July 2018

PLATTS - Kazakhstan's giant Kashagan oil field is achieving new production highs everymonth and has done better than 300,000 b/d, but development beyond the currentphase is likely to be about "discretionary step-ups" rather than giant steps,Shell country chair and vice president Olivier Lazare said Thursday.

FT - A French government commission has called for improvements in the safety of the country’s nuclear power plants, including their ability to withstand terrorist attack, putting further pressure on state-backed power utility EDF.

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.

IMF - Germany’s economic performance was strong in 2017, underpinned by solid domestic demand and a rebound in exports in the second half of the year. Despite a slowdown in public consumption due to the stabilization of refugee-related expenditures, real GDP grew by 2.5 percent.

REUTERS - U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 rose 46 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $74.60 a barrel at 0343 GMT (11.43 p.m. ET), compared with their last settlement. On Tuesday, WTI hit its highest since November 2014 at $75.27. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were changing hands at $78.10 per barrel, up 34 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their last close.

МИНФИН РОССИИ - Средняя цена нефти марки Urals по итогам января – июня 2018 года составила $ 68,83 за баррель.В 2017 году средняя цена на Urals в январе – июне составила $ 50,30 за баррель.

CEDIGAZ - natural gas demand will grow by 1.4%/year between 2016 and 2040 and will play a growing role in the energy mix at the expense of the other fossil fuels. The gradual shift from coal and oil to natural gas and renewables helps reduce the carbon intensity of the energy system as electrification and decarbonisation accelerate over the projection period. The expansion of natural gas markets is supported by both abundant and competitive conventional and unconventional resources, as well as a very rapid growth of spot and flexible LNG trade.

МИНФИН РОССИИ - По состоянию на 1 июля 2018 г. объем ФНБ составил 4 839 258,4 млн. рублей, что эквивалентно 77 111,7 млн. долл. США,

МИНФИН РОССИИ - Ожидаемый объем дополнительных нефтегазовых доходов федерального бюджета, связанный с превышением фактически сложившейся цены на нефть над базовым уровнем, прогнозируется в июле 2018 года в размере +387,3 млрд руб.

BLOOMBERG - Saudi Arabia and Russia reaffirmed an agreement between OPEC and its allies, which they say will mean increasing oil production by 1 million barrels a day.