Energy

A stronger Australian currency will pose major challenges in the year ahead.

PRIVATE sector support for the arts in Western Australia increased 13 per cent during the 2008 financial year, falling short of the 18 per cent jump experienced nationally, a survey has found.

Western Australia’s exporters have defied the global downturn to deliver another record performance in 2008-09. So who are the key players behind the numbers?

THE board of state power retailer Synergy is expected to select the winners of its 2008 and 2009 power procurement process this week, underpinning the next phase of private investment in Western Australia's generation capacity.

Sandfire Resources has entered into an agreement with mining services and contracting company Mineral Resources regarding the exploration and development of manganese ore at its Borroloola Project in the Northern Territory.

GHD and GRD Minproc have jointly won a key contract for the Cape Lambert iron ore project by a Chinese company, while GHD will separately carry out studies for the operation's port, power and water needs.

Thai oil and gas firm PTT Exploration and Production Public Company will acquire a subsidiary of OMV Australia that holds interests in the Timor Sea, in a deal valued at about $US10 million ($A11.6 million).

Barnett vows to slash spending; China stung by tougher FIRB rules; Labor to consider 8pm shop closing; Kontiki duster deflates Karoon; New home sales jump

World oil prices tumbled Thursday as weak US economic data and signs of sluggish energy demand in the United States highlighted fears about a tepid recovery from the global recession.

Eneabba Gas claims there is as much gas in one of its Mid West tenements as set aside by the Gorgon gas project partners for the domestic market, as it releases a maiden resource for one tenement.

The redevelopment of Claremont has the potential to change the way local governments look at revitalising tired suburbs.

IT has the potential to become one of the great ironies of Western Australia's unfolding LNG boom - hot rocks powering the Pilbara's accelerating oil and gas-based economy.

ONE fortune in a lifetime is enough for most people, but not if you are the 'golden Greek', a schooldays nickname for Kerry Harmanis, the man who pocketed $500 million less than a year before the 2008 stock market meltdown.

The amount of local content on big resources projects is a lingering concern for many business people.

THE green light for the Gorgon gas project has boosted the share prices of most of the contractors vying for a slice of the estimated $43 billion cost to build Australia's single biggest resource project.

A 40-year dream is about to become reality near the dunes at the end of the Mitchell Freeway.

WEST Perth company Cool Energy is planning to press ahead with development of its innovative gas field technology after a major ownership and board restructuring.

Former premier Sir Charles Court’s long association with Japan and his role in WA’s development are chronicled in a new book.

POLITICIANS were wrong to claim the $43 billion Gorgon LNG project alone would keep all the state's workshops ticking over, leading engineers and contractors have warned.

Ros Worthington says she is the richest person in the world, without a worldly possession.

Melbourne-based Cue Energy Resources says it will look for a joint venture partner shortly for its gas project off the Pilbara coast, which has the potential to host a large resource.

Perth-based explorer CityView Corporation has scrapped one acquisition in favour of another that will give it a controlling stake in a coal briquette company, with the deal valued at $27 million.

Entrepreneur and minerals explorer Bill Clough has cashed in a large pile of Mirabela Nickel shares, pocketing more than $6.5 million through an on-market sale.

Confidence on the rise; Export earnings to fall despite China surge; ALP ranks split on uranium ban; State's population grows by 220 a day; Wong opens way for real ETS talks with opposition

Joint venture partners Australian Worldwide Exploration and Origin Energy say they have made a gas discovery in the northern part of the Perth Basin.

The government's commodity forecaster has revised down its minerals and energy export earnings projection for 2009/10 as a result of lower contract prices for bulk commodities.

WA still the most resourceful state; PM plugs Gorgon in US investment sales pitch; WA's work safety stance carries risk; Voters back ETS but not early poll; Skills crunch looms in resources sector

Westralian Gas and Power executive chairman Peter Briggs says the decision to terminate the relationship with Oswal Resources was due to differing views on exploration.

Shares in Liberty Resources have surged higher on the back of a resource boost from 338 million tonnes to 3.1 billion tonnes at its Queensland coal tenements.

Rising LNG, iron ore and gold exports saw the value of Western Australia's mineral and petroleum industry rise by 19 per cent to a record $71.3 billion in the year to June 2009.

Brighter outlook in the booming west; Reserve Bank wary of putting interest rates up as strong Aussie dollar could choke recovery; Premier’s 8pm shop hours offer falls flat; Rudd aligns with US on stimulus; Ministers downplay NBN risks

Perth-based Westralian Gas and Power has terminated its relationship with the Pankaj Oswal-backed Oswal Resources.