Business

Sales of higher-margin premium fuels grew 3 per cent, continuing to offset the long-term decline in petrol sales.

Premium fuel sales fatten Caltex bottom line

Oil importer, refiner and marketer Caltex has benefited from the continued swing towards premium fuel purchases, which has helped offset a decline in refiner margins and adverse currency swings over the past 12 months.

Origin takes $1.9b hit on oil slump

Origin Energy has sought to soften the blow from its massive writedown by raising its forecast for underlying profit.

The fall in the oil price has prompted Origin Energy to slash $1.9 billion off the value of its assets, primarily for its gas export project in Queensland.

Coral bleaching threat extends to Sydney

The Great Barrier Reef off Port Douglas.

Unusually warm sea temperatures and the prospect for more to come have reef scientists worried that the Great Barrier Reef may experience another major coral bleaching event. And Sydney is also under threat.

Oil falls to two-week low

The trading boom that cushioned the profits of Royal Dutch Shell and BP through the price slump appears to be over.

Oil dropped to the lowest in more than two weeks amid estimates that US crude and gasoline inventories continue to climb.