ARAB NEWS - “Total has officially left the agreement for the development of phase 11 of South Pars (gas field). It has been more than two months that it announced that it would leave the contract,” he told the ICANA news agency, which is linked to the oil ministry.

PLATTS - Japan's Mitsubishi has agreed to acquire a 25% interest in Bangladesh's Summit LNG import project, which includes a floating, storage and regasification unit, with the remaining 75% held by Summit Corporation, the Japanese LNG trader said in a statement late last week.

PLATTS - China Gas Holdings is expected to import around 10 million mt/year of LPG over the next five years, up from the current 2.8 million mt/year, as the Hong Kong-listed gas operator and service provider seeks to expand into the petrochemical sector, industry sources said recently.

REUTERS - Japanese utilities and industrial companies are snapping up U.S. cargoes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) that are seeking a new home after Chinese buyers started to shun them amid an escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing.

NPD - Preliminary production figures for July 2018 show an average daily production of 1 911 000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate, which is an increase of 64 000 barrels per day compared to June.

GAZPROM NEFT - For the first six months of 2018 Gazprom Neft achieved revenue** growth of 24.4% year-on-year, at one trillion, 137.7 billion rubles (RUB1,137,700,000,000). The Company achieved a 49.8% year-on-year increase in adjusted EBITDA, to RUB368.2 billion. This performance reflected positive market conditions for oil and oil products, production growth at the Company’s new projects, and effective management initiatives. Net profit attributable to Gazprom Neft PJSC shareholders grew 49.6% year on year, to RUB166.4 billion. Growth in the Company’s operating cash flow, as well as the completion of key infrastructure investments at new upstream projects, delivered positive free cash flow of RUB47.5 billion for 1H 2018.

U.S. EIA - Crude oil production from the major US onshore regions is forecast to increase 93,000 b/d month-over-month in August from 7,429 to 7,522 thousand barrels/day , gas production to increase 1,007 million cubic feet/day from 71,413 to 72,420 million cubic feet/day .

BLOOMBERG - The Norwegian government in June made its first deposit into its wealth fund since the end of 2015. Now that the economy is in full recovery and the labor market is tightening, winding down fiscal stimulus is a key priority in next year’s budget, the prime minister said in an interview in Arendal, on Norway’s southern coast.

PLATTS - A deal between Chinese companies and Alaska's state gas corporation to build the $43 billion Alaska LNG Project appears to be on scheduled despite the trade war brewing between the US and China.

REUTERS - “This trade war is slowing down and destroying economic growth - and it creates new uncertainties,” Altmaier told Bild am Sonntag newspaper, adding that consumers suffered the most because higher tariffs were driving up prices.

PLATTS - Russian state-owned gas producer and transporter Gazprom filed a complaint with the WTO about the legislation in April 2014, arguing Russian infrastructure was being treated unfairly. Since then, constraints on access to OPAL have been lifted, resulting in flows via Nord Stream increasing to full capacity of 155 million cu m/day. The decision is therefore not expected to be market moving.

PLATTS - Natural gas demand from US LNG export terminals is set to double over the next year as a spate of new liquefaction projects now nearing completion enters service.

BLOOMBERG - Under the plan, PetroChina would boost buying of spot cargoes from other countries or swap U.S. shipments with other nations in East Asia to avoid paying additional tariffs, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public.

REUTERS - U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China in July fell to their lowest level in a year and are expected to decline further as the Sino-U.S. trade dispute forces utilities to seek alternative supplies.

REUTERS - PetroChina Ltd is in advanced discussions with Qatar to purchase liquefied natural gas (LNG) under short- and long-term agreements, three sources with knowledge of the talks said on Wednesday.