In exploration news, despite a gas kick last week which put a spark underneath the share price of some of its participants, the Waingaromia -2 well in New Zealand has been plugged and abandoned without finding a valid reservoir.
Mosaic told the market it could have unlocked another oil province in Australia after drill stem testing at Downlands-3 in the Surat Basin well indicated good oil flow rates.
The oil and gas minnow has followed up later in the week by announcing it would sole risk its next well in the Churchie area, which may contain gas reserves in excess of 100 bcf.
A statement by Arc Energy that it intends to test deeper hydrocarbon targets in its upcoming Hovea-2 well sent its share price to 57c, even after Tap dropped its takeover bid.
Bounty Oil & Gas said it plans to drill an oil development well in the Thomby Creek Oil Field, Surat Basin, the first in the area since 1981.
In the markets, NWS shelf partners announced a big sales and purchase agreement with Singapore-based Shell Eastern LNG, a new customer for the joint venture.
Beach Petroleum consolidated its billion plus share registry and told shareholders to expect strong earnings over the next 12 months.
Australia Gas Light's welcomed the news that the Commonwealth Government will introduce legislation to ensure that the gas retailer is not hit with a big tax bill after its recent corporate re-jigging.
Australia Oil & Gas shares spiked as well after it told shareholders to accept a bid from the Aussie subsidiary of Canadian-based Precision Drilling.
Perth-based Clough Group profited greatly this week from its alliance with Unocal Thailand, who awarded them contracts worth $80 million for work in the Gulf of Thailand.
Kimberley Oil, New Zealand Oil & Gas and Queensland Gas all had a good week in the market with successful fund raising efforts.
Renewable energy player Energy Development also had a good week after it announced it was selected preferred tenderer for a major US landfill development.
Speaking of renewable energy, the Snowy River Mountain Hydro-electric authority is to finally be corporatised after years of negotiations between the Commonwealth, Victoria, NSW and South Australia.
Its all systems go for the 680km SEA Gas pipeline, which will transport natural gas from Victoria to Adelaide, after the finalising of construction and financial arrangements this week.
Overseas, tough Japanese negotiators have taken advantage of excess supply of LNG in Asia to demand price reductions and more flexible contract terms.
In response, Malaysian-based Petronas mooted an alliance of LNG suppliers, which could form the basis of an Asian gas cartel.
Enron wasn't the only victim of dodgy accounting, news reports from the US suggest a number of energy companies (some with White House links) have been engaging in dubious bookkeeping.
Finally, in a classic 'David-vs-Goliath' story, a small tribe in the Colombian rainforest has succeeded in sending US oil giant Oxy packing from its ancestral lands. They believed oil is the blood of the earth and threatened mass suicide if Oxy proceeded with plans to produce the oil.
However, while this was a victory for the proverbial little guy, the state-owned outfit Ecopetrol said it intends to pick up where Oxy left off, and continue to search for the vast reserves of oil and gas said to exist in the area.
