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.
A company that acts as an agent for emerging Chinese steel mills has signed a deal with explorer Epsilon Energy over the Mardie iron ore project in the Pilbara.
Fortescue Metals Group has warned it could take at least a $US171 million ($A264 million) hit from suspended shipping contracts but says talks with Chinese entities for equity investment and a hybrid funding package are progressing.
Nickel miner Independence Group's net profit has slumped 99.7 per cent to $123,000 as it takes a hit from falling commodity prices and a $9.1 million write down in listed investments.
South Perth-based Oropa is set to capitalise on the burgeoning gold market by re-focusing its activities towards the precious metal and rationalising its non-gold assets.
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.
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".
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.
Premier Colin Barnett remains optimistic that Inpex may change its mind over the location of its $15 billion liquefied natural gas project after meeting with the company's senior executives.
Mining entrepreneur Tony Sage has been appointed to the board of Perth-based gold explorer Tianshan Goldfields, taking over from Graham Woolford who has tendered his resignation.
Gold miner St Barbara, which holds operations in Western Australia, expects to extend its half-year loss to some $44 million as a result of write downs and lower carrying values of listed investments.
Administrators for Monarch Gold Mining say the Minjar gold project is likely to be sold within the next few days as a mixture of local and overseas parties express interests in other assets.
