In 2018, Gazprom exported to Serbia 2.15 billion cubic meters of gas, a 1.2 per cent increase from 2017 (2.12 billion cubic meters).

IEA - At the moment, Russia is sending record volumes to Europe while LNG utilisation rates remain relatively low. Limits to European production capacity and import infrastructure (with over half of pipelines operating at monthly peaks above 80%) may contribute to market tightness over the coming years, particularly if Asia continues to absorb the ramp up in global LNG liquefaction capacity.

Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said on Monday that he was confident that OPEC and its non-OPEC partners will reach full conformity with cuts, and even exceed it, in weeks to come.

Saudi Arabia said on Sunday OPEC’s job in rebalancing the oil market was far from done as global inventories were still rising despite harsh U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, signaling it may need to expand output cuts into the second half of 2019.

U.S. DT - the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated six Russian individuals and eight entities in response to Russia’s continued and ongoing aggression in Ukraine.

In 2018, Gazprom increased gas exports to France by 5.4 per cent as compared to 2017 – up to 12.9 billion cubic meters. This upward trend has remained throughout early 2019: according to provisional estimates, Gazprom exported 2.5 billion cubic meters of gas from January 1 to March 14, 2019, showing a 1.9 per cent increase compared to the same period of 2018.

OGJ - Stephen Blank, senior fellow for Russia at the American Foreign Policy Council, said, “Nord Stream 2 clearly is a threat to Europe, which is why the Trump administration opposes it. We have now threatened that if Nord Stream 2 is built, the US will impose sanctions not just on the project, but also on the contractors.”

Ukraine's Naftogaz wants Russia's Gazprom to comply with EU-style entry/exit gas capacity booking rules from 2020, as well as committing to a minimum throughput volume, its executive director Yuriy Vitrenko said in an interview.

The general contract has been signed for the construction of two further Russian-supplied reactors at the Tianwan nuclear power plant in China's Jiangsu province. In addition, a technical design contract was signed for a second pair of reactors at the Xudabao site in Liaoning province.

PLATTS - "US LNG, if priced competitively, can play an increasing role in EU gas supply, enhancing diversification and EU energy security,"