Energy

Nasser to replace Argus at BHP

ONGOING growth in services exports has prompted business and industry groups to call for greater state and federal government focus on the trade opportunities available in the sector.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA says it would be a "mistake" to abandon reform in the state's electricty market by re-amalgamating Verve Energy with Synergy.

South Korea's Samsung Corporation has agreed to invest $40 million to take a small direct interest in Perdaman Chemicals & Fertilisers' $3.5 billion Collie urea project.

Perth-based Po Valley Energy has relinquished an application over a prospective oilfield in Italy following environmental concerns from locals.

Shell Australia chairman Russell Caplan has warned the world faces an energy supply crunch by 2015 if solutions are not found soon to the conflicting issues of rapid demand growth, dwindling supplies and the need to lower greenhouse emissions.

The state government has conditionally agreed to build part of a major power line in the Mid West after it omitted the upgrade in this year's budget due to a substantial cost blow-out.

Shares in Perth-based Strike Resources are higher after it struck an offtake deal with two Asian companies over its Berau coal project in Indonesia.

Transfield Services has been awarded a maintenance and shutdown contract with BHP Billiton Iron Ore at its Mt Whaleback operation in Newman.

Macmahon Holdings has been awarded a $60 million contract by the Ulan Line Alliance for rail construction work as part of plans for increased coal output in the Hunter Valley.

Mining services company Imdex has terminated a $28 million merger with drilling specialist Coretrack after due diligence did not meet expectations.

Chevron has taken the next step in its ambitious plans to become a major gas operator in WA, awarding the onshore front-end engineering and design contract for its $25 billion Wheatstone project to US company Bechtel Oil, Gas & Chemicals Inc.

Perth-based Sino Gas & Energy plans to list on the local stock exchange in the coming months as it prepares to launch a $10.3 million rights issue and initial public offer.

Premier Colin Barnett has vowed to block any move to pipe gas from the Browse Basin to existing LNG facilities on Burrup Peninsula, in a bid to shore up support for his preferred Kimberley LNG hub at James Price Point near Broome.

SINO Gas & Energy will be the latest Perth-based company to test investor appetite for initial public offerings as the number of companies with listing aspirations starts to increase.

While the state’s budding uranium industry grabbed local headlines last week, two Perth companies quietly confirmed the potential of southern WA as a new source of transport fuels.

MODERN medicine undoubtedly has many benefits and has saved many lives, but despite what some medical practitioners might tell you there are many ailments and diseases that they do not know the cau

Karratha should be an obligatory destination for Western Australians who want to understand their state.

WHEN energy giant BP and miner Rio Tinto quietly shelved a joint $2 billion 'clean coal' power initiative at Kwinana in May last year, many pundits considered it the death knell for the state's nascent coal-gasification sector.

THE Chamber of Minerals and Energy Western Australia has joined fellow resources industry bodies across the country in affirming expected strong demand for labour in the sector in the coming decades.

THE state government is to conduct a review of the plan to privatise GESB, which manages as much as $9 billion in superannuation funds.

The ports of Dampier and Port Hedland remain the largest bulk export ports in the world, with combined throughput of the two ports amounting to more than 300 million tonnes last financial year.

The Broome Port Authority has signed a leasing agreement with Woodside that it hopes will position Broome as the major supply base for future gas projects off the Kimberley coast, including Woodside's proposed Browse Basin project.

Perdaman Chemicals and Fertilisers have appointed Societe Generale as its financial advisor for the $3.5 billion Collie urea project.

West Perth-based Red Sky Energy has agreed to acquire private company Cydonia Resources, which holds coal seam gas permits in Queensland's Surat Basin, and plans to raise $4 million through a share placement.

Tokyo Electric Power Co is reportedly considering buying a stake in Inpex's $20 billion Ichthys liquefied natural gas project.

Shares in Liberty Resources have soared as much as 56 per cent following a deal with Carbon Energy for the joint development of an underground coal gasification project in Queensland.

Construction and mining contractor Macmahon Holdings has secured an extension of its contract at BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam mine, valued at more than $110 million.

The state government will halve the royalty rate for tight gas operations in a bid to substantially boost Western Australia's gas supply.

We need Chinese money – Barnett; Premier signals tough deal; We must vote for ETS – Abbott; Chevron on track to oust Woodside on assets table; Aust Post in bid to raise stamp price

Adelaide-based Toro Energy has put itself into the running to develop the state's first uranium mine, saying its Wiluna project could start production as early as 2012.

Nomad Building Solutions is the latest recipient of a Gorgon gas project contract, with work awarded as part of an overall $500 million contract to build the accommodation village.