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.

TASS - Accident-tolerant nuclear fuel Rosatom specialists created in 2018 will considerably enhance the safety of nuclear power plants, the A.A. Bochvar High Technology Research Institute for Inorganic Materials (VNIINM) said in a news release.

PLATTS - Russia's Gazprom expects its total natural gas exports to Europe and Turkey to reach 201 Bcm in 2018, CEO Alexei Miller said Friday, a third year of record export volumes.

PLATTS - The US has long opposed the Nord Stream expansion, arguing that Europe should not be so dependent on Moscow for energy. The government has recently been touting US LNG exports as an alternative to Russian gas, in addition to supporting the Southern Gas Corridor from the Caspian region to the EU.

SAIPEM - Saipem, in Joint Venture with Renaissance, a Turkish oil&gas services company, has been awarded a new Onshore E&C project in the Russian Federation worth 2.2 billion Euro overall. As leader of the JV, with a shareholding of 50%, Saipem’s portion of the total amount is therefore approximately 1.1 billion Euro.