PLATTS - The Russian energy ministry said there are many pilot projects introducing blockchain to Russia's energy sector in the development and discussion stage, which could have a "potentially significant" impact on optimizing oil and gas companies' costs.

REUTERS - U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $62.02 a barrel at 0350 GMT, down 32 cents, or 0.5 percent, from their previous close. Brent crude futures were at $65.85 per barrel, down 36 cents, or 0.5 percent.

BLOOMBERG - “Should the statements become a reality regarding alternative sources for gas instead of Russia, that will damage first and foremost the consumers,” Novak said in a Bloomberg television interview in Moscow. “Should any company or country opt for another supplier, I don’t think that condition will be that preferential and beneficial for them."

FT - “Resilience to the sanctions has been very high. Currently, we see no serious consequences,” said Tatiana Mitrova, director of the Skolkovo Energy Centre in Moscow. “It came as a big surprise to many.” 

PLATTS - "The increase in competition induced new practices in the market that resulted in imports returning to normal," Petrobras' Jorge Celestino said during a presentation of the company's 2017 financial results.

FRB - Industrial production rose 1.1 percent in February following a decline of 0.3 percent in January. Manufacturing production increased 1.2 percent in February, its largest gain since October. Mining output jumped 4.3 percent, mostly reflecting strong gains in oil and gas extraction.

PLATTS - NYMEX Apr natural gas little changed at $2.678/MMBtu

BAKER HUGHES A GE - U.S. Rig Count is up 6 rigs from last week to 990, with oil rigs up 4 to 800, gas rigs up 1 to 189, and miscellaneous rigs up 1 to 1. Canada Rig Count is down 54 rigs from last week to 219, with oil rigs down 52 to 144 and gas rigs down 2 to 75.

EQUINOR - The board of directors of Statoil proposes to change the name of the company to Equinor. The name change supports the company’s strategy and development as a broad energy company.

REUTERS - West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil futures for April delivery fell 3 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $61.16 a barrel at 0354 GMT, after settling up 23 cents on Thursday. WTI is set to fall 1.4 percent this week, reversing the previous week’s 1.3 percent gain. Brent crude futures trading in London fell 7 cents to $65.05 a barrel after settling up 23 cents. Brent is down 0.7 percent for the week.

МИНФИН РОССИИ - Средняя цена на нефть Urals за период мониторинга с 15 февраля по 14 марта 2018 года составила $ 62,5425 за баррель, или $ 456,6 за тонну.

IEA - Looking at demand, our estimate for global growth in 2018 has increased by 90 kb/d taking it up to 1.5 mb/d. Although this is a modest revision, it is interesting that provisional data suggests very strong starts to the year in China and India, which, taken together, accounted for nearly 50% of global demand growth in 2017. Cold weather in some parts of the northern hemisphere in January-February saw an increase in heating demand.

PLATTS - Demand for OPEC crude will average 32.61 million b/d in 2018, the organization calculated, a 200,000 b/d decrease from last month's projection.

EIA - Annual average U.S. crude oil production grew by 463,000 barrels per day (b/d) in 2017 to 9.3 million b/d after declining by 551,000 b/d in 2016.

API - Led by gasoline and seasonal demand for heating fuels, U.S. petroleum demand hit 20.3 million barrels per day (MBD) in February. Demand was up by more than a million barrels per day from February of last year, nearing record highs not seen for more than a decade.