REUTERS - Ukraine’s state energy group Naftogaz said it has asked Swiss courts to enforce a ruling that it receive $2.6 billion from Russian giant Gazprom after a long-running legal battle.

FT - Gazprom’s deputy chairman Alexander Medvedev said the company was “satisfied with the commitments decision” and was “always committed to co-operate in good faith in order to find a constructive, mutually acceptable solution”.

REUTERS - The head of Ukraine’s Naftogaz said on Thursday EU-mediated talks over future Russian gas transit via the country to Europe must include Gazprom and must be based on firm commitments.

WNN - The 128 nuclear power reactors - with a combined capacity of 119 GWe - currently operating in 14 of the 28 EU Member States account for more than one-quarter of the electricity generated in the whole of the EU.

EIA - The United States exported 97.0 million short tons (MMst) of coal in 2017, a 61% (36.7 MMst) increase from the 2016 level. Exports to Asia more than doubled from 15.7 MMst in 2016 to 32.8 MMst in 2017, although Europe continues to be the largest recipient of U.S. coal exports.

U.S.DT - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk of Ukraine. Secretary Mnuchin and Minister Danyliuk discussed the economic and reform outlook of the Ukrainian economy.

REUTERS - But it warned that all its expectations hinged on Ukraine sticking with its $17.5 billion programme with the IMF, which has expressed concern about perceived backtracking on reforms and delays in implementing policies to tackle corruption.

REUTERS - The International Monetary Fund told Reuters on Friday Ukraine should allow the market to determine gas prices as promised under a $17.5 billion loan program, after the government extended a below-market level pricing system for households.

PLATTS - But the dispute erupted again last week after the court ruled in Naftogaz’s favor on the transit element of the case, awarding Naftogaz $4.6 billion in compensation for Gazprom’s underuse of its transit network. The net award to Naftogaz was $2.6 billion across the entire case after the court previously awarded Gazprom a little over $2 billion in the supply ruling.

OGJ - Sandra Oudkirk, deputy assistant secretary for energy diplomacy at the US Department of State’s Bureau of Energy Resources, said Nord Stream 2 matters to the US because it would cement a transportation system in place that could perpetuate dependence on Russian gas for some key US allies. “It would not increase the amount of gas coming into Europe, only replace volumes that now are being transported through Ukraine,” she said.

WNN - A consortium led by Westinghouse Electric Company has completed an EU-funded project aimed at diversifying the supply of fuel to Russian-built VVER-440 reactors in Europe.

EBRD - He noted Ukraine continued to be one of the world’s most energy-intensive countries, three times more so than the EU average, and he said the country should focus on energy efficiency, diversifying energy sources and improving municipal services and infrastructure. The EBRD President referred specifically to the need for further improvements in governance. Progress had been made but corruption was still a barrier to foreign direct investment, he said. The establishment of anti-corruption institutions could make an important contribution to increasing transparency in the economy.

BLOOMBERG - Ukraine imported 14 billion cubic meters of gas from the EU last year, comparable to Belgium’s annual consumption. From this year, state-owned NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy should import 5 billion cubic meters annually under its contract with Russia’s Gazprom PJSC through 2019, and has to pay for at least 80 percent of that, according to the court.

GAZPROM - With LNG demand on the rise, Gazprom is making further efforts in this line of business.

IMF - “I had a constructive and open discussion with President Poroshenko on Ukraine’s efforts to fight corruption, which is expected by the Ukrainian society and is critical to improve transparency and accountability and create the conditions for sustainable growth."