Analysts are beginning to question whether Carl Icahn has taken on an insurmountable challenge by investing heavily in Chesapeake Energy. “The company made its second big cut in capital spending in the last month, highlighting the grinding toll that low oil and gas prices are taking on energy stocks—and how tough it will be for them to climb back from lows, especially the companies with significant debt loads.

No one will be watching where Chesapeake Energy shares go from their current 52-week-low level more closely than Icahn. The famed activist has an ownership stake that now reaches roughly 11 percent of the controversial energy company’s shares.” [CNBC]

Solar power is expected to become the cheapest source of energy in many regions by 2025 according to the German think-tank, Agora Energiewende. “Solar power – researchers say – thanks to technological advancements, is already cost-effective in some sunny regions: in Dubai, a long-term power purchase contract was signed recently for 5 cents per kilowatt hour. Projects under construction in Brazil, Uruguay and other countries are reported to produce at costs below 7 ct/KWh.

By comparison, electricity from new coal and gas-fired plants costs between 5 and 10 cents per kilowatt hour. And in Germany, right now, large solar plants deliver power for less than 9 cents, compared to as much as 11 cents from nuclear.” [Forbes]

A group of hackers are planning a malware attack against oil and gas companies aiming to access sensitive corporate information, according to software security firm Symantec.”Hackers have been targeting energy industry workers with malicious emails containing malware that, when opened, leave the recipients vulnerable to snooping, software security giant Symantec reported Monday.

The campaign has primarily targeted Middle Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. But it has also afflicted other nations as well, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Uganda.” [Fortune]