeline will mean that minimum flow rate can be lowered extending the life of the TAPS. There are no plans of abandonment due to the likelihood of future proposals being successful. The liquefied natural gas project alone would be highly profitable and successful for investors as around 40 tcf of gas is still present. If the future exploration projects are successful in areas such as the Sag River formation then oil production will begin to increase. A successful future of the field is dependent of these tests but if encouraging, investors will be in a privileged position. Bibliography: Alaska Department of Administration (2013)AOGCC Pool Statistics. Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects (2014)Alaska LNG project. Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects. Available at: http://www.arcticgas.gov/alaska-lng-project (Accessed: 6 December 2014). Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Comnission (1983)PRUDHOE BAY MISCIBLE GAS PROJECT. Alyeska Pipeline Service Company (2011)The Valdez Marine Terminal. Alyeska 2011. Available at: http://www.alyeska-pipe.com/TAPS/ValdezTerminalAndTankers (Accessed: 6 December 2014). Arctic Gas (2013)Alaska natural gas pipeline projects guide, maps. Arcticgas.gov. Available at: http://www.arcticgas.gov/alaska-natural-gas-pipeline-projects-guide-and-maps (Accessed: 16 December 2014). Bailey, A. (2013) ‘BP looks to new development at Prudhoe Bay to help stem decline’, Petroleum News, August. BP (2013)Greater Prudhoe Bay. Available at: http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/pdf/bp-worldwide/prudhoe-bay-2013.pdf (Accessed: 6 December 2014). BP (2006)Prudhoe Bay factsheet. Available at: https://dec.alaska.gov/spar/perp/response/sum_fy06/060302301/factsheets/060302301_factsheet_PB.pdf (Accessed: 6 December 2014). ConocoPhillips (2006) ‘Viscous oil the Slope’s next major proven oil opportunity’,Arctic Energy: For today and tomorrow. ConocoPhillips (2014)Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). Available at: http://alaska.conocophillips.com/who-we-are/alaska-operations/Pages/trans-alaska-pipeline-system.aspx (Accessed: 6 December 2014). Division of Oil and Gas (1996) ‘Generalised North Slope Stratigraphic column displaying oil and gas reservoirs and associated columns’. Erickson, J. W. and Sneider, R. M. (1997) ‘Structural and Hydrocarbon Histories of The Ivishak (Sadlerochit) Reservoir, Prudhoe Bay Field’,SPE Reservoir Engineering, 12(01), pp. 18–22. doi: 10.2118/28574-pa. Hamilton, J. (2007) ‘The challenge of depletion’. Holstein, E. D. and Warner, H. R. (1994) ‘Overview of Water Saturation Determination For the Ivishak (Sadlerochit) Reservoir, Prudhoe Bay Field’,SPE Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition. doi: 10.2118/28573-ms. Hong, C. H. (2013) ‘South Korea LNG Imports Climb 19 Percent on Higher Power Demand’, Bloomberg, November. Jamison, H., Brockett, L. and McIntosh, R. (1983) ‘Chapter 13 Palaeogeomorphic and Unconformity Traps’,Developments in Petroleum Science, pp. 279–302. doi: 10.1016/s0376-7361(08)70097-9. Maki, A. (1992) ‘Of measured risks: The environmental impacts of the Prudhoe Bay, alaska, oil field’, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 11(12), pp. 1691–1707. doi: 10.1002/etc.5620111204. Morgridge, D. (1969) ‘Geology and Discovery of Prudhoe Bay Field, Eastern Arctic Slope, Alaska: ABSTRACT’, AAPGAAPG Bulletin. doi: 10.1306/5d25cc57-16c1-11d7-8645000102c1865d. Platts (2014) ‘BP to hike 2014 Alaska investment 25% to $1.2 bil, plans new projects’, Bradner, T., February. Sneider, R. M. and Erickson, J. W. (1997) ‘Rock Types, Depositional History, and Diagenetic Effects, Ivishak Reservoir, Prudhoe Bay Field’,SPE Reservoir Engineering, 12(01), pp. 23–30. doi: 10.2118/28575-pa. Standing, T. H. (2000) ‘Data shows steep Prudhoe Bay production decline.’,Oil Gas Journal. Weaver, J. W. and Uldrich, D. O. (1999) ‘Optimizing Solvent Allocation in the Prudhoe Bay Miscible Gas Project’,SPE Western Regional Meeting. doi: 10.2118/54615-ms.

