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Fixing the F1 void: Neon City Festival draws 180K to downtown Las VegasThe former Manchester Labour MP Andrew Bennett, who has died aged 85, devoted most of his adult life to public service, as a school teacher and a councillor, before then spending 31 years in the House of Commons. He always put the pursuit of the political results he sought before any sort of personal recognition. A man of high principle, he believed in civil liberties, human rights and equal opportunities, and attempted to translate those beliefs in a way that improved other people’s lives. He cared about the day-to-day issues of his constituents and would draw attention to the importance of allotments and parks and cemeteries in consideration of urban planning. He is also due some credit for Manchester’s orbital M60 motorway, created by joining existing motorways to form a city circuit, which he opened when the final section was completed in 2000. A Westminster colleague commented on a parliamentary website that his life was “a tribute to the idea that you could achieve much if you don’t want the credit”. He was a quiet but persistent politician and personally consistent in standing up for his own strongly held convictions. Besides politics his great passion was hill-walking. When walking alone he would practise the perfect speech (which he admitted he never delivered) and he once made an actual speech, shouting into the storm, from a windy hilltop in the Peak District named Ward’s Piece, when marking the centenary of the eponymous pioneer politician GHB “Bert” Ward (1876-1957), a member of the Labour Representation Committee who campaigned for walkers’ rights. Bennett campaigned for the right to roam legislation, and was elected president of the Ramblers’ Association in 1988 and made an honorary life member in 1989. When Labour conferences were held in Blackpool he would encourage colleagues to escape the jamboree for a ramble. He was on the left wing of the Labour party, for which he first campaigned in 1945 with his parents and younger sister, Bronwen, and it was probably his destiny, rather than misfortune, not to become a minister. He was an education spokesman under the leadership of Neil Kinnock for five years from 1983, but left the frontbench after the party renounced unilateral disarmament. For the greater part of his political career Labour was in opposition at Westminster and by the time Tony Blair was elected in 1997 it was evident that Bennett was too much his own man to toe any government line. Besides politics his great passion was hill-walking. When alone he would practise the perfect speech (which he admitted he never delivered) By then he had perfected his skills as a parliamentary tactician. He had put in time on seemingly dull bodies – as a member of the liaison committee and then chair of the statutory instruments select committee – and understood Commons procedure sufficiently to be able to use it for political advantage. His political passions were education and the environment, and having chaired the environment select committee from 1994, when Labour took office three years later he assumed the powerful post of jointly chairing the massive select committee on environment, transport, local government and the regions. His expertise was such that he was able to use critical select committee reports as an effective means of pursuing policy issues in the respective government departments. He was an assiduous parliamentarian who worked hard and was never a familiar in the Strangers’ Bar. He spoke often in the chamber, and never hesitated to rebel against the party line if it conflicted with his personal views. The subjects on which he voted against the Blair government included the Iraq war, the privatisation of National Air Traffic Services, the establishment of foundation hospitals and the introduction of student tuition fees. He had joined the leftwing Tribune group when first elected for Stockport North in February 1974, defeating the sitting Tory MP by 203 votes. In his maiden speech the following month, he briskly set out his expectations for the newly elected Labour government. As a Labour councillor on Oldham borough council for the previous decade, he was only too familiar with local housing problems and rehearsed the need for an urgent improvement in the quantity and quality of the nation’s housing stock, much as his successors are articulating in the current Commons. In 1998, in another policy area where he correctly anticipated a significant problem, he drew attention to the failure of Ofwat, the water industry regulator, adequately to oblige the water companies to repair and invest in the infrastructure. After boundary changes in 1983, Bennett became MP for Denton and Reddish, a new constituency containing some parts of his former seat. He stood down as an MP in 2005 and was succeeded by his former constituency aide, Andrew Gwynne, now MP for Gorton and Denton. Born in Barton upon Irwell, a suburb of Salford, he was the son