REUTERS - U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was up 25 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $72.17 a barrel by 0648 GMT on Wednesday, having settled up 14 cents. Brent crude LCOc1 was up 26 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $81.67 a barrel, after settling up 63 cents the session before.

МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - Александр Новак отметил, что Россия и Иран находятся в постоянном контакте, что способствует укреплению сотрудничества двух стран по всему спектру торгово-экономических отношений, в том числе в сфере энергетики.

МИНФИН РОССИИ - Средняя цена на нефть Urals за период мониторинга с 15 сентября по 14 октября 2018 года составила $ 81,10625 за баррель, или $ 592,1 за тонну.

OPEC - We forecast that primary energy demand, globally, is expected to increase by 33%, or 91 mboe/d, between 2015 and 2040. A massive 24% of this anticipated increase will be from India, or 22 mboe/d.

PLATTS - India will be looking to ship in more crude oil from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to fill part of the vacuum created by reduced appetite for supplies from Iran, which is facing US sanctions, according to delegates and policy makers attending the India Energy Forum by CERAWeek.

MEOG - Judaimi highlighted that the closer cooperation between Saudi Aramco and Indian energy entities is reflected in the partnership with RRPCL and ADNOC on the Ratnagiri mega-refinery and petrochemicals complex in Maharashta this year. He noted that nearly $2 billion in material-service sourcing with Indian companies to date; and the opening of the Aramco Asia India office in 2017.

REUTERS - The United States must not determine European energy policy or decide whether Germany buys Russian gas, a top German diplomat said on Tuesday.

FT - “Total has great ambition in this country, we want to be the largest foreign oil and gas player here,” the company’s chief executive Patrick Pouyanné said on Monday at the launch of a factory outside Moscow. 

PLATTS - Petrobras is to form two joint venture companies with China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) to complete construction of a refinery and revitalize four mature fields in the offshore Campos Basin, the state-owned Brazilian company said

BLOOMBERG - The wealth fund’s initial case had focused on limiting Norway’s exposure to a drop in oil prices, given its status as western Europe’s biggest petroleum producer. When the proposal was first made last year, it rocked markets, and drew responses from a number of major investors.

U.S. FRB - Industrial production increased 0.3 percent in September, about the same rate of change as in the previous two months. Output growth in September was held down slightly by Hurricane Florence, with an estimated effect of less than 0.1 percentage point.

U.S. EIA - Crude oil production from the major US onshore regions is forecast to increase 98,000 b/d month-over-month in November from 7,616 to 7,714 thousand barrels/day , gas production to increase 957 million cubic feet/day from 73,104 to 74,061 million cubic feet/day .

REUTERS - Benchmark Brent crude oil jumped by $1.49 a barrel to a high of $81.92 before slipping to $80.83, up 40 cents, by 0745 GMT. U.S. crude was last up 20 cents at $71.54.

U.S. DT - On the borrower side, the IMF and World Bank should make efforts to obtain a comprehensive picture of members’ debt positions in both its bilateral surveillance and as part of its lending programs, with the goal of improving debt sustainability.

WNN - The US Department of Energy (DOE) has established a new policy framework on civil nuclear cooperation with China, following a government policy review led by the US National Security Council. The policy covers exports of technology, equipment and components, and material to China.