OPEC - HH Sheikh Sabah praised all 24 participating countries, both OPEC and non-OPEC, for their joint efforts towards restoring much needed oil market stability, as well as keeping faith in the collaborative approach which is at the heart of the ‘Declaration of Cooperation’.

PLATTS - After see-sawing around Thursday's settle, the NYMEX February natural gas futures contract ultimately settled Friday at $3.185/MMBtu, 0.4 cent lower as an increasingly bearish demand picture forms through the end of January.

REUTERS - Brent crude futures were at $68.78 at 0128 GMT, down 53 cents, or 0.8 percent, from their last close. On Monday, they hit their highest since December, 2014 at $70.37 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.36 a barrel, down 59 cents, or 0.9 percent, from their last settlement. WTI marked a December-2014 peak of $64.89 a barrel on Tuesday.

МИНФИН РОССИИ - Когда мы говорим, что при формировании бюджета закладываем цену на нефть 40 долларов за баррель, все дополнительные нефтегазовые доходы, которые получаем сверх этой цены (только от нефти и газа, конъюнктурные доходы), мы не тратим, а сберегаем. Не разгоняем тем самым расходные обязательства.

BLOOMBERG - Russia’s oil and gas index may gain another 20 to 30 percent this year as investors have yet to price in Brent at $70 per barrel, according to Sberbank CIB. "The sell side is assuming an average oil price of $55 per barrel for 2018,” the bank’s analysts said in a Jan. 15 note. "Should the oil price stay at the current level, we will see a wave of earnings upgrades.”

REUTERS - Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $69.23 a barrel at 0808 GMT, up 8 cents from their last close, but down from a high of $69.37 earlier in the day. Brent on Monday rose to $70.37 a barrel, its highest since December 2014, the start of a three-year oil price slump. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $63.84 a barrel, down from a high of $63.89 earlier, but up 11 cents from their last settlement. WTI hit $64.89 on Tuesday, also the highest since December 2014.

МИНФИН РОССИИ - Средняя цена на нефть Urals за период мониторинга с 15 декабря 2017 года по 14 января 2018 года составила $66,51306 за баррель, или $485,5 за тонну. Согласно расчетам Минфина России экспортная пошлина на нефть в РФ с 1 февраля 2017 года повысится на $8,7 и составит $120,1 за тонну.

REUTERS - Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $70 per barrel at 0558 GMT, up 13 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $64.53 a barrel, up 23 cents.

PLATTS - On Thursday, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters that Trump would likely announce the decision in the afternoon in Washington. If that deal unravels, 800,000 b/d of Iranian crude exports would be at risk, according to analysts.

REUTERS - U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were at $63.34 a barrel at 0755 GMT, down 46 cents, or 0.7 percent, from their last settlement. WTI the day before rose to its strongest since late 2014 at $64.77. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $68.97 a barrel, down 29 cents, or 0.4 percent, from their last close. Brent also marked a December-2014 high the previous day, at $70.05 a barrel.

REUTERS - U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $63.40 a barrel at 0100 GMT - 44 cents, or 0.7 percent, above their last settlement. They marked a December-2014 high of $63.53 a barrel in early trading. Brent crude futures were at $69.15 a barrel, 33 cents, or 0.5 percent, above their last close. Brent touched $69.29 in late Tuesday trading, its strongest since an intra-day spike in May 2015 and, before that, in December 2014.

EIA - Brent crude oil prices averaged $54/b in 2017 and are forecast to average $60/b in 2018 and $61/b in 2019. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil spot prices are forecast to average $4/b less than Brent prices in both 2018 and 2019. EIA’s forecast for the average WTI price for December 2018 of $58/b should be considered in the context of NYMEX contract values for December 2018 delivery. NYMEX contract values traded during the five-day period ending January 4 suggest that a range of $40/b to $85/b encompasses the market expectation for WTI prices in December 2018 at the 95% confidence level.

МИНФИН РОССИИ - Средняя цена нефти марки Urals по итогам января – декабря 2017 года составила $ 53,03 за баррель. В 2016 году средняя цена на Urals в январе – декабре составила $ 41,9 за баррель. Средняя цена на нефть марки Urals в декабре 2017 года сложилась в размере $ 63,61 за баррель, что в 1,22 раза выше, чем в декабре 2016 года ($ 52,08 за баррель).

BLOOMBERG - Futures climbed as much as 0.9 percent in New York after rising 2.5 percent the previous two sessions. Inventories fell by 11.2 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report on Tuesday. If the draw is replicated in Energy Information Administration data Wednesday, it will be the biggest decline for this time of the year since 1999.

BLOOMBERG - A bigger problem is that Nigeria caps gasoline prices, often at levels below retailers’ costs. The cap today is set at 145 naira, or $0.40, a liter, which would translate to $1.52 per gallon.