India's solar surge may slash coal imports

Dramatic cost declines in solar power tenders in India have shaken up expectations on pricing for the renewable fuel and have triggered warnings that the country's need for thermal coal imports will be much lower than some are banking on, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Huge solar power contracts awarded by Indian states to global players in November and December have been priced at levels more than 20 per cent below 12 months ago and point to solar power rapidly overtaking thermal coal imports in competitiveness for power generation.

Oil and gas investment expected to fall to lowest level in six years

With crude prices at 11-year lows, the world's biggest oil and gas producers are facing their longest period of investment cuts in decades, but are expected to borrow more to preserve the dividends demanded by investors, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

At around $US37 a barrel, crude prices are well below the $60 firms such as Total, Statoil and BP need to balance their books, a level that has already been sharply reduced over the past 18 months.

Active bidding for Origin's gas assets

Prospective bidders for Origin Energy's $300 million gas interests in Western Australia have been told the undeveloped Waitsia field is the largest onshore conventional gas find in the country for 30 years and could easily undercut competing supplies from the North West Shelf venture in the Perth market, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

In a confidential flyer distributed to interested parties, Origin's adviser, UBS, says the package of assets up for sale in the Perth Basin offers a "rare opportunity to participate in one of the most prospective discoveries in Australia".