of William Bennett, a local government officer, and Elma (nee Francis), a schoolteacher. He was educated at Kings Road primary school, Stretford, and William Hulme’s grammar school, Whalley Range. Having graduated in economics, politics and sociology at Birmingham University, he became a teacher in 1961 at Mooreclose, Middleton, in Manchester, and in 1969 head of geography at Roch Valley comprehensive school, Rochdale, until his election to parliament. He married Gillian Lawley, a folklorist whom he had first met aged 16, in 1961. Gillian died in 2023 and he is survived by their children, Kate, Matthew and Lee, by seven grandchildren and by Bronwen. • Andrew Francis Bennett, politician and teacher, born 9 March 1939; died 15 December 2024winner777 casino 。

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — TCU leading scorer Frankie Collins will miss the rest of the season because of a broken bone in his left foot, the school said Friday. The 6-foot-2 senior guard, in his first season at TCU after spending the past two at Arizona State, is scheduled to have surgery Tuesday in Dallas. Collins leads the Horned Frogs (5-4) with 11.2 points and 4.4 assists per game. He also averages 4.4 rebounds per game. TCU said Collins broke his foot in the first half of its 83-74 loss to Vanderbilt last Sunday. He still played 35 minutes, finishing with six points and seven assists. Collins played 31 games as a freshman for Michigan's NCAA Sweet 16 team in 2021-22 before transferring to Arizona State. He started all 32 games last season for the Sun Devils, averaging 13.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. He could potentially get another college season through a medical redshirt. Arizona State is in its first Big 12 season. It will host TCU on Feb. 15. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-pollDowntown post office still in running for Lincoln convention center site

In this article GOOGL Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Google Quantum AI's "Willow" chip in an undated handout photo obtained by Reuters on Dec. 6, 2024. Google | Via Reuters Google's recent announcement of the arrival of Willow , a quantum chip that has reduced the error tendencies of some of its predecessors, is a milestone in the effort to bring quantum computing into the real world, and in the years ahead, it could change the way we think about the risk in cryptocurrencies. Willow's speed is almost incomprehensible — according to Google , it's able to perform a computation in under five minutes that would take one of today's fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years to solve. Ten septillion is 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years. But the accuracy of quantum computing has, until now, also been a big issue, with quantum like a garden hose on full blast with no one holding it: the water is coming out fast, but its aim is not consistently accurate. Willow's combination of speed and accuracy could theoretically provide hackers with the tools to unlock the algorithms that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are built upon. Qubits and bitcoin can coexist, for now If you don't understand (not many people do) what makes up quantum computing — qubits — security company DigiCert's industry technology strategist, Tim Hollebeek, has a simplified way of thinking about the breakthrough. He says imagine a maze and how a classical computer would try to find its way through the maze from start to finish. It would try one potential path at a time. "A quantum computer would be able to try each path at the same time, resulting in a much faster solution," Hollebeek said. While Willow may not be ready for real-world applications yet, Willow's speed and accuracy will help pave the way for larger-scale quantum computers. "Part of the issue with qubits is that they are unstable and produce errors. This chip has significant error correction capabilities, which mitigates some of the qubit issues," Hollebeek said. That means chips improving upon Willow's breakthrough will be able to help hackers target crypto — but at least for the moment, the concern is only theoretical. "Quantum computers can theoretically solve this much faster and pose a threat to today's cryptographic algorithms if a quantum computer with sufficient qubits could be developed," Hollebeek said. But he added that the real-world reason for breathing easier today if you own crypto is simple. "None exist today and are not expected for at least another 5, 10, 15 years," he said, with the fastest five-year timeline contingent on some unforeseen technological breakthrough. A decade-long lead for crypto A Google spokesman told CNBC that Willow and crypto can coexist. "The Willow chip is incapable of breaking modern cryptography," he said, adding that it is also the view of Google that quantum technology with that capability is still years off. In fact, according to Park Feierbach, an expert in decentralized finance technology who is CEO of Radiant Commons, even if Willow can drastically increase the speed at which crypto could be broken, it would still take several times the age of the universe for the quantum chip to do it. According to NASA, the universe is 13.7 billion years old. "There's almost no reason to deploy Willow on this technology in a way that could make tractable progress. It would simply still take too long," Feierbach said. "Estimates are we're at least 10 years out from breaking RSA, and that around 4 million physical qubits would be required to do this," the Google spokesman said. RSA is an encryption system used in cryptocurrencies. For reference, Google's processors are now on the scale of about 100 physical qubits. 