REUTERS - The bill includes restrictions on new Russian sovereign debt transactions, energy and oil projects and Russian uranium imports, and new sanctions on Russian political figures and oligarchs.

U.S. EIA - U.S. energy expenditures declined for the fifth consecutive year, reaching $1.0 trillion in 2016, a 9% decrease in real terms from 2015. Adjusted for inflation, total energy expenditures in 2016 were the lowest since 2003. Expressed as a percent of gross domestic product (GDP), total energy expenditures were 5.6% in 2016, the lowest since at least 1970.

PLATTS - EDF maintained its annual French nuclear output target of 395 TWh and reported further progress in the regulator-requested Creusot review of its entire nuclear fleet with 34 reactors now cleared and 48 files submitted to the ASN by July 30.

IEA - For the third consecutive year, global energy investment declined, to USD 1.8 trillion (United States dollars) in 2017 – a fall of 2% in real terms. The power generation sector accounted for most of this decline, due to fewer additions of coal, hydro and nuclear power capacity, which more than offset increased investment in solar photovoltaics.

BP - BP Ventures, in support of BP Alternative Energy’s strategy in low-carbon power, storage and digital energy, has invested £1.5 million in Voltaware, whose innovative energy monitor offers businesses the ability to track their energy demand in detail, down to individual appliances.

WSJ - A California utility is seeking permission to have a company build the world’s largest battery, joining a growing list of power companies investing in storing electricity. Pacific Gas & Electric Co., part of PG&E Corp. , detailed plans for four storage projects totaling nearly 570 megawatts in a Friday filing to regulators, including a 300-megawatt battery installation at a natural-gas-fired power plant owned by Vistra Energy Corp.

WNN - A new basic energy plan that sets goals for Japan's energy mix to 2030 and presents scenarios to 2050 was today approved by the Cabinet. Under the plan, nuclear will remain a key energy source, accounting for 20-22% of the country's electricity generation up to 2030.

REUTERS - “We met. We discussed energy issues, among other things. We touched upon questions related to sanctions,” Novak said in a press briefing in Washington. “We can’t sidestep these difficult questions, so of course we touched upon them during our contact.”

BP - In 2017 global energy demand grew by 2.2%, above its 10-year average of 1.7%. This above-trend growth was driven by stronger economic growth in the developed world and a slight slowing in the pace of improvement in energy intensity.

REUTERS - EU negotiators agreed on Thursday to increase the share of renewables in the bloc’s energy production to 32 percent by 2030, a higher target than in draft rules but short of the level sought by some governments and the European Parliament.

WNN - The US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has unveiled a new supercomputer with a peak performance of 200,000 trillion calculations (200 petaflops) per second. The Summit supercomputer's power will be put to work in research in areas including energy, advanced materials and artificial intelligence.

PLATTS - Global oil demand will peak around 2030 at 111 million b/d as a sharp rise in electric vehicles and energy efficiency gains offset growing demand from the aviation and petrochemical sectors, Norwegian producer Equinor said

API - A diverse group of energy industry associations including energy efficiency and storage, natural gas, oil, solar and wind issued the following statement condemning the Administration’s draft plan to bail out coal and nuclear plants across the country.

GAZPROM - It seems that putting renewables ahead of everything else doesn’t accomplish anything in today’s world. And striving for a total decarbonization of the global economy is downright quixotic. One should understand that fossil fuels will continue to play an essential role in the next 20 years.

WNN - The United States, Canada, and Japan are launching the Nuclear Innovation: Clean Energy (NICE) Future Initiative. This global effort will make sure nuclear has a seat at the table during discussions about innovation and advanced clean energy systems of the future.