REUTERS - Oil prices rose on Wednesday as producer club OPEC said it had cut supply deeply in January and as U.S. sanctions hit Venezuela’s oil exports.

PLATTS - OPEC has painted a bearish picture for 2019, with demand for its crude oil expected to fall due to weak demand growth and a sharp rise in output from producers outside the group.

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.

JAPANTODAY - the Japanese government has shifted toward coal, with the construction of 50 new coal-fired power stations planned across the country since 2012.

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.

WNN - Nuclear energy can help the European Union achieve a sustainable and low-carbon future while providing people with reliable and affordable electricity, Foratom - the European nuclear trade body - says in a new position paper.

PLATTS - "We have taken several measures to overhaul the hydrocarbon policy framework to ensure energy security for the country, while pursuing the green path to progress," petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.

WNN - A lack of available domestically produced nuclear fuel and delays in constructing and commissioning nuclear power plants, including first-of-a-kind plants and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR), meant that India failed to meet its nuclear generation targets under the governmental plans over the decade to 2017.

IMF - The Dutch economy has performed very well in recent years. Growth is estimated at 2.6 percent in the 2018, owing to strong domestic demand and robust net exports.

REUTERS - U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $52.09 per barrel at 0347 GMT, down 63 cents, or 1.2 percent, from their last settlement. International Brent crude oil futures were down 49 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $61.61 a barrel.