'Quantum-safe' algorithms The Google spokesman stressed that the timeline for quantum breakthroughs has been widely shared and Willow has not changed it. "Google is on track with our planned roadmap," he said. "The security community has long been aware of the projected timeline to break asymmetric encryption, and has been working on defining standards and collaboratively implementing new algorithms that will resist attacks by both classical and quantum computers," the spokesman added. Indeed, Hollebeek says that the crypto industry is working on "quantum-safe" crypto. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released several quantum-safe algorithms that are resistant to attacks by future quantum computers, Hollebeek said, and NIST has a timeline for governments and industry to deploy these algorithms to ensure the safety of the nation's and businesses secrets. "Google and other industry leaders have supported standardization and experimented with the algorithms in their draft form," the Google spokesman said. Despite how efficient quantum is at unlocking algorithms (traditional crypto equations based on factoring huge prime numbers), it isn't infallible, and that is where the promise lies in quantum-safe crypto. "They're really, really good at some things, but not everything," Hollebeek said, noting that breaking conventional asymmetric cryptography just happens to be one of the things they are really good at. "Luckily, there are other hard math problems they are bad at, and asymmetric cryptography can be updated to use those hard math problems instead of factoring," he said. Taqi Raza , assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said existing cryptos will have to evolve to ward off qubits. "As the potential for quantum computers to break existing cryptography becomes more of a concern, new cryptocurrencies specifically designed to be quantum-safe could be developed. These new quantum cryptos would integrate PQC, cryptographic algorithms that are resistant to the computational power of quantum computers," Raza said. Jeremy Allaire, co-founder, chairman & CEO of digital currency company Circle, told CNBC in an interview last week that the risk is real, but his view of the future remains focused on the opportunities that will evolve. "The bottom line is quantum crypto means that you can both unlock things more easily, things that had bad old locks, but you can also create better locks," Allaire said. "So quantum crypto – this quantum is going to be actually a huge turbocharge to crypto computing, to crypto applications, and to crypto money." Raza thinks that ultimately the more sweeping changes wrought by quantum computing will occur beyond crypto. Breakthroughs will make devices and software faster, revolutionize AI, and improve data security with ultra-secure encryption methods. In everyday life, there will be advances in computing, healthcare, energy, and security, Raza said, and as a result, it is not the crypto industry we should be thinking about in isolation while these changes are still developing. "They will likely transform industries," he said. watch now VIDEO 6:25 06:25 Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire: We don't have sound money principles embedded in our monetary system Squawk BoxJulianne Brunet says public libraries are always working to reinvent themselves. Welland Public Library , which started as a mechanic’s institute in 1824 in a schoolhouse that no longer exists, is no different, Brunet, its chief executive officer, said ahead of its 200th anniversary celebration Wednesday. The library existed before Welland, which was first incorporated as a village in 1858, more than 30 years after the library was created. “What I have seen since I have been here is what has defined the library for the last 200 years. It’s a real community spirit. We’re community-led and we want to make sure we are responsive to the needs of residents. I think that has gotten us to where we are and will get us to where we want to go.” Brunet started at the library as manager of public services and became CEO in 2019, overseeing the main library at Welland Civic Square and branches at Seaway Mall and Diamond Trail on Southworth Street. “We need to make sure that we remain relevant. To do that, we have to listen to the people we serve. What was relevant 200 years ago may be relevant in some form