Energy

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It was frenetic time for the Australian oil and gas sector in 2008, with deals in the industry multiplying six-fold to $US17.2 billion ($A27 billion), a new study reveals.

Clough says it will ramp up its position in the oil and gas sector after it agreed to sell its majority stake in Indonesian subsidiary PT Petrosea Tbk for $129 million.

A lower than anticipated performance from Alinta and other operating businesses has prompted Babcock & Brown Power to revise down its full year earnings.

The buoyancy of the oil and gas sector in the current economic climate has helped deliver record revenues and profit for the half year for Neptune Marine Services.

Po Valley Energy has secured three-years of forward sales from two of its Italian gas fields, valued at around $150 million, after signing a second offtake deal with Elettrogas.

THERE must have been high-fives all through the halls of power in Beijing last week as government Mandarins celebrated victory over Western mining interests.

PREMIER Colin Barnett is a long-time critic of the former Labor government's energy reforms, arguing they are structurally flawed.

WHILE Western Australia's geothermal energy industry progresses at a snail's pace, former Perth-based BHP Billiton executive Bret Mattes is enjoying rapid progress in Indonesia.

Big companies’ behaviour in tough times is often predictable, but it’s just the market at work.

MACMAHON Holdings director John Massey has seized on the company's declining share price to bolster his interest in the stock, a day after the release of a subdued interim report.

FEDERAL schemes designed to increase the uptake of solar panels have created plenty of business for companies like Solar Unlimited, but the rapid expansion is providing a major management challenge for the Western Australian firm.

A number of reform challenges lie ahead for WA's electricity sector.

THE state government's plans for a gas processing hub on the Kimberley coast have received a boost from the region's traditional owners, which have said they are ready to negotiate a deal for a large-scale liquefied natural gas development on Aboriginal l

Local suppliers need to be given a fair chance to compete.

Woodside Petroleum says it will issue $US1 billion in corporate bonds in the United States in a bid to repay short term debt and for capital expenditure.

Chevron Corporation says it is a step closer to commercialising its Wheatstone project after exploration of two natural gas fields showed there were enough resources to support a two-train development.

Mining services company Emeco Holdings has revised down its full year earnings forecast as it books a 30 per cent lift in half year net profit after tax of $39 million.

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Babcock & Brown Power today announced the financial close of the sale of its interest in the Neerabup power station to the infrastructure arm of ANZ.

Subiaco-based Stirling Resources has teamed up with Indian resources company NMDC to jointly identify, acquire and develop coking coal and iron ore investments in Australia and New Zealand.

A BHP Billiton spokesperson has confirmed a worker has died at its Pilbara operations early this morning.

Shares in NRW Holdings have risen sharply in early trade on the back of a 45 per cent lift in its interim net profit driven by higher revenue from its mining division.

PetroChina Co will reportedly buy a further 2 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas each year from the Gorgon project after it signed a deal with co-owner ExxonMobil.

Electricity prices for households and businesses are set to rise at the start of April in a bid to reduce losses by Verve Energy by some $320 million.

Nedlands-based Tox Free Solutions says it will not pay an interim dividend as it reports a 9 per cent fall in its interim net profit.

Perth-based Po Valley Energy has successfully raised $10 million through a private placement, with funds raised to progress four Italian gas development projects.

Perth-based Clough has secured a $116 million contract for works at the Montara oil project in the Timor Sea from a Thai company, which less than two months ago bought Coogee Resources.

Vietnam opened its first oil refinery on Sunday after more than a decade of delays, with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung declaring the complex vital for "national energy security".

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Oil and gas services company Mermaid Marine Australia has reported a 63 per cent lift in its interim net profit on the back of higher margins from its international business.

A sharp fall in the nickel price, the Varanus Island gas explosion and write downs have all contributed to a red calendar year for Minara Resources, which reported a net loss of $19.8 million, down from the previous year's $270.5 million net profit.