REUTERS - Exxon along with Petrobras and Qatar Petroleum Intl shelled out 2.8 billion reais ($844 million) for a block in Brazil’s offshore Campos basin as the American oil major seeks to aggressively replace dwindling reserves.

BAKER HUGHES A GE - U.S. Rig Count is down 2 rigs from last week to 993, with oil rigs down 7 to 797, gas rigs up 4 to 194 and miscellaneous rigs up 1 to 2. Canada Rig Count is down 27 rigs from last week to 134, with oil rigs down 22 to 71 and gas rigs down 5 to 63.

REUTERS - U.S. WTI crude futures CLc1 were at $64.72 a barrel by 0700 GMT, down 53 cents, or 0.8 percent, from their previous settlement. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $69.69 per barrel, down 42 cents, or 0.6 percent.

IEA - Global energy demand rose by 2.1% in 2017, more than twice the previous year’s rate, boosted by strong global economic growth, with oil, gas and coal meeting most of the increase in demand for energy, and renewables seeing impressive gains.

EIA - U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) reached 1.94 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2017, up from 0.5 Bcf/d in 2016. As LNG exports increased, shipments went to more destinations. U.S. LNG exports in 2017, all of which originated from Louisiana’s Sabine Pass liquefaction terminal, reached 25 countries.

PLATTS - China's crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia in February rose 19.5% month on month to 1.21 million b/d, or 4.64 million mt, making it the second-largest supplier, data released by the General Administration of Customs on Tuesday showed.

OGJ - The governments of China and the Philippines say they’re moving toward cooperative offshore oil and gas exploration.

РОСНЕФТЬ - Комментируя соглашение, Игорь Сечин заявил: «Россия и Катар инвестируют в экономику будущего – экономику знаний. Как отметил Президент Российской Федерации «сегодня важнейшим конкурентным преимуществом являются знания, технологии и компетенции. Это ключ к настоящему прорыву, к повышению качества жизни».

BLOOMBERG - The government has paid out 109 billion kroner ($14 billion) since 2005 to explorers such as Lundin Petroleum AB and Repsol SA. It helped attract more companies to Norway, nearly doubling the pace of exploration and leading to key discoveries such as the multi-billion-barrel Johan Sverdrup field.

ЦБРФ - Совет директоров Банка России 23 марта 2018 года принял решение снизить ключевую ставку на 25 б.п., до 7,25% годовых. Годовая инфляция остается на устойчиво низком уровне. Инфляционные ожидания постепенно снижаются. По прогнозу Банка России, годовая инфляция составит 3–4% в конце 2018 года и будет находиться вблизи 4% в 2019 году. В этих условиях Банк России продолжит снижение ключевой ставки и завершит переход к нейтральной денежно-кредитной политике в 2018 году.