Ukraine's Naftogaz wants Russia's Gazprom to comply with EU-style entry/exit gas capacity booking rules from 2020, as well as committing to a minimum throughput volume, its executive director Yuriy Vitrenko said in an interview.

The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding with Enusa Industrias Avanzadas, defining a framework for collaboration and the exchange of information and expertise in the field of nuclear fuel services.

British oil and gas production rose 4 percent to 1.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2018 compared with the previous year, according to the Oil and Gas Authority, an industry regulator.

IMF - Economic growth is anticipated to remain around 1.8 percent in 2019. The authorities’ Fiscal Balance Program, underpinned by the 2019-20 budget, has provided a commendable framework to arrest the decline in fiscal and external buffers since 2014.

PLATTS - Ukraine is preparing for zero Russian gas transit flows in 2020 once Russia's 55 Bcm/year Nord Stream 2 gas link to Germany comes online, but European gas supply security will not be disrupted, a senior Naftogaz executive said

WBG - The report argues that reforms in three areas, in particular, are needed to reignite productivity growth: 1) creating supportive conditions for private sector development by adjusting the role of the state; 2) addressing corporate debt overhang by strengthening the legal framework, strengthening the financial system, and shoring-up the fiscal position of the government; and 3) strengthening Ukraine’s markets by lifting the moratorium on agriculture land sales and increasing incentives to accumulate savings and human capital.

IMF - Kuwait's growth is expected to strengthen. The mission has assumed an average oil price of US$57 per barrel in 2019–20, increasing to US$60 per barrel over the medium term. As capital project implementation accelerates, non-oil growth is projected to increase to about 3.5 percent in 2020. The recent OPEC decision to cut production is expected to hold oil output to 2 percent growth in 2019, which could rebound to 2.5 percent in 2020 given the spare capacity. Inflation is expected to rise in 2019–20 to about 2.5 percent as the deflationary factors in 2018 unwind.

POWERMAG - Blockchain, originally devised for digital currency such as bitcoin, has moved into the energy space, allowing digital information to be distributed across networks.

IMF - The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved a 14-month Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) for Ukraine. The arrangement amounts to the equivalent of SDR 2.8 billion (about US$3.9 billion, 139 percent of quota). The Board also took note of Ukraine’s decision to cancel the arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility for Ukraine that was approved on March 11, 2015.

SAIPEM - Saipem, in Joint Venture with Renaissance, a Turkish oil&gas services company, has been awarded a new Onshore E&C project in the Russian Federation worth 2.2 billion Euro overall. As leader of the JV, with a shareholding of 50%, Saipem’s portion of the total amount is therefore approximately 1.1 billion Euro.