U.S. BEA - The U.S. current-account deficit increased to $124.8 billion (preliminary) in the third quarter of 2018 from $101.2 billion (revised) in the second quarter of 2018, according to statistics released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The deficit was 2.4 percent of current-dollar gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter, up from 2.0 percent in the second quarter.

PLATTS - India imported 17 million mt (4.2 million b/d) of crude oil in November, down 11.4% year on year, the latest provisional data from the country's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell showed.

NPD - Preliminary production figures for November 2018 show an average daily production of 1 880 000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate, which is an increase of 22 000 barrels per day compared to October.

NOVATEK - PAO NOVATEK ("NOVATEK" and/or the "Company") and SACE (CDP Group) signed a Memorandum on Strategic Cooperation (“Memorandum”) in relation to the Company's current and future LNG projects. The parties agreed to develop long-term cooperation on the Arctic LNG 2 project and potential new LNG projects involving Italian suppliers and engineering companies.

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.

WNN - Russia's National Operator for Radioactive Waste Management (NO RWM), Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the Korea Radioactive Waste Agency (KORAD) today signed an agreement to cooperate in radioactive waste management. The agreement was signed by Igor Igin, NO RWM's director genera, Oleg Kryukov, Rosatom's director of state policy on radioactive waste, used nuclear fuel and decommissioning, and Cha Sung-soo, chairman of KORAD.

WNN - The USA should continue its participation in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project and develop a national research programme towards building a compact pilot plant, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM).

PLATTS - At 10:30 am Singapore time (0250 GMT), February ICE Brent crude futures inched down 4 cents/b (0.07%) from Friday's settle to $60.24/b, while the NYMEX January light sweet crude contract rose 5 cents/b (0.1%) to $51.25/b

MEOG - King Salman Energy Park (SPARK), a 50sqkm "energy city megaproject" in Saudi Arabia, is one of the Kingdom's most impressive endeavours into localisation so far. Once operational, it is expected to generate 100,000 direct and indirect jobs and should contribute $6bn to Saudi Arabia's GDP annually.

MEOG - Saudi Aramco and Raytheon Company, through its subsidiary Raytheon Saudi Arabia, signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint venture company that will develop and provide best-in-class cybersecurity services in Saudi Arabia and the region.

MEOG - In the oil and gas industry, technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IOT), machine learning and big data can serve operators by increasing productivity and streamlining processes, all while helping them attract and retain talent, and remain secure and compliant.

REUTERS - India’s monthly oil imports from Iran plunged to their lowest in a year in November with Tehran dropping two places to become only the sixth biggest supplier after New Delhi cut purchases due to the impact of U.S. sanctions, according to ship tracking data and industry sources.

PLATTS - South Korea imported no Iranian crude in November for a third straight month due to the re-imposition of US sanctions on Tehran, according to preliminary data released by the Korea Customs Service on Monday.

TP - With fast growing demand and expanding gas receiving capacity in Pakistan, the South Asian nation is expected to source more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar, said the country’s visiting Finance Minister Asad Umar.

REUTERS - Qatar Petroleum (QP) is looking to invest at least $20 billion in the United States over the coming few years, its chief executive told Reuters, after the Gulf Arab state unexpectedly quit OPEC this month.