To What Degree Might Different Languages Shape In Their Speakers Differ

To What Degree Might Different Languages Shape In Their Speakers Different Concepts Of Themselves And The World? What Are The Implications Of Such Differences For Knowledge?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The difference in languages can cause different perceptions of various cultures leading to distinctions or possible clashes. When I lived in France I faced some of the problems a language barrier can cause. The most common and at the same time most irritating problem of language is the inability to translate word for word as some words just don’t have a direct translation into another language. These are normally colloquialisms for example â€Å"up the apples and pears† does not translate into â€Å"monter les pommes et les poires.† This would cause people to look at you in a very strange manner wondering what on earth you were talking about and it’s not only verbal language which creates different perceptions of people. Body language, such as hand movements and voice intonation can determine or change someone’s perception of a culture. The following paragraphs will illustrate the way language can be misconstrued.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first point I would like to illustrate is the way body language can have different effects on people. For example, in England the use of hands when you are speaking is quite rare, the odd movement of the hand may be seen but the most common use of hand signals or motions is when someone is making an insult. I will use the Italians as an example of at times exaggerated and frequent use of hands. The Italians often use their hands as a way of secondary communication. As they speak they dramatise their conversations which can be mistakenly perceived by some people as confrontation when in fact they are having a simple conversation. This is where the lack of knowledge of a culture can cause a misunderstanding. Another example of communication which can cause raised eyebrows is the way the French acknowledge one another is doing something called the â€Å"bises.† This is where they give a kiss on each cheek. (Depending on the region this could be two, three even four kisses.) It is considered rude to just verbally greet someone so the â€Å"bises† is the norm for them. However when they are out of their country they could receive strange looks because people don’t understand their reasons and therefore could be perceived that French m... ...age on the planet, or to speak the universal language of Esperanto created in 1887 by Dr. Zamenhof which, if possible would bring an end to our cultural differences – how boring!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion, each country has the knowledge and understanding of its own culture and will therefore have a different perception of foreign cultures due to the possible lack of understanding. The argument â€Å"someone can only fully understand another culture if they speak their language† is I believe true. Language can not always be translated directly so the only way to fully understand a concept of a culture is to speak that language learning the subtle nuances. Ignorance, I believe causes misunderstanding, take for instance when Brits go on holiday unable to comprehend another language yet believing that everyone should understand them sometimes coming across as arrogant and rude. Understanding a culture needs patience, understanding and open mindedness. Respecting one-another’s differences can allows us to live together in harmony irrespective of our cultural upbringing and beliefs. I believe differences alleviate boredom as life would be mund ane if we were all the same.

Air Asia Marketing Essay

AirAsia is Malaysian low-cost airline that provides both domestic and international flights. AirAsia started operating on 18 November 1996, it pioneered low cost travelling in Asia. In 2001, the airline which was heavily indebted was purchased by Tony Fernandes’s company Tune Air Sdn Bhd. Under his charge, AirAsia has become one of the biggest low cost airlines operating in Asia today. Its main hub is based in the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). As such, AirAsia consumers tend to be from the lower to middle income population. Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia are subsidiaries of AirAsia and are based in Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Indonesia, respectively. Company Analysis I. Segmentation AirAsia target market segment consist of three different but overlapping segments that were segmented according to Geographic Segmentation, Demographic Segmentation and Psychographic Segmentation. AirAsia is targets mainly the Asian market, hence the name AirAsia. As such, they do geographic segmentation by focusing their services primarily in Asia. Being a low cost airline, they are targeting the low to middle income group (demographic) and the cost-conscious travellers (psychographic). II. TOWS In order to find the current marketing challenges faced by AirAsia and to determine what are the possible solutions that they can implement, taking into consideration their opportunities and take advantage of their strengths, the TOWS analysis model (Threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths) will be used. Threats | Opportunities | * Intense competition (i.e. Tiger Airlines, Singapore Airlines) | * Asia’s middle class growth * ASEAN Open Skies * Increasing oil price| Weaknesses | Strengths | * Fair availability | * Well established brand name * Low