MEOG - Mubadala Petroleum, Gazprom Neft and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF, the Russian Federation's sovereign wealth fund) announced the establishment of a joint venture to develop oil fields in the Tomsk and Omsk regions of Western Siberia.

ROSNEFT - following the approval of the Rosneft open market share buyback program (the «Program») by the Board of Directors, Rosneft appointed UBS as an independent agent to conduct the open market share buyback on behalf of the Company.

GAZPROM NEFT - For the first six months of 2018 Gazprom Neft achieved revenue** growth of 24.4% year-on-year, at one trillion, 137.7 billion rubles (RUB1,137,700,000,000). The Company achieved a 49.8% year-on-year increase in adjusted EBITDA, to RUB368.2 billion. This performance reflected positive market conditions for oil and oil products, production growth at the Company’s new projects, and effective management initiatives. Net profit attributable to Gazprom Neft PJSC shareholders grew 49.6% year on year, to RUB166.4 billion. Growth in the Company’s operating cash flow, as well as the completion of key infrastructure investments at new upstream projects, delivered positive free cash flow of RUB47.5 billion for 1H 2018.

ROSNEFT - 2Q 2018 net income attributable to Rosneft shareholders jumped by 2.8 times QoQ and reached RUB 228 bln (USD 3.6 bln) on the back of operating income growth, FX impact and one-off gain from recognizing net income from the share acquisition in upstream JV with a foreign partner and recognition of fair value of previously held interest in JV.

ROSNEFT - In line with strategic initiatives announced by Rosneft on April 25, 2018, the Board of Directors of Rosneft Oil Company approved the terms and launch of the open market share buyback program, which would also cover the holders of depositary receipts, in the amount of up to US$2bn (the "Program").

PLATTS - "Our own budget is based on a price of $63/b. Today we see that prices are around $75/b, I think that prices will be at around this level -- $75, or a maximum of $80/b," Sechin said when asked about his expectations for price levels by the end of 2018.

SHANA - A non-disclosure agreement was signed last year between Iran's OIEC and Russia's Gazprom Neft for the development of the Azar and Changuleh oil fields. The agreement was endorsed by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).

PLATTS - Russia's largest crude oil producer, Rosneft, is in a position to add 100,000 b/d to production in a few days if the conditions of the OPEC/non-OPEC production cut deal are eased, analysts at Aton said in a research note released following meetings with Rosneft officials.

FT - “In my opinion, the stability of Russian production was underestimated by the market,” said Igor Sechin, chief executive of Rosneft, the country’s top oil producer. “In general, the Russian oil sector investments in rouble equivalent under the crisis conditions were increasing, and so did the production.” 

REUTERS - “We urge relevant parties to earnestly respect China’s sovereign and jurisdictional rights and not do anything that could impact bilateral relations or this region’s peace and stability,” the spokesman, Lu Kang, told a regular news briefing on Thursday.