In May 2015, ExxonMobil announced the discovery of oil off the coast of the small South American country of Guyana. In the years following, more discoveries were made by ExxonMobil and other oil companies. It looked certain that Guyana would receive billions of dollars in oil earnings, possibly making it the largest oil producing country in the world on a per capita basis. The earnings and the growth of the oil industry would have dramatic impacts on Guyana, one of the poorest countries in South America. The standard of living in Guyana could improve but would the country become a victim of the oil curse? Guyana's cultural demon, the baccoo, was indeed out of the bottle.

THE DRAX POWER STATION AND BIOMASS ENERGY case explores strategic decision making in the energy sector characterized by intensive government regulation and environmental sustainability concerns. The Drax facility was the largest electrical power plant in the United Kingdom, providing 7% of the country's electricity. It was also the largest coal-fired power producer - and therefore greenhouse gas emitter - in the UK. In response to governmental policy changes and rising concerns about climate change, Drax management began a conversion away from coal to a renewable source of energy, biomass and the plant quickly became the single largest biomass-powered facility in the country. The company was making expansive public claims that the plant was generating environmentally sustainable power, but the strategy was not without its critics. A growing set of experts were reconsidering the assertion that biomass was consistent with efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These shifts in scientific understanding and potentially policy threatened the long-term viability of the Drax biomass conversion strategy.

The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project represented a clear opportunity for China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to aid in the economic development of a rapidly rising East African economy. Like most BRI projects across the globe, the project focused on transportation and logistical infrastructure. As a component of the Maritime Silk Road, the SGR could potentially open Eastern and Central Africa to global trade and development, including opportunities for China's business-export expansion. However, with the completion of the railway's first two stages, SGR's operating deficit and heavy debt obligations threatened the project's expansion and success. Many now questioned whether the project would truly benefit Kenya