On March 18, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a warning to entities involved in the Nord Stream 2 project that they risk "US sanctions and should immediately abandon work on the pipeline."

Russia outlined protection of its market share in the international market as one of its main goals for 2021.

Russia’s Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrate Plant (part of Rosatom’s Fuel Company TVEL) intends to establish a production facility for the serial production of TVS-Kvadrat fuel for nuclear power plants of western design, Vladimir Rozhdestvensky, adviser to TVEL’s President, said on 9 April.

"We will continue to register any organization that may be involved in any sanctioned activity, and have made it clear that any company risks being penalized for participating in Nord Stream 2," Giordono-Scholz said.

In the first quarter 2021, NOVATEK’s hydrocarbon production totaled 158.1 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), including 20.15 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas and 3,129 thousand tons of liquids (gas condensate and crude oil), resulting in an increase in total hydrocarbons produced by 7.9 million boe, or by 5.3% as compared with the first quarter 2020.

With the production gains, OPEC+ compliance with its quotas slipped to 111% in March, compared with 113.5% in February, juiced by Saudi Arabia voluntarily cutting an additional 1 million b/d since January.

Novatek seeks to raise $11 billion in external financing and has said it planned to get the funds by the first half of this year.

Rosatom offers integrated clean energy solutions across the nuclear supply chain and beyond.

The OPEC+ alliance will raise its collective output caps by 350,000 b/d in May, another 350,000 b/d in June, and 441,000 b/d in July.

The number of cases of low-flying "foreign planes" over the Nord Stream 2's vessels has increased in the second half of March.

However, Russian gas remains competitive for European buyers given its low-cost production base and long-term reliability.

OPEC+ will discuss whether to revive part of the 1.2 million barrels a day of output it’s committed to returning to the market in installments this year. At the same time, the Saudis will review the status of an additional 1 million barrel-a-day cut they have been making since February to accelerate the process of clearing the lingering oil glut.

Russia’s Ambassador to Bolivia, Mikhail Ledenev, and representatives of the Bolivian Ministry of International Affairs accompanied by Alexey Altynov, Vice President of JSC Rusatom Overseas, on 24 March visited the construction site of the Centre for Nuclear Technology Research and Development (CNTRD) in El Alto situated 4,000 metres above sea level.

Faltering oil prices in recent days after a weeks-long surge to around $70/b have many analysts forecasting that the OPEC+ group of producers may largely roll over their quotas for at least another month.

Over the past few years, Russia has introduced several state incentives aimed at keeping up with the rising role of renewables in the energy mix.