REUTERS - Germany will try to protect German and European companies from some potentially “massive collateral damage” if Washington levies further sanctions against Russia, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.

REUTERS - Threatening to impose U.S. sanctions on companies involved in the Russian-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline is unacceptable, the head of Austria’s OMV, which has a stake in the project, told Germany’s Handelsblatt.

REUTERS - The United States has warned German companies involved in the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that they could face sanctions if they stick with the project.

PLATTS - Russia has already lowered its oil output by around 30,000 b/d compared with October volumes, used as a baseline under the latest OPEC/non-OPEC crude production agreement, and still plans to reach a cut of 50,000 b/d by the end of January, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said Friday.

PLATTS - Coal exports from Russia in 2018 came to 191 million mt, a rise of 3.4% on the year, according to the latest data from the ministry of energy, making the 2018 volume the highest since S&P Global Platts began collecting data in 2013.

BLOOMBERG - Russia’s Novatek PJSC is looking at storing liquefied natural gas produced in the Arctic on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu so it can better meet spot demand from China and cut shipping costs.

REUTERS - U.S. sanctions against the Russian-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline would be the wrong way to solve a dispute over energy supply, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Thursday.

WNN - TVEL and CNLY have signed a contract for the supply of nuclear fuel for the CFR-600 sodium-cooled pool-type fast-neutron nuclear reactor under construction in Xiapu County, in China's Fujian province. TVEL is the nuclear fuel manufacturer subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, while CNLY is part of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).

PE - A steadily growing fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers purpose-designed to combat the ice floes of the Northern Sea route is giving the giant Yamal plant in the Arctic Circle a long-term competitive advantage, as the vessels deliver gas into Asia and Western Europe in conditions that were until recently considered too hostile.

REUTERS - Russian oil production rose to a post-Soviet record high of 11.16 million barrels per day (bpd) last year on an annual average basis, data from its energy ministry showed.