Its been a busy week for Voyager Energy after farming into two Perth Basin permits, one offshore and one onshore.

Drilling has started at Mosaic's Downland East-1 well, south of Roma in Queensland.

Staying in Queensland, the Government has released a new report on the geology of the Cooper and Eromanga Basins, which should help oil and gas explorers identify future prospects.

Beach Petroleum is set to bring two more Otway Basin wells into production.

One company having problems selling its output from production is Southern Pacific, operator of the shale oil project.

Greenpeace doesn't approve of the project however one leading economist believes the need to develop Queensland's vast reserves of oil shale reserves is "self-evident".

The CSIRO says convertibility is the key to Australian energy independence. Australia needs to convert its vast reserves of fossil fuel into clean energy and this can only be done by increasing R&D activity.

In the markets, the red ink continues to flow in the Oz refinery sector with Mobil announcing a big loss.

Santos' had first quarter sales which roughly corresponded to last year's result despite a cool summer and low oil prices.

It looks like Tap will walk away from its Arc bid after deciding not to extend its deadline beyond 13 May.

Increasingly frustrated with regulators, Epic Energy is looking to freer, less regulated markets and the offshore sector to expand its business.

The WA Govt has called for energy suppliers, including tidal, to tender for the West Kimberley power business.

The WA Govt is also keen bring American energy companies 'out West' to invest, particularly in the oil and gas sector.

While some Americans may want to come, others are packing their bags and heading for door out of Australia's power market.

A case in point is American Electric's offloading of CitiPower, which is generating a bidding competition among some of Australia's biggest banks.

Spare change? DJ Carmichael recommends Origin and Woodside.

Overseas, oil giant BP earlier in the week forecast a bad profit result and by the end of the week, Nostradamus-like, achieved it. Its first quarter profits were down by more than half on the same time last year.

PCH Group won a big coating contract in the new boom area that is the Caspian Sea.

Carnarvon Petroleum said one of its Thai wells had suffered 'skin damage'. Not from the warm sun there but from migration of fine particles to the near the wellbore region, restricting the oil flow.