today, but we must continue to grow and evolve and ensure we continue to meet those needs,” she said. As of last year, Welland’s three branches have more than 106,000 books in circulation, 3,433 special collection items in print and 3,918 digital items. That’s not counting CDs/DVDs, ebooks and e-audiobooks, print magazines, newspapers and electronic titles. Brunet said many people think literacy is just about reading and writing, but it’s more than that. “Literacy is more about showing people what they can do and how they can do it. The library will always serve a need in that realm.” Literacy also includes music, with the library lending instruments for people to play and practise. It teaches digital literacy, lending tech and offering people use of the internet who might not otherwise have access to it so they can participate in civic life. Board chair Lindsay Bryan said the library’s function is literacy of all kinds, not just serving the reading public. “Being among other people is a function of a modern library as well,” she said, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic with people still feeling a sense of loneliness and social alienation. Brunet said Welland Public Library serves as a community hub. “We are a place where people can connect with different ideas, different trains of thought. It’s an area of open ideas and a place for debate. We have been a pillar in the community for the last 200 years.” Welland Public Library’s main branch is at 50 The Boardwalk. The library celebrates its 200th anniversary Wednesday. And it’s being used more than ever. “We are on track to exceed our pre-pandemic numbers this year.” Online visits to the library catalogue and website are up 153 per cent compared to 2019; Wi-Fi and use of public access terminals are up 91 per cent; electronic circulation is up 926 per cent and program attendances up 172 per cent. While in-person visits are down 2.82 per cent to date, the library expects that number will increase by the end of the year. In 2019, there were 146,407 visits across the three branches. So far this year, there have been 142,277 visits. “We are getting busier and busier across all demographics, ages and all walks of life.” College and university students and seniors flock to the Seaway Mall branch, while students, parents and families use the branch inside Diamond Trail Public School. “We have three study rooms that people can use on a first come first serve basis and two larger rooms we rent out.” With Welland growing, its population is expected to reach 80,000 by 2041, Brunet and Bryan were recently before city council to ask for $120,000 in municipal funding for a nearly $400,000 bookmobile for 2026. The library will fund $278,000 from reserves and development charge revenue for the vehicle, while the city’s funding would pay for a full-time co-ordinator and part-time programmer to operate it. The vehicle would bring books, audiovisual materials, instruments, programming and services to places such as parks, schools, retirement residences and community events. “There are underserved areas of Welland, and as the city develops we’re going to learn more about where those areas are. We’ll see where the needs are within the community,” Brunet said. Original location was in a choolhouse near Brown’s Bridge - 1824 A room over McCaw’s Shoe Store on East Main Street - 1896 Town Hall, King Street - 1901 Carnegie Building, King Street - 1923 Northwest Branch on South Pelham Road -1972 Main Branch - 2005, Diamond Trail Branch - 2013 Seaway Mall Branch - 2017 A bookmobile would allow the library to reach vulnerable sectors and individuals who may not have the means to get to any library branches. With the library running lean — it has had 35 employees over the three branches for several years — Brunet said the two new hires would be needed to operate the vehicle and programming. Brunet said Wednesday’s 200th anniversary celebrations start at 2 p.m. and go until 7 p.m. There will be food, toys and games for children, and speeches from all levels of government starting at 3 p.m. She said library staff having been planning the event for the past two years and through research determined the first local library opened on Nov. 27, 1824. “We’ve survived two world wars, two global pandemics, several iterations of the Welland Canal, the rise of the internet and we’re still here. “We have been relevant in every single decade we have operated and I have no doubt that will continue,” said Brunet.Chargers RB J.K. Dobbins unlikely to play against Falcons because of knee injury

