IMF - The UAE economy has been adapting well to a prolonged decline in oil prices since 2014. A gradual recovery in non-oil activity is under way. With oil production and government spending set to rise, overall growth is projected to strengthen to 2.9 percent this year and 3.7 percent next year. Inflation is projected at 3.5 percent this year owing to the introduction of the value-added tax and should ease afterwards. The fiscal deficit is expected to remain stable at about 1.6 percent of GDP this year and turn to a surplus next year. The current account surplus will exceed 7 percent of GDP this year.

REUTERS - Australia’s government expects the nation’s resource and energy exports to hit a record of A$252 billion ($182 billion) in 2018-2019, buoyed by climbing prices for commodities such as natural gas and by a weaker Australian dollar.

SHELL - Shell Canada Energy, an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell plc (“Shell”), today announced it has taken a final investment decision (FID) on LNG Canada, a major liquified natural gas (LNG) project in Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada, in which Shell has a 40% working interest. With LNG Canada’s joint venture participants also having taken FID, construction will start immediately with first LNG expected before the middle of the next decade. Shell’s 40% share of the project’s capital cost is within the company’s current overall capital investment guidance of US$25-$30 billion per year.

EQUINOR - Equinor has signed an agreement to acquire Chevron’s 40% operated interest in the Rosebank project, one of the largest undeveloped fields on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).

THE GUARDIAN - Backers of mini nuclear power stations have asked for billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money to build their first UK projects, according to an official document.

REW-2018 - Russian President Vladimir Putin will take part in the plenary session ‘Sustainable Energy for a Changing World’ during the Russian Energy Week International Forum.

SHANA - The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) CEO explicitly said his company, the sole producer of hydrocarbons in Iran, had no plans to reduce its output.

WBG - The $1 billion in World Bank Group financing is expected to mobilize another $4 billion in concessional climate financing and public and private investments. The program aims to finance 17.5 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery storage by 2025 – more than triple the 4-5 GWh currently installed in all developing countries.

IMF - Philippines real GDP grew by 6.7 percent in 2017 and by 6.3 percent in the first half of 2018 (y/y) led by strong public investment. Inflation rose to 6.4 percent (y/y) in August 2018, averaging 4.8 percent year to date and above the inflation target band of 2−4 percent, led by adjustments in excise taxes, the rise in global oil prices, the weaker peso, and above-trend growth.

U.S. BEA - Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 4.2 percent in the second quarter of 2018, according to the "third" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, real GDP increased 2.2 percent.

FRB - In view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation, the Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 2 to 2-1/4 percent.

PLATTS - Norway's state-owned power company Statkraft is planning annual investments of around NOK10 billion ($1.2 billion, Eur1 billion) in renewable energy in the period 2019-2025, it said.

OPEC - Total primary energy demand is expected to increase by 91 mboe/d between 2015 and 2040 to reach 365 mboe/d in 2040

U.S. EIA - Second-quarter 2018 financial results for 45 U.S. oil exploration and production companies that the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) regularly tracks reveal that most companies increased their capital expenditure budgets for 2018 compared with initial budgets made at the beginning of the year.

U.S. EIA - Energy companies’ free cash flow—the difference between cash from operations and capital expenditure—was $119 billion for the four quarters ending June 30, 2018, the largest four-quarter sum during 2013–18 Companies reduced debt for seven consecutive quarters, contributing to the lowest long-term debt-to-equity ratio since third-quarter 2014