The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has given Shell Offshore Inc. the go-ahead to drill exploratory wells next year on two leases in the Beaufort Sea, off AlaskaÔÇÖs north coast. The company wants to drill two exploration wells in the western area of Camden Bay between July and October next year. The two leases, which were obtained by Shell in 2005 and 2007, lie around 16 and 23 miles north of Point Thompson, Alaska. The Beaufort Sea contains an estimated 8.22 billion barrels of oil and 27.65 million cubic feet of natural gas.

Swiss mining firm Xstrata has reported a rise of nine per cent in its coal output during the third quarter, following its acquisition of two Colombian mines earlier this year.

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.