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Demarcus Robinson will be on the field with the Los Angeles Rams this weekend despite . Rams head coach Sean McVay said Wednesday that the team won’t suspend Robinson, and that they will instead “let the legal process take place.” He said he thinks that Robinson is “remorseful” after the incident, which took place just hours after the team’s 37-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at SoFi Stadium the night before. after officers said they saw him driving more than 100 miles per hour on a Los Angeles-area freeway. They then “observed objective signs and symptoms of alcohol impairment,” and he was arrested on suspicion of a DUI. He was cited and then released. "I think it was a bad decision he made," McVay said, . "I don't think that makes him a bad person. And I do believe this is something that with the words that he said, our guys will learn from it and hopefully nobody's ever going to repeat something like this." Robinson is in his second season with the Rams this fall. He had two catches and a touchdown in Sunday night’s loss. He has 384 yards and a career-high six touchdowns on 26 catches this season. The 30-year-old signed a one-year, $4 million deal to return to the Rams this past offseason. McVay said that Robinson addressed the incident with the Rams in a team meeting earlier in the week. "I did appreciate his ability to acknowledge it to the team while also not minimizing or undermining the severity of what could have been," McVay said. "And I do trust that he's going to learn from it and I think it'll be a good learning opportunity for our old football team. And that's how we move forward." The Rams will take on the New Orleans Saints in Louisiana on Sunday afternoon. They’ll enter that contest with a 5-6 record after losing two of their last three, which has dropped them to third in the NFC West race.The Green Bay Packers might be the best third-place team in NFL history. The Packers can’t win the division despite an 11-4 record, because the Detroit Lions or Minnesota Vikings are each 13-2 and one of them has to win (or they tie) when they meet in Week 18. But the Packers are on the short list of teams that can win a Super Bowl. Green Bay didn’t have a tough challenge on Monday night against a depleted New Orleans Saints team, but they did what elite teams do and thoroughly dominated a bad team. The Packers scored touchdowns on each of their first three drives and it was practically over after that. A Saints team that had Spencer Rattler, Kendre Miller and Foster Moreau as their top playmakers wasn’t coming back from a 21-0 hole. Green Bay throttled down in the second half and cruised to a 34-0 win. The Packers' shutout was the first in the NFL this season. The Saints came in having been shut out just once in their previous 369 games, according to ESPN. The Packers have been good all season. They haven’t lost to a team all season with worse than a 12-3 record. They’ve just been overshadowed in their own division. But with QB Jordan Love looking as healthy and sharp as he has all season, and Josh Jacobs on a tear scoring touchdowns, the Packers aren’t a team anyone will want to face, even if they’re a No. 6 seed in the NFC. It’s sad watching the Saints late this season. Against Green Bay they were without Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed and Taysom Hill on offense. It’s hard to compete while missing that many key players on one side of the ball. On Monday night, the Saints looked like a team that was not enjoying the Lambeau Field cold, knew it couldn’t compete and just wanted to get things over as soon as possible. There were some clock management issues at the end of the first half. The Saints were slow to call a timeout with less than a minute left, then lost 24 seconds when they didn’t realize the clock was running after a fumble out of bounds. That’s on interim coach Darren Rizzi. Then Spencer Rattler took a 14-yard sack when he held the ball too long, which cost New Orleans a chance to at least get a field goal. Not that the mishandling of timeouts mattered much. The Packers were up 21-0 with more than six minutes left in the second quarter. There’s no mercy rule in football, but the only thing keeping the Saints from getting beat by 50 was that Packers coach Matt LaFleur had no reason to rub it in. The Packers’ offense has been adjusting as the season has gone on. They seem to have finally settled on their identity. Love has been good but he hasn’t been a high-volume passer lately. The Packers are funneling a lot through Jacobs, who scored again Monday. He has a touchdown in six straight games. Love is perfectly capable when the Packers need to lean on him, especially now that he looks completely over some early-season injuries. He was 12 of 18 for 127 yards in the first half on Monday night. Josh Jacobs' weekly routine: 1. Get dressed 2. Score TDs 📺: on ESPN/ABC 📱: Stream on — NFL (@NFL) Green Bay is mostly tuning up for the playoffs, since the only real intrigue left for the Packers is what wild-card seed they end up with. It’s helping, because as each week passes the Packers look more and more like a serious threat in the NFC. The Packers weren’t really tested on Monday. The Saints are nowhere near a playoff-level team. But Green Bay has been showing the past few weeks that it's capable of beating anyone in the NFL. The Packers stopped the Saints one last time and finished the game in victory formation to complete the 34-0 shutout, the