cost leader in Asia | Threats What was once a relatively small market of low-cost airlines when AirAsia was first established, AirAsia not only has to face indirect competitors such as non-budget airlines (i.e. Singapore Airlines), ferries (i.e. Kuala Perlis Langkawi Ferry Service Sdn Bhd) and buses (i.e. Aeroline, now they are also threaten with intense direct competitors such as Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia Airways. Opportunities Countries in Asia, such as China and India, are up-and-coming huge potential markets in the future. In China, there were already 130, 000, 000 consumers just in the middle class range in 2006. It is estimated to increase to 340, 000, 000 in 2016, a 162% growth from 2006 as shown in the graph below. This is beneficial for AirAsia as it means that their targeted consumers (low to middle income) will grow exponentially in the near future. ASEAN Open Skies is an agreement, targeted for 2015, to allow unlimited flights between all the ASEAN’s regional air carriers, both full services and low-cost airlines. The rationale for the Open Sky agreement is to promote competition in the airline industry. Due to its strong brand name and â€Å"low-cost† culture among its workforce, AirAsia is more likely to gain from this agreement. The increasing oil prices may seem like a threat to AirAsia, however being the low cost leader in Asia, this can actually be seen as an opportunity for them instead. This is because high oil prices would affect all the airlines and not just AirAsia. Thus, AirAsia will still be the lowest costing among all the different airlines. This could result in an increase in market share for AirAsia as customers from the different airlines would relocate to AirAsia. Weaknesses The availability of AirAsia flights is not good as full services airline. While fair availability may seem like a huge weakness that would need to be tackled and solved, it would be difficult for AirAsia to remain cost leader if it offered comprehensive support as it would result in increased operational cost. Strengths AirAsia’s brand name is well established in the Asian region. This was not only due to the fact that AirAsia the pioneered low cost travelling in Asia, but also because of the extensive advertising & promotions they have done. Indonesia AirAsia and Thai AirAsia have successfully helped AirAsia to spread the brand throughout the regional beyond just Malaysia. Due to AirAsia Academy, which AirAsia’s regional training academy located in Malaysia, it has helped to create a low-cost airline mentality among their workforce. It is because of this workforce that AirAsia has become the low-cost airline leader in Asia in terms of overall cost. In the table on the following page, it details the difference in terms of cost per available seat kilometres (ASK, which is the total number of seats available on scheduled flights multiplied by the number of kilometres these seats were flown), between AirAsia and the other competitors. Its shows that AirAsia  has a large advantage over t he competitors in this area. Source: http://sandygarink.tripod.com/papers/AA_IA.pdf Marketing Challenge Looking through the company analysis, the biggest marketing challenge currently faced by AirAsia is to remain competitive and protect their market share in the increasingly competitive market of low-cost airline. Recommendations I. Tap into the growing Asian Market For AirAsia to remain competitive and not only protect their market share but expand it as well, it is vital that AirAsia taps into and take advantage of the growing Asian Market. They can do this by adopting the following strategies. Market Challenger Strategies The market challenger strategies are a set of strategies that a company can employ to gain market share and becoming the leader eventually (Kotler and Armstrong, Principles of Marketing, latest 2010, 13th edition). AirAsia can use these strategies, specifically, frontal, flank, bypass and guerrilla attack, to make itself standout from the rest of the competitors and hopefully gain a larger market share of the growing Asia middle income population. Attacker Defender (3) Encirclement attack (4) Bypass attack (2) Flank attack (5) Guerrilla attack Frontal attack Source: Frontal Attack: Frontal attack refers to when you attack the weakness of another company’s product. In the case of AirAsia, they should attack their competitors through their prices. Due to the reasons listed above, AirAsia has become the low cost leader in Asia. It is unlikely for their rivals to be able to complete in terms of price alone in the long run. Thus, AirAsia should use their comparative low prices to challenge their competitors directly. The limitation to this form of attack is that AirAsia has to maintain that low cost advantage that they have. This means that they have to invest a large portion of their capital into their research and development section to ensure that they are flying at the lowest cost possible. One way AirAsia can further reduce their operational cost is by standardizing their aircraft. As shown in the table in the following page, AirAsia has currently 5 different types of aircraft, ranging from the Airbus A320-200 to the Airbus A350-900. However, if AirAsia was to reduce this to just two to three different types of aircraft it would lead to a drastic drop in cost, as economies of scale comes into effect when they buy and maintain the same type of aircraft Staff cost also reduce, as they only need to know how to handle a few types of aircraft, this leads to training time being