Latest news with #Gaea
Reuters
16-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Indonesia awards five oil and gas blocks as seeks energy security
JAKARTA, April 16 (Reuters) - Indonesia awarded five oil and gas blocks to companies, its energy ministry said on Wednesday, as it attempts to replenish its oil and gas reserves and improve its energy security. Over the coming years, the government plans to offer nearly 60 oil and gas blocks to try to reverse a decade-long decline in output. "The government hopes these auction winners will be able to contribute to Indonesia's energy security ahead," Tri Winarno, senior official at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said in an online broadcast on Wednesday's awards. Indonesia awarded both the Gaea and Gaea II blocks in West Papua to a consortium comprising eight companies, including Enquest Petroleum Production Malaysia Ltd, BP Exploration Indonesia Ltd, CNOOC Southeast Asia Ltd. Gaea has estimated resources of 9.6 billion barrels of oil or 71.8 trillion cubic feet of gas, while Gaea II has estimated resources of 8.5 billion barrels of oil or 35.1 tcf of gas, Tri said. The government also awarded the Binaiya block in offshore Maluku, which has 6.7 billion barrels of oil and 15 tcf of gas potential, to state explorer PT Pertamina Hulu Energy, and Malaysia's Petronas unit PC North Mandura II Ltd and Korea's SK Earthon Co Ltd. PC North Madura II Ltd and SK Earthon, together with Japan's INPEX Corporation, were also awarded the Sepang block offshore East Java. The Kojo block in Makassar Strait was awarded to Armada Etan Ltd. Once a significant oil producer and a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Indonesia has grown increasingly reliant on imported energy. It has offered to increase energy imports from the United States as part of negotiations on tariffs.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How We Pulled It Off: An Alpine Wedding Celebration With Fondue, Fireside Chats, and Bollywood Dancing
All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by Condé Nast Traveler editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, Condé Nast may earn an affiliate commission. Ana Kete Photography It was a nostalgia for snow that first led Florida-based Serina Thottichira and Sal Jacob to plan a trip to Switzerland. The couple met on a dating app when they were both living in Chicago in January 2019, but moved to sunny Tampa, Florida together in early 2023. 'I think both of us missed the cold weather—okay, maybe not the shoveling—but we love the change of seasons,' says Sal. 'So I thought, instead of proposing on a beach or something similar, when we have that all year round, why not do it in a place that feels the completely opposite?' He popped the question early one morning in January 2024 on the balcony of their hotel room in Interlaken, overlooking the spectacular Lake Thun. When they began planning their wedding, Serina, who grew up in Indiana, and Sal, who grew up in New York, realized early on that they were interested in a destination wedding for the sake of intimacy alone. 'We heard from multiple people that your wedding day is such a blur, and you don't even get to truly spend time with and enjoy people,' says Sal. A destination wedding would allow them to slim down the guest list, spend time with their absolute nearest and dearest, and share a location that was already so meaningful for them. Ahead, the couple explains how they plotted an alpine adventure with a cheesy (in the best way) welcome dinner, a multicultural ceremony, and stunning views inside and out. The couple were pretty set on a wedding in Switzerland, but from there on weren't sure which city or even area of the country was right for them. 'Because it was just so overwhelming and we had no idea where to go, my first priority was finding a planner,' says Serina. After researching loads of Swiss planners, she was caught by the portfolio of Gaea Design, a firm whose work felt less cookie-cutter and very 'intentional,' as the bride says. The team at Gaea ultimately embarked on a location search for the couple, checking out different venues and pulling together details like pricing before presenting their favorite options. They even led Serina and Sal on a video call around the hotel that they eventually chose, the Säntis Hotel, near the Schwägalp pass. It was a good thing that Serina had such a solid feeling about Gaea right away, because they put a lot of faith in their planner when they opted for the Säntis Hotel. On that video call, the event spaces looked 'very corporate office, which was the complete opposite of the vibe we were going for,' says Serina. 'We wanted something really cozy and warm where everyone felt comfortable. So I was really hesitant, but they convinced me that we would be able to really change the vibe of the room with decor.' That promise, along with outstanding Google reviews of the hotel praising its attention to customer service, allowed them to take a chance—and book the venue without seeing it until they arrived for their wedding weekend. 'I just kept reminding myself that if all else failed, at least we'd be in Switzerland with all the people we love,' Serina says. Luckily, they wound up loving the venue once they saw it, particularly its 'unbelievable scenery' and easy access to Zurich; the journey was only an hour by train, car, or easily found Uber, making it simple for their guests flying into the city from New York, Chicago, Florida, Indiana, and more. Sal compares the experience of finally seeing each space in person throughout their wedding weekend as 'unwrapping a present.' 'We had been planning for months, but we didn't have the whole vision in front of us until the day of,' he says. 