EXXONMOBIL - -ExxonMobil said that it has made a final investment decision to develop the West Barracouta gas field in Bass Strait to bring new gas supplies to the Australian domestic market. The project, located in the VIC/L1 block offshore Victoria, is part of the company’s continuing investment in the Gippsland Basin.

TOTAL - Total has signed an agreement to divest a 4% interest in the Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Australia to operating partner INPEX for an overall consideration of 1.6 billion USD. The transaction, which is subject to Australian regulatory approvals, reduces Total’s interest in the asset to 26%.

REUTERS - Australia overtook Qatar as the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the first time in November, data from Refinitiv Eikon showed on Monday.

REUTERS - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a new NZ$100 million ($69.28 million) green investment fund on Wednesday, aimed at boosting private-sector participation in a campaign to achieve zero net carbon emissions by 2050.

IMF - Australia’s recent strong growth is expected to continue in the near term, further reducing slack in the economy and leading the way to gradual upward pressure on wages and prices.

SANTOS - Strong production and revenue growth  Third quarter production up 6% to 15 mmboe due to strong performance across the core assets  Sales revenue up 10% to $973 million, including record quarterly LNG revenues of $405 million  PNG LNG achieved record daily rates equivalent to ~9.2 mtpa annualised production

WNN - The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and the Vietnam Atomic Energy Agency (VAEA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to allow further collaboration between the two organisations.

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.

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.

PLATTS - The International Energy Agency expects the US to account for 75% of the global growth in natural gas exports over the next five years, a bullish outlook for LNG developers facing challenges at home getting projects off the ground and abroad with tariffs affecting trade flows.

REUTERS - Australian oil and gas firm Santos Ltd said on Wednesday it has agreed to buy privately held Quadrant Energy for at least $2.15 billion, bagging access to what may be the biggest oil find off Western Australia in over two decades.

PLATTS - ExxonMobil's planned LNG import project in Victoria will compete with AGL's planned LNG import terminal in the same state -- at Crib Point near Melbourne -- projected to come online by financial year 2020-2021, and AIE's project next door in the state of New South Wales, potentially at Port Kembla, Newcastle or Port Botany, expected by as early as 2020.

REUTERS - The issue comes down to how quickly to build a shared infrastructure system that would include a major trunk pipeline for transporting gas from mammoth new offshore fields owned by various companies in northwest Australia.

REUTERS - Chevron Corp has started producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the second unit of its $34 billion Wheatstone development, marking the completion of its two megaprojects in Australia after cost-blowouts and delays.

BLOOMBERG - Gross domestic product advanced 1 percent from the prior quarter, with overseas shipments accounting for half the expansion, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney Wednesday. Economists had forecast a 0.9 percent gain. The economy expanded at an annual pace of 3.1 percent, also beating estimates for a 2.8 percent increase.