reduced and eventually reducing operational cost. Flank Attack: Flank attack refers to attacking competitors at their weak points or blind spots. One of the things lacking in the low-cost airlines in Asia today is the ability to travel long distance at the same low price offered for the short duration trips. AirAsia already has AirAsia X, which provides this long haul flight services, however, their destinations are limited as they only go to the more popular countries such as London or Sydney. For that reason, one of the strategies AirAsia could implement is to form an alliance with low-cost airlines outside of Asia like Virgin Blue. This strategy will be further explained later in the report. Bypass Attack: This form of attack refers to diversifying into unrelated products or markets neglected by the other competitors. One of the ways AirAsia could diversify is by offering affordable accommodations at their destinations. These accommodations can be provided by Tune Hotels which is an associated company own by Tony Fernandes, who is also the CEO of AirAsia. Travellers will see this as a value added service as not only would they be able to get a cheap form of transportation but a place to stay as well. The limitation of providing accommodations is that it is financially infeasible to set up a hotel at all of their current flight destinations. As such, it would be better to start off by offering this service only at location where it would be difficult to get cheap lodging, for examples in the city areas of Japan. And as the company grow further, it can start to expand on the location where these hotels will be provided. Guerrilla Attack: AirAsia can apply guerrilla attacks by launching small, intermittent hit-and-run attacks to harass and destabilize the leader. AirAsia can use promotions for short periods of time to try and steal customers from their competitors. One such example is when AirAsia had a 48 hours promotion between 28 Sept – 29 Sept 2009, where they offered a 20% discount on all seats, flights and destinations. This is a very useful type of attack for AirAsia because of their low cost advantage, as they are able to maintain promotions, especially discounted price promotion, longer than their competitors with a lower lost in profit. The limitation of offering promotions is the reduction in the profit margin when they give discounted prices. However, this negative impact can be minimized by placing the promotions at strategically moments, such as only when competitors are offering promotions. Alliance with Virgin Blue and America As mentioned under the flank attack section, one of the ways AirAsia can attack their competitors is by offering a more extensive flight network outside of Asia. While AirAsia X is currently filling in this market of long haul flights for AirAsia, it is still not comprehensive enough and should be developed further. Virgin Blue and Virgin America are low cost airlines operating in Australia and America respectively. By partnering with them, AirAsia would be able to extend their destinations into Australia and America. For example, if a Malaysian traveller wanted to visit Los Angeles, he would first take an AirAsia route to travel from Kuala Lumpur to Washington, DC, and then take a Virgin America flight to Los Angeles. The rationale for choosing Virgin America is because America is one of the top destinations in terms of international tourist arrivals as seen in the table below, which will only increase with the growing Asian economy. By joining together with Virgin America, AirAsia can capitalize on this existing high human traffic flow going to America. While Australia does not fall under the top 10 international tourist arrivals countries, AirAsia should still focus on the Asia to Australia route. This is because as China and India develop there will be a huge increase in the number of international travellers, a majority of which would be made up of people who have never travelled outside the Asia region or even their countries. Thus, these people, wanting to taste a culture different from Asia but do not want to travel to a far off location such as America or Europe on their first trip, would choose to go to Australia. The advantage of this strategy is that it will not only  target the Asian market segment who wants to travel to locales outside of Asia but also cater to the market segment outside of Asia that wants to travel to Asia. The limitation of this strategy is that AirAsia would have to first form an alliance with low cost airliners in those regions, which could be a difficult process as proven by the already long list of failed airline alliance such as Air Canada/ Continental Airlines and Saberna/Air France (Nigel Evans, David Campbell, George Stonehouse, Strategic management for travel and tourism, 2003) Take advantage of the ASEAN Open Skies agreement As mentioned above, one of the things AirAsia can do to remain competitive in the future is to prepare for the ASEAN Open Skies agreement. With open skies in the ASEAN region, it would be mean that more routes are available for the airlines. For AirAsia, this means that they would be able to fly to more destinations while taking shorter routes as they would no longer be faced with restriction from the countries in the ASEAN region from flying over them. The shorter routes means that flights will take a shorter time to complete, frills such as providing meals may no longer be needed and the frequency of AirAsia flights could be increase as the turnover rate is higher. Thus, they would be able to reduce