first in the NFL this season. With the win, Green Bay has clinched a wild-card berth at 11-4 with two weeks remaining in the regular season. A dominant effort on both sides of the ball secures Green Bay's fifth playoff berth in six seasons. Tough to see. Saints guard Lucas Patrick went down in pain in the throes of garbage time. Held his left knee after contact and was eventually able to limp off the field. With Malik Willis at QB, the Packers added another touchdown on a seven-play, 48-yard drive for a 34-0 lead. Emanuel Wilson punches it in from 1 yard. Nine Packers players have carried the ball for 191 yards and three touchdowns on 5.1 yards per carry. The only flaw on that last drive: Green Bay left 2:41 on the game clock. Emmanuel Wilson finds the end zone! All three RBs have a rushing TD for the 📺: on ESPN/ABC 📱: Stream on — NFL (@NFL) A Packers shutout is in reach. The Saints just failed to convert on fourth down, and backup quarterback Malik Willis has replaced Packers starter Jordan Love. Green Bay leads, 27-0 with 5:44 remaining and the ball. The Packers extend their lead to 27-0 with a 46-yard field goal. 7:13 remains in regulation. Packers fans are feeling it — and not adhering to protocol. Earlier, the wave broke out. Now, they break out a "Bears still suck" chant. Both times with Green Bay on offense. Loud "Bears still suck" chant breaks out and the stadium PA tells fans to keep quiet while the Packers are on offense. — Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) The Packers have the ball back after a Saints punt with a 24-0 lead and a clear mission: Run the clock. Packers running back Josh Jacobs has remained on the sideline after a hot start. No reports of an injury. Makes sense for Green Bay to rest their starting running back in a blowout. Eight different players have carried the ball for the Packers tonight. The Packers failed to gain a first down near midfield, and the Saints will go for their first points on a drive starting from their own 34. The third quarter's over, and the Packers have a 24-0 lead and the ball heading into the fourth. Will they keep their shutout intact? Everything continues to go wrong for the Saints. Their best drive of the night (to the Green Bay 22) ends with a Spencer Rattler interception to Zayne Anderson near the end zone. Green Bay keeps the shutout intact and takes over with a 24-0 lead at its own 20. A pick! 📺: on ESPN/ABC 📱: Stream on — NFL (@NFL) Packers receiver Christian Watson returned to the game after a first-half visit to the sideline medical tent. But Green Bay is now listing him as questionable with a knee injury. Here's guessing that his night is done in a blowout. WR Christian Watson has a knee injury and is questionable to return. — Green Bay Packers (@packers) Brandon McManus is good on a 60-yard field goal extend Green Bay's lead to 24-0. The only drama left in this one is whether or not the shutout holds. New Orleans punts after gaining 14 yards on its the first possession of the third quarter. New Orleans is still seeking to crack the scoreboard. The Saints have the ball to start the second half. Will they score this time — or at all, tonight? This is about as dominant as one NFL team looks against another. Jordan Love: 12 of 18, 127 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 turnovers Spencer Rattler: 4 of 8, 56 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 lost fumble Josh Jacobs: 10 carries for 53 yards; 4 catches for 38 yards, 1 touchdown Kendre Miller: 5 carries for 12 yards Tucker Kraft: 3 catches for 63 yards Foster Moreau: 2 catches for 33 yards Packers total yards: 222 on 6.2 yards per play Saints total yards: 81 on 3.5 yards per play Packers first downs: 15 Saints first downs: 6 Packers turnovers: 0 Saints turnovers: 1 Saints head coach Darren Rizzi was not aware that the game clock restarts after a fumble out of bounds. Saints receiver Kevin Austin Jr. fumbled out of bounds after a gain to the Green Bay 34 with 39 seconds left in the half. Officials stopped the clock, then started it again after the ball was put back in play, as they're supposed to. The Saints apparently expected the clock to remain stopped and didn't call one of their two remaining timeouts until 15 seconds remained on the game clock. Spencer Rattler took a sack on the next play, and the Saints came away scoreless after a Hail Mary on third-and-22 hit the turf. A terrible half of Saints football ends in complete mismanagement with Green Bay leading, 21-0. The Saints also wasted a bunch of time earlier in the drive that started with 1:49 remaining in the half. Complete mismanagement by New Orleans. Rizzi eplained the gaffe to ESPN as a "miscommunication with officials" on his way to the halftime locker room. The Packers just punted after scoring touchdowns on each of their first three drives. The Saints have a chance to salvage some respectability with the ball back inside the 2-minute warning. Packers wide receiver Christian Watson is back on the field after spending some time in the sideline medical tent.

