AOG - A $3.1bn project to introduce crude processing flexibility at the ADNOC-owned Ruwais oil refinery was announced.

REUTERS - A consortium led by India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) (ONGC.NS) has become the first group to win a stake in Abu Dhabi National Oil Co’s (ADNOC) 40-year offshore oil concession, a deal set to help the UAE expand its foothold in Asia.

NOVATEK - Total and Eni signed exploration and production agreements (Agreements) with the Government of Lebanon to explore and produce hydrocarbons on the offshore blocks 4 and 9 in the Eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. NOVATEK’s participating interest in the Agreements is 20%, Total and Eni both hold 40% stakes, with Total appointed as the Operator.

МИНЭКОНОМРАЗВИТИЯ - «Для исключения ситуации, при которой электроэнергетическая отрасль может стать фактором, замедляющим экономический рост, необходимо разработать программу глубокой модернизации генерирующих мощностей», – отметил замминистра. По его мнению, данная программа позволит обновить основные фонды объектов генерации, что положительно скажется на качестве и надежности энергоснабжения потребителей, а также повысит технологическую эффективность генерирующих объектов и обеспечит заказами предприятия отечественного энергомашиностроения.

REUTERS - India’s push to more than double the share natural gas has in its energy mix to 15 percent by 2022 will require a huge increase in imports and the construction of more LNG terminals, a government official said on Wednesday.

WNN - Indonesia needs to double its electricity generation capacity over the next ten years, and continue that expansion beyond 2050, to improve access to electricity and meet the demand of its growing economy and population, the London-based organisation said. At the same time Indonesia needs to tackle high levels of air pollution and deliver on the commitment made at the COP 21 climate change conference to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 29% by 2030.

EXXONMOBIL said it added 2.7 billion oil-equivalent barrels of proved oil and gas reserves in 2017, replacing 183 percent of production. ExxonMobil's proved reserves totaled 21.2 billion oil-equivalent barrels at year-end 2017. Liquids represented 57 percent of the reserves, up from 53 percent in 2016. ExxonMobil’s reserves life at current production rates is 14 years.

REUTERS - Gazprom expects its average annual investment until 2035 to be capped at 1 trillion rubles ($17.5 billion).

WNN - Indonesia's National Atomic Energy Agency (Batan) is promoting the introduction of nuclear power plants to help meet the county's demand for power. It envisages the start-up of conventional large light-water reactors on the populous islands of Bali, Java, Madura and Sumatra from 2027 onwards. In addition, it is planning small HTGRs (up to 100 MWe) for deployment on Kalimantan, Sulawesi and other islands to supply power and heat for industrial use.

FT - Mexico secured almost $100bn in investment in its most successful oil tender to date as Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell positioned itself as the biggest player in deepwater exploration and new companies including Qatar Petroleum burst on to the scene.

BLOOMBERG - The Beijing-based explorer sees capital expenditures at 70 billion to 80 billion yuan ($11.1 billion to $12.7 billion) for 2018, it said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange Thursday. That’s an increase of as much as 60 percent from the previous year, which came in under target. It also raised its production estimate to between 470 million and 480 million barrels of oil equivalent, poised for the the first increase in three years.

EIA - South Africa is one of the world’s leading emitters of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2), ranking fifteenth globally in 2015 and accounting for more than any other country in Africa. In an effort to reduce CO2 emissions, South Africa is planning to diversify its energy portfolio, replacing coal with lower CO2-emitting fuels such as natural gas and renewable sources. The country’s Intended National Determined Contribution, submitted as part of the Paris Agreement, plans for CO2 emissions to peak by 2025, remain flat for a decade, and begin to decline around 2035.

МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - на сегодняшний день «Тоталь» инвестировала в Россию уже более 9 млрд евро.

REUTERS - “China hopes to work with all parties to build a ‘Polar Silk Road’ through developing the Arctic shipping routes,” the paper, issued by the State Council Information Office, said.

WNN - Russia and Sri Lanka have held talks this week on establishing cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Nikolay Spassky, deputy director general of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, met with Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Susil Premajayantha, respectively Sri Lanka's minister of power and renewable energy and minister of science, technology and research, on 16-17 January.