operational cost, which translates to lower prices, hence making AirAsia more attractive to the consumers. The limitation to this strategy is that the Open Skies agreement applies to all airlines in the ASEAN region, meaning that AirAsia would face even tougher competitions when the agreement starts in 2015. However, because of the strong brand image and low cost leader advantage AirAsia has, if they were one of the â€Å"early movers†, they could grab a huge portion of this market. II. Capitalize on the corporate business AirAsia have seen a recent increase in the numbers of companies (almost double the last 3 years, as seen in the following page table) trading down to low cost airlines, this could be due to the global economic downturn. As such, AirAsia should also be focusing on increasing their share in this corporate business market as this market tends have a more consistent source of demand unlike tourism which is seasonal and easily affected by external factors, such as in the case of the swine flu. AirAsia’s seats sold to corporate clients: 2006 to 1Q09 Source: AirAsia Loyalty programme To capture this market AirAsia could start offering a rewards program. AirAsia could offer perks that are earned according to the amount of business a company does with them. For example discounted pricing or with the more frequently fliers, a point system whereby the companies could earn free flights if they accumulated enough mileage. The limitation of this strategy is that AirAsia would have to incur a lower profit margin as they would now be selling at lower discounted prices. However, the pros far overweight the cons in the case of AirAsia. Once again due to being the low cost leader in Asia, the rewards program offered by AirAsia would likely be the most attractive compared to the other competitors as they can offer better perks, hence they could easily become the market leader in the corporate flying market, making up for the lower profit margin per seat by pure volume. Conclusion To recap, the main marketing challenge facing AirAsia at the moment is the intense competition that exist in the low cost airline industry. The strategies that AirAsia can implement to remain competitive are two pronged, to tap into the Asian middle income class and focus on the corporate businesses. They can capitalize on the Asian market by using market challenge strategies, standing out from the rest by attacking their competitors. Finally, they can take advantage of the corporate businesses by offering a form of loyalty programme that would make it more attractive for companies to use AirAsia. Ultimately, the reason why the above strategies would work is because of the low cost leader advantage that AirAsia has. In order to survive in this market, AirAsia has to ensure that they maintain their low cost altitude.

safety and sanitation in the kitchen Essays - 7609 Words

Safety and Sanitation in the Kitchen Safety in the kitchen means using precautionary methods in the kitchen to prevent an accident. Most accident in the kitchen is due to carelessness. Safety Procedures: Basic Rules of Kitchen Safety 1. Wear appropriate, clean clothing on the lab days. 2. Never cook in loose clothes and keep long hair tied back. 3. Store knives in a wooden block or in a drawer. 4. Keep potholder nearby and use them. 5. Don’t let temperature-sensitive foods sit out in the kitchen. 6. Separate raw meat and poultry from other items whenever you use or store them. 7. When possible use a kitchen tool, not your hands to complete tasks. 8. Wipe up spills immediately. Keep the floor dry so that no one slips†¦show more content†¦Waste Disposals Food Waste Disposal Units The Kitchen Layout If you understand the basic principles of kitchen layout will help take much of the mystery out of the design process. The most basic layout principle is the work triangle. The work triangle is the line drawn from each of the three primary work stations in the kitchen – the food storage, cooktop, and sink. By drawing these lines, you can see the distance you’ll walk to move to and from each area. The sum of the ideal triangle is supposed to be between 15 and 22 feet, putting each of the three appliances within two or three steps of one another. The three primary kitchen work stations which create the work triangle are: 1. Food storage - Your refrigerator and pantry are the major items here. Cabinetry like lazy Susan or swing-out pantry units adds function and convenience. Options like wine racks, spice racks, and roll-out trays help to organize your groceries. 2. The preparation/cooking station – Your range, oven, microwave, and smaller appliances are found in this area. Counter space is important in this section. Conserve space by moving appliances off the counter with appliance garage cabinets and space-saving ideas like towel rods and pot lid racks. 3. The clean-up station – Everyone’s least favorite activity is one of the kitchen’s most important – clean-up. This area is home to the sink,Show MoreRelatedGood Personal Hygiene And Food Safety1906 Words   |  8 PagesFood safety is determined not only by proper sanitation, food storage or cleaning methods, but the importance of personal hygiene is a major part of food safety as well. Unclean hands, filthy dingy clothing, uncovered hair and other improper habits in a kitchen can cause food contamination through bacteria, dirt or germs. When food contamination occurs, those consuming the food can experience sickness, these sicknesses are known as a food-borne illness. 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