REUTERS - Italy’s Eni and Austria’s OMV have agreed to pay a combined $5.8 billion to take a stake in Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (ADNOC) refining business and establish a new trading operation owned by the three partners.

BHGE - U.S. Rig Count is up 9 rigs from last week to 1,059 rigs, with oil rigs up 10 to 862 and gas rigs down 1 to 197. Canada Rig Count is up 23 rigs from last week to 232, with oil rigs up 18 to 146 and gas rigs up 5 to 86.

REUTERS - International Brent crude oil futures were at $61.89 a barrel at 0246 GMT, 80 cents, or 1.3 percent, above their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.90 per barrel, up 77 cents, or 1.5 percent.

PLATTS - Natural gas flows via the Nord Stream pipeline from Russia to Germany totaled 58.8 Bcm in 2018 -- 3.8 Bcm higher than its nameplate capacity of 55 Bcm/year -- according to the operator of the pipeline.

REUTERS - Oil imports from Russia reached 7.04 million tons, or 1.658 million barrels per day, in December, up 40 percent from 5.03 million tons a year earlier, according to the data from the General Administration of Customs. For the full year, Russian oil imports rose to 71.49 million tons, or 1.43 million bpd, up 19.7 percent from 59.7 million tons in 2017.

POWERMAG - China continues to finance new coal plants in more than two dozen countries, even as the country has taken the lead in global renewable energy investment, according to a report from a U.S. group of energy analysts.

WNN - "The new-generation super safe fuel will resist serious accidents and prolong the non-intervention time in case of reactor accidents, greatly reducing the risk of hydrogen explosions and relieving or eliminating the consequences arising from loss of coolant." It added, "It will be used to replace fuel in the nuclear power plants now in operation and help design the fourth generation or even more advanced nuclear power system. In addition, the new fuel will maintain and improve the performance of nuclear power plants."

ROSATOM - At the present time, the share of nuclear generation in the total energy mix of the country is 18,7% of the total electricity generation in Russia. Thus, each fifth electric bulb in the Russian Federation is lit owing to energy produced at nuclear power plants.

PLATTS - Chevron, PBF Energy, Valero and Citgo, which is owned by PDVSA, are the largest US refiners of Venezuelan crude, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Spokesmen for those four companies did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

SANTOS - Record quarterly sales revenue of $1,043 million, up 7% and including record quarterly LNG sales revenue of $449 million, up 11%. Record annual sales revenue of $3,696 million, up 19%

PLATTS - French liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports soared last year as Australia, the U.S. and Russia brought more LNG to world markets, French gas network operator GRTgaz said on Thursday.

NOVATEK - Total SEC proved reserves, including the Company’s proportionate share in joint ventures, aggregated 15,789 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), including 2,177 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas and 181 million metric tons (mmt) of liquid hydrocarbons. Total proved reserves increased by 4% compared to the year-end 2017, representing a reserve replacement rate of 222% for the year, addition of 1,218 million boe, inclusive of 2018 production.

PLATTS - "We're increasing gas production by up to 10% taking into account Yamal LNG, with liquids output, including crude and condensate, to grow by around 2%, I think," Mikhelson was quoted as saying on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

REUTERS - International Brent crude oil futures were at $61.85 per barrel at 0624 GMT, up 35 cents, or 0.6 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.26 per barrel, up 25 cents, or 0.5 percent.

The global expansion has weakened. Global growth for 2018 is estimated at 3.7 percent, as in the October 2018 World Economic Outlook (WEO) forecast, despite weaker performance in some economies, notably Europe and Asia. The global economy is projected to grow at 3.5 percent in 2019 and 3.6 percent in 2020, 0.2 and 0.1 percentage point below last October’s projections.