Mark Beyer

Woodside chief executive Don Voelte has warned Australians not to take the resources boom for granted or assume the resources sector would easily cope with all of the challenges facing it.

Premier Alan Carpenter and federal Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane don’t seem to agree on very much, but there is one issue on which they share a similar outlook.

Freehills partner Bob Baxt has warned company directors that they need to focus more seriously on compliance with their legal obligations.

Woodside chief executive Don Voelte has warned bluntly that emerging challenges for new LNG projects could be company-breakers.

Federal resources minister Ian Macfarlane has claimed that two major gas projects planned for Western Australia will be scrapped if the state government forces producers to reserve a portion of their output for the domestic market.

Oil and gas producer Chevron Corporation has announced plans to open an energy technology centre in Perth next year, employing about 100 professional staff.

Three Western Australian biofuels companies are moving ahead with capital raisings collectively worth more than $150 million despite the sector being hit with several setbacks.

Wesfarmers managing director Richard Goyder has seized an opportunity to fine-tune the conglomerate’s management team while continuing to build up its investment and acquisition focus.

The commercial and legal sagas surrounding former Perth scientist Bruce Gray has taken a new twist with his decision to step down as chairman of listed Sydney company, Sirtex Medical.

Iluka’s new managing director, David Robb, has been given the challenge of efficiently implementing the minerals sands miner’s company-making growth projects on the east coast.

Industrial services company United Group has formed a joint venture with engineering and fabrication firm Ausclad Group to bid for work on major projects, starting with the planned Gorgon gas project.

Perth-based financial advisory group Western Pacific Financial Group has merged with listed Sydney company Snowball Group in a $50 million deal.

Investors in listed Western Australian companies are usually focused on the potential for capital gains, but in a minority of cases there is potential to earn a tidy income from dividends.

Uranium company Paladin Resources was the top performing Western Australian stock for the three years to June by a wide margin, with an average annual total shareholder return of 618 per cent.

Over the past 18 months, Western Australian companies Anvil Mining, Equinox Minerals, Moto Goldmines and Paladin Resources collectively raised about $450 million from North American investors to fund big mining projects in Africa.

Kwinana manufacturing company Ausclad Group has reported its biggest profit and completed its second acquisition in a year after taking the unusual step of listing on Singapore’s SESDAQ stock exchange.

Winemaker Evans & Tate, internet services provider iiNet, pharmaceutical manufacturer Chemeq and ticketing technology company ERG are some of the high-profile Western Australian companies that are laggards in the latest total shareholder return survey.

The booming resources sector has underpinned strong returns by listed Western Australian companies in WA Business News’ fifth annual survey of total shareholder returns.

The Jidi Jidi Aboriginal Corporation, which represents the first traditional owners in Western Australia to have native title recognised by the Federal Court, has become mired in a dispute with the state government and explorers over the terms of its agre

It took five years and several million dollars, but Mindarie Regional Council has broken new ground in Western Australia by being the first local authority to negotiate a fully-fledged public private partnership contract.

The revolving door outside the boardroom of budding aquaculture producer Marine Produce Australia, which has been spinning fast for the past year, hit top speed this month.

Futuris subsidiary Integrated Tree Cropping has outlined plans to regain market share in the managed investments sector after a poor sales performance last financial year.

Home Building Society has flagged the possibility of legal action against merger target Police & Nurses Credit Society over changes to the latter’s constitution.

Early last year BGC boss Len Buckeridge reportedly said, in a moment of frustration, that he would sell up and move overseas because of frustration over environmental and planning hurdles standing in the way of three major projects.

Recently appointed chief executive of GRD, Cliff Lawrenson, has flagged some major moves ahead for the engineering and development group, including new acquisitions and a possible float of its Global Renewables business on London’s AIM market.

Western Australia’s prominence in mining and energy research was boosted last week with the opening of BHP Billiton’s global technology centre in Bentley.

Perth was the first stopping point in Australia when the director of IBM’s newly established Australian development laboratory toured his operations.

Sydney investment fund Hawkesbridge Private Equity has gained control of loss-making pharmaceutical wholesaler Advance Healthcare Group in extraordinary circumstances.

A mini boom in New Zealand’s small oil and gas industry has been remarkably fruitful for engineering and construction companies in Western Australia, with Clough being the third local company to sign a major contract across the Tasman.

CEO Don Voelte has made big changes to the executive team structure at WA's biggest company, increasing the number of direct reports after some operational setbacks.

A group of young executives with a background in engineering and finance has teamed up to buy businesses in Western Australia, starting with established Wangara firm, Electro Acoustic Co.

Law firms Minter Ellison and Clayton Utz are experiencing big changes at the partner level, with planning experts Neil Douglas and Andrew Roberts leaving Minter and corporate lawyer Will Moncrieff leaving Clayton Utz.