On the western seaboard, gas retailer AlintaGas is making its much vaunted move into the soon to be deregulated WA electricity market. Alinta will team up with alumina company Alcoa and develop several power plants. Alcoa will use all of the steam output from the plants in its alumina operations while Alinta will sell the electricity into the retail market in direct competition with Western Power.
In the markets, its been a busy week for coalbed methane hopeful Arrow Energy as it completed its acquisition of Ron Prefontaine's Australian CBM while its capital raising closed fully subscribed.
Another CBM player, the Oil Company of Australia, believes it has strengthened its position as Australia'a largest CBM producer after acquiring further interests in the Fairview and Durham CBM fields.
Deutsche Bank believes the market has got it wrong over Tap Oil and now is a good time to acquire stock in the Perth-based junior exploration company.
Many investors in the market believe they haven't got it wrong over Amity Oil as its shares plunged to a 10-month low following announcements by the company that its much-publicised gas projects in Turkey are encountering "frustrating difficulties".
One of those "difficulties" include American jean manufacturer Levi Strauss taking only a fraction of gas it was supposed to.
In the oil and gas fields, Santos took over operatorship of the Evans Shoal field in the Timor Sea, which means for the Adelaide oil and gas producer it must make a decision on whether to take a direct stake in the proposed $2 billion Tassie Shoal methanol project by the end of this month.
The Evans Shoal field, which has double the reserves of Bayu-Undan is only 5km from Tassie Shoal where the proposed plant will be built by Methanol Australia.
Empire Oil will be looking to start surfacing drilling its Eclipse well this week. The principal rig, OD&E Rig 16, will be used after nearly 18 months 'working' on the problematic Patience well in the Canning Basin, if OD&E can meet the Empire deadline.
Despite initial gloomy reports from the well site, the partners in the Acrasia-2 follow up well in the Cooper Basin have reported an oil flow, enough for them to describe the well as a new oil pool discovery.
Junior explorer Kimberley Oil has kicked off its series of workovers of declining and shut-in oil wells in the Blina Oilfield over the weekend.
Bounty Oil and Gas has taken a 100% interest in a newly-awarded permit in the Bonaparte Basin off the northern coast of Western Australia. This means the junior explorer has more than doubled its net acreage since its listing in February.
In general news, the WA Government is considering a proposal from ChevronTexaco, which envisages using a small area on Barrow Island to process gas from the huge Gorgan field in the State's northwest.
Staying in WA, a dissident Aboriginal group is seeking Federal intervention in its Native Title row with the WA Government, which will see Woodside's $800 million second gas trunkline delayed.
Another problem for the WA Government is what to do with some low-level radioactive waste on an oil rig off the coast. The owners of the rig, BHP Billiton, are no doubt keen for a quick resolution of the problem.
Also in WA, BP got stung for failing to display terminal prices at its depot, under new laws designed to eradicate fluctuating fuel prices.
Overseas, BHP Billiton made in its first foray into the home of Soccer's newly-crowned world champions, Brazil, where the resource giant bought a block in the highly productive Campos Basin.
Indonesia's state-owned Pertamina has given approval for the next stage of a proposed gas-to-liquids plant in Central Sulawesi.
In India, eight ONGC workers were killed by tribal rebels in State of Assam in an ambush.
On a happier note, green BP is looking for a pink workforce as it intends to hire more gays and lesbian employees as part of a drive to ditch its stodgy, traditional business practices.
BP said it hoped to attract talented gays and lesbians by offering equal benefits to partners in same-sex relationships.
