Oil giant Chevron has made a new discovery off Western Australia that could support an expansion of its $39 billion Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. The San Ramon, California-based company has found gas at its Achilles-1 well, which was drilled to around 4,500 meters. The well lies in the offshore Carnarvon Basin, about 160 kilometers north-west of Onslow in the Gorgon area. The Gorgon project, due to commence production in 2014, is expected to be a key source of energy for the developing economies of Asia.

Nigerian energy company Oando has signed an agreement with RussiaÔÇÖs state-controlled gas group Gazprom to collaborate in oil and gas projects in the African country.

Internet search giant Google has posted its largest ever third quarter profit, beating the expectations of Wall Street analysts. Profits jumped 27 percent from the same period a year ago at the Mountain View, California based company, totaling $1.64 billion between July and September. Revenue for the period totaled $4.38 billion, well ahead of analystsÔÇÖ predicted figure of $1.29 billion and a rise of 8 percent on the second quarterÔÇöits biggest sequential quarterly increase since the onset of the financial downturn. Commenting on the results, Eric Schmidt, CEO of Goog

Siemens AG, EuropeÔÇÖs largest engineering company, has agreed to buy Israeli solar thermal power company Solel Systems for $418 million (Ôé¼280 million).

The governments of Canada and Alberta province have announced funding of C$778.8 million to support a project to capture carbon emissions in western Canada.  The money will be used to upgrade TransAltaÔÇÖs coal-fired Keephills 3 power plant west of Edmonton, Alberta, with the aim of reducing its carbon emissions. TransAlta is CanadaÔÇÖs largest investor-owned power producer, headquartered in Calgary.

Swiss-based mining firm Xstrata has confirmed that it has ÔÇ£no intentionÔÇØ of making an offer for its rival, London-based Anglo American.

CanadaÔÇÖs NAL Oil & Gas Trust has agreed to buy junior oil exploration company Breaker Energy for C$310 million, the two companies announced today. As a result of the deal, NAL will acquire the oil-focused Irricana property in central Alberta and the Fireweed natural gas reserve in north-eastern British Columbia. NAL will also gain around 140,000 undeveloped acres as part of the agreement, an increase of 34 percent on its current acreage. BreakerÔÇÖs average production for this year is expected to be around 6,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

A consortium led by Italian energy giant ENI has won the contract to exploit IraqÔÇÖs Zubair oilfield, following a successful first round bid.

The New York-based insurance giant American International Group (AIG) has agreed to sell its Taiwanese life insurance unit for $2.15 billion. The Taiwan business, Nan Shan Life, has been sold to Hong Kong-based Primus Financial, a new financial services firm run by former Citigroup executive Robert Morse. Primus has teamed up with Hong Kong-based China Strategic Holdings to make the purchase.

UAE-based firm Dana Gas has discovered gas reserves in Egypt totalling 86 billion cubic feet.