March 2018

BLOOMBERG - West Texas Intermediate for May delivery gained 56 cents to settle at $64.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with prices posting a third-straight quarterly gain, the longest streak since 2011. Brent for May settlement, which expires Thursday, added 74 cents to end the session at $70.27 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The more-active June contract rose 58 cents to settle at $69.34. The global benchmark traded at a $5.33 premium to WTI. The European bourse, along with Nymex, will be closed for the Good Friday holiday.

МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - «По итогам 2017 года в результате более высоких цен, чем в 2016 году, а они были выше почти на 11 долларов и составили в среднем 54,7 доллара за баррель нефти, бюджет Российской Федерации получил дополнительно порядка 1 триллиона 200 миллиардов рублей, компании получили около 500 миллиардов рублей. Общая экспортная выручка была выше примерно на 31 миллиард долларов именно по нефти и по газу в результате более высоких цен. Это позитивно повлияло, в том числе и на инвестиционные программы», - сказал Министр.

МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - В Арктической зоне России сосредоточены значительные извлекаемые запасы углеводородного сырья: по нефти и газовому конденсату - почти четверть общероссийских запасов, по газу - более 70 процентов. В 2017 году в Арктике было добыто 96,2 миллиона тонн нефти (прирост на 3,8 процента к 2016 году) и 568,9 миллиарда кубометров газа (прирост на 9,6 процента).

REUTERS - “We are working to shift from a year-to-year agreement to a 10 to 20 year agreement,” the crown prince told Reuters in an interview in New York late on Monday. “We have agreement on the big picture, but not yet on the detail.”

REUTERS - OPEC, Russia and several other non-OPEC producers have curbed output since January 2017 to erase a global glut of crude that had built up since 2014. They have extended the pact until the end of 2018, and meet on June 22 to review policy.

BEA - Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 3.2 percent.

WNN - Westinghouse Electric Company's reorganisation plan - including its sale to Brookfield - has been approved by the US Bankruptcy Court. Westinghouse said the court's approval of the plan is a "significant milestone in the company's strategic restructuring".

SAUDI ARAMCO - Saudi Aramco announces commercial cooperation worth over $10 billion with 14 American companies during Saudi-US CEOs forum in New York

SAUDI ARAMCO - Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS), the national oil company of Malaysia, and Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia, are pleased to announce the formation of two joint ventures for the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) project.

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.