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.

REUTERS - Benchmark Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 rose to as much as $83.32 a barrel on Wednesday and were at $83.09 at 0335 GMT, still 36 cents, or 0.4 percent above their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were up 19 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $73.44 a barrel.

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.

U.S. EIA - US oil production average 10.964 million b/d in July. Production in July was up 1.73 million b/d from July 2017. U.S. natural gas production average 100,243 million cubic feet per day. Production in July was up 11,093 mcfd from July 2017.

PLATTS - Japan's crude oil imports from Iran jumped 65% year on year in August, marking the fourth consecutive month of increase, according to government trade data released Thursday.

REUTERS - China’s Sinopec Corp is halving loadings of crude oil from Iran this month, as the state refiner comes under intense pressure from Washington to comply with a U.S. ban on Iranian oil from November, said people with knowledge of the matter.

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.

PLATTS - Russia's Gazprom and five European energy companies are committed to fully financing Russia's 55 Bcm/year Nord Stream 2 natural gas link to Germany if no external financing is raised

MEOG - Chemicals company BASF and investment company LetterOne signed a transaction agreement to merge their respective oil and gas businesses in a joint venture, which will operate under the name Wintershall DEA.

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.

REUTERS -India’s annual economic growth surged to a more than two-year high of 8.2 percent in the three months through June, giving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government a political boost in the final year of his term before elections.

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.