REUTERS - OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said the exporting group was not in the business of fixing oil prices, when asked on Monday to comment on a U.S. House committee passing a bill targeting OPEC oil supply cuts.

PLATTS - Europe is likely to be a prime destination for US LNG cargoes well into the next decade as shipping costs make Europe preferable to Asia as a destination for US exporters, Massimo Mantovani, head of gas and LNG marketing at Italy's Eni, said Monday.

PLATTS - "Imports of Russian crude oil and LNG do not go through any chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz. Therefore they are important for the diversification of Japan's energy import sources, and I hope that Russia will play an even larger role. I would like to continue working to expand our cooperation," Seko said.

REUTERS - Nord Stream 2 has divided the EU, with German opposition to the new draft rules stalling discussions since it was proposed by the EU executive in November 2017.

REUTERS - The pipeline project, which is majority owned by Russian energy giant Gazprom, plans to tap lenders this year, a spokesman for Nord Stream 2 told Reuters. He did not comment on the risk of new sanctions.

REUTERS - Global ratings agency Moody’s Investor Service raised Russia’s rating to investment grade on Friday, saying the policies enacted in recent years will strengthen the country’s already robust public finances.

REUTERS - Germany will not become dependent on Russia for gas due to Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday, stressing that it was crucial to ensure Ukraine remained a transit country for gas.

МИНФИН РОССИИ - Ожидаемый объем дополнительных нефтегазовых доходов федерального бюджета, связанный с превышением фактически сложившейся цены на нефть над базовым уровнем, прогнозируется в феврале 2019 года в размере +203,6 млрд руб.

REUTERS - Steel pipe maker Tenaris will team up with Severstal, one of Russia’s largest steel producers, to make steel pipes in the heart of Russia’s oil and gas sector in Siberia, they said on Tuesday.

REUTERS - Russian oil output declined to 11.38 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, or by around 35,000 bpd from the October 2018 level,