'We got to see everything we'd talked about just unfold right in front of us.' It might have been possible for Serina and Sal to be so chill about not seeing their venue ahead of time because their planning process was so thorough: After explaining their vision for the wedding and sharing a few Pinterest boards, the couple had weekly calls with their planners to look over recommended vendors while considering their portfolios, rates, and availability. Gaea used Trello, a project-management software that allows everyone on a team to follow the status of various items. 'That's the first time we'd ever used that, and it kept things super organized,' says Serina. What about the look they wanted? 'The three words we based everything off of were cozy, intimate, romantic,' says Serina, while Sal focused on a love of evergreen trees and the color green. Ultimately, their ceremony space was adorned with gauzy white and blush-colored curtains, wooden chairs, and explosions of rose and ranunculus in creams and icy pink (Gaea also designed the florals), while the reception featured deep green tablecloths laid with evergreen branches and lit by cream tapered candles and twinkly lights. To make sure all their friends and family could book their travel to Switzerland with ease, the couple created a wedding website on Minted that aimed to address any possible issue that might come up for their guests. 'We thought, 'Okay, if we had never been to this city, and never used a train before, what basic questions would they have?'' Sal says. And because the group was so small, it didn't feel like a hassle to check in with them about bookings—a small price to say, ultimately, for the journeys they were taking. 'I'm in communication with these people all the time because they're my favorite people,' Serina says. 'I would just reach out directly to see if they had any questions or to help them with navigating from the airport to our venue. I wanted everyone to feel like they could ask us any questions, because it is a big undertaking traveling to a different country for a wedding.' For the first night of their celebration, the couple hosted a dinner to welcome guests and help them get to know each other. On their previous trip to Switzerland, they'd loved eating fondue. In case leaning into a bubbling pot of cheese together wasn't enough bonding, the couple devised a game to get people talking, though they were shocked at how hilariously effective it was. They distributed a 'Find the Guest' Bingo board that encouraged people to, say, figure out which of the guests was a cardiologist (the groom's brother), and the result was 'mayhem,' they say, as people ran around chatting. 'We did not expect people to be that engaged, but the prize was that we would pay for a trip for someone to come visit us [in Tampa], and for some reason, that got everyone going,' Serina says. Continuing their theme of creating very intentional moments of intimacy, the couple began their wedding day by getting dressed and then having private, separate prayer sessions with their own family members. Sal and Serina had their first look with each other in a small valley surrounded by the snowy peaks, after which they exchanged private vows. Finally, the couple and their guests boarded gondolas for the slow, stunning ride to the ceremony location on a higher peak. 'The gondolas added to the excitement, and a lot of the kids especially had never been on gondolas going up that high,' says Sal. It made for a dramatic entrance to the ceremony and cocktail hour area; guests then rode them down again to enter the reception space for dinner in the hotel's valley. Choosing their officiant was a no-brainer: The bride's sister-in-law Amanda is a teacher and former church pastor who is 'magical with words,' as Serina puts it. She'd previously officiated their brother's wedding, 'And we turned to each other at that ceremony and were like, 'Okay, this is exactly what we want for ours,'' Sal remembers. Both Sal and Serina are Christian, so Amanda presided over a Christian ceremony that was 'very personalized. She talked about who we are as people and our character,' says Serina. 'I've gone to so many weddings where it can feel very robotic. This was a very comfortable environment.' Amid the Christian structure, they included two Indian rituals: the Manthrakodi, in which the groom's family presents a special sari to the bride, and tying the Thali, a traditionally Hindu tradition in which a groom ties or fastens a cord with a special pendant around the bride's neck and positions it near her heart as an expression of unity and devotion. 'My entire family line has done this at weddings, and I always heard the story of how my dad's hands were shaking so bad at his wedding that it was hard for him to tie the Thali on my mom's neck,' Serina says. Luckily, their moment went a bit more smoothly. While the couple wore traditionally American wedding outfits for their ceremony, they changed into white and gold Indian clothing—a lehenga for Serina, and a sherwani for Sal—for the cocktail hour, dinner, and reception. A lot of special dances opened up the party section of the night, from a choreographed first song by the couple to spin with each of their parents, then an Indian dance by the young children from Sal's side of the family. 'They're all aged 10 and below, and they were so impressive!' Serina says. During the planning process, the hotel had reassured the couple that they were permitted to use the space (and could loudly play music) until 3:00 am. 'Weddings in Switzerland last so much longer! I was like, 'Oh gosh, I hope we're not there until 3:00 am,'' Serina laughs. The couple continued to follow their own cozy instincts for their after-party instead: The venue gave them access to the lobby, which centers around a fireplace, so they changed into sweatsuits and hung out with their friends drinking cocktails and snapping Polaroids until around 2:00 am. 'We were most excited for that fireplace,' Sal says. Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler