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NoneQatar tribune Agencies Indonesia’s oil production, once a cornerstone of its export economy, has sharply declined over the years, dropping from a peak of 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in the 1990s to less than 600,000 bpd today. Similarly, its gas production has fallen to 6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). The government of Indonesia has set ambitious goals of increasing oil production to 1 million bpd and gas production to 12 Bcf/d by 2030. To achieve these goals, the government plans to simplify exploration permit processes, reactivate idle wells, and adopt advanced technologies. However, reactivating idle wells and applying enhanced oil recovery techniques will not be sufficient alone. New exploration is essential to reversing the decline in production, as demonstrated by recent discoveries in the Geng and Layaran fields. Yet, Indonesia’s exploration attractiveness has waned in recent decades, with longer timelines and less favorable economics compared to more competitive nations like Guyana, Namibia, Suriname, Mexico, and Argentina. To overcome these challenges, the Indonesian government needs to implement strategic reforms that foster large-scale exploration. This includes revisiting successful past practices and introducing policies tailored to a cost recovery regime that offers more appeal to investors than the current gross split model. The cost recovery system, which taxes profits rather than revenue, enhances investor returns and stimulates exploration activity. These reforms are essential for Indonesia to achieve its energy goals by 2030. Indonesia’s oil and gas exploration sector is burdened by significant administrative and compliance challenges that hinder investment and delay exploration activities. These challenges can be addressed by simplifying regulations, improving efficiency, and aligning with global best practice. One key area for improvement is access to exploration data. In countries like New Zealand and Australia, geological data such as seismic surveys and well logs become publicly available after a designated period. This open-access model allows investors to make informed decisions without waiting for government approval, which in Indonesia’s case would accelerate exploration timelines and boost investor confidence. The issue of idle exploration acreage is another challenge. In Indonesia, large exploration blocks can be held for years without drilling, and producing blocks may not undertake exploration activities, which limits opportunities for new investors. Clearer regulations should be implemented to require companies to relinquish unused acreage, particularly in regions without recent exploration. This would create a more competitive environment and open up under-explored areas for new investment. The current permitting process, which requires over 300 permits for exploration activities, often involving multiple ministries, is another bottleneck. Streamlining the permitting process and aiming for approval timelines of 60 to 90 days, especially for offshore wells, would create a more efficient system. A dedicated unit within the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) could coordinate the process, reducing bureaucratic delays. The approval of SKK Migas, the government regulator, is also required for many procurement activities, which causes inefficiencies and delays during the exploration phase. Allowing investors to follow their own procurement procedures, especially during high-risk exploration, would accelerate activities and reduce costs. Additionally, relaxing the requirements for using Indonesian-flagged vessels and local drilling rigs would further simplify the process, enabling investors to source equipment and services internationally when needed. SKK Migas regulates expatriate positions, reviewing them annually during the work plan and budget process. Contractors must submit manpower charts for approval, and expatriate costs are recoverable within a salary cap set by the Ministry of Finance (MoF). However, investors should have the flexibility to hire necessary personnel and offer competitive salaries without requiring Indonesian government approval or adherence to salary caps during the exploration phase. Local hiring requirements should be relaxed until a discovery is made and development begins. Finally, Indonesia’s approval process for annual Work Programs and Budgets (WP&B) and Authorization for Expenditures (AFEs) should be streamlined. The current WP&B process involves close scrutiny of cost efficiency, even though only a small percentage of exploration projects progress to the development phase. Eliminating unnecessary cost reviews during the exploration phase and focusing on actual exploration activities, while relying on investors’ own WP&B and AFEs processes, would expedite progress. Moreover, the regulations surrounding the disposal of unused exploration equipment and relinquishment of Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) should be revisited. Allowing investors to sell or re-export unused equipment to recover costs, and streamlining the relinquishment process for unsuccessful PSCs, would lower costs and make acreage available more quickly for new investors. To drive investment in Indonesia’s oil and gas sector, fiscal and regulatory frameworks must be realigned with market conditions and investor needs. One critical reform would be to allow cost recovery for exploration activities outside the current “ring-fenced” fields. Copy 23/12/2024 10