BP - The 2019 edition of BP’s Energy Outlook, published today, explores the key uncertainties that could impact the shape of global energy markets out to 2040. The greatest uncertainties over this period involve the need for more energy to support continued global economic growth and rising prosperity, together with the need for a more rapid transition to a lower-carbon future.

JAPANTODAY - the Japanese government has shifted toward coal, with the construction of 50 new coal-fired power stations planned across the country since 2012.

PLATTS - "We have taken several measures to overhaul the hydrocarbon policy framework to ensure energy security for the country, while pursuing the green path to progress," petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.

WNN - A lack of available domestically produced nuclear fuel and delays in constructing and commissioning nuclear power plants, including first-of-a-kind plants and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR), meant that India failed to meet its nuclear generation targets under the governmental plans over the decade to 2017.

PLATTS - "Imports of Russian crude oil and LNG do not go through any chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz. Therefore they are important for the diversification of Japan's energy import sources, and I hope that Russia will play an even larger role. I would like to continue working to expand our cooperation," Seko said.

PLATTS - US-based Anadarko Petroleum has agreed to sell 1.5 million mt/year of LNG from its planned 12.9 million mt/year Mozambique LNG project to China's CNOOC for a period of 13 years.

IMF - Global debt has reached an all-time high of $184 trillion in nominal terms, the equivalent of 225 percent of GDP in 2017. On average, the world’s debt now exceeds $86,000 in per capita terms, which is more than 2½ times the average income per-capita.

IAEA - The plant, being built in Rooppur, about 160 kilometers northwest of the Bangladesh's capital, will have the capacity to generate 2400 megawatts of electricity. The construction project is being implemented by a subsidiary of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM. It is high on the Bangladeshi government’s agenda, all the way up to the Prime Minister’s office.

PLATTS - China consumed 280.30 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2018, up 18.1% year on year, the National Development and Reform Commission said on its website late Thursday. The natural gas consumption growth in 2018 outpaced the growth rate of 15.3% in 2017 and 6.6% in 2016, respectively, according to the NDRC's historical data, implying China's increasing demand for natural gas.

REUTERS - China has lent over $50 billion to Venezuela through oil-for-loan agreements over the past decade, securing energy supplies for its fast-growing economy.

REUTERS - Total capacity - including hydro and biomass as well as solar and wind - rose to 728 gigawatts (GW) by end-2018, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said during a briefing. That amounted to 38.3 percent of China’s total installed power capacity, up 1.7 percentage points on the year and around 7 percentage points higher than at the end of 2015.

REUTERS - Oil imports from Russia reached 7.04 million tons, or 1.658 million barrels per day, in December, up 40 percent from 5.03 million tons a year earlier, according to the data from the General Administration of Customs. For the full year, Russian oil imports rose to 71.49 million tons, or 1.43 million bpd, up 19.7 percent from 59.7 million tons in 2017.

POWERMAG - China continues to finance new coal plants in more than two dozen countries, even as the country has taken the lead in global renewable energy investment, according to a report from a U.S. group of energy analysts.

WNN - "The new-generation super safe fuel will resist serious accidents and prolong the non-intervention time in case of reactor accidents, greatly reducing the risk of hydrogen explosions and relieving or eliminating the consequences arising from loss of coolant." It added, "It will be used to replace fuel in the nuclear power plants now in operation and help design the fourth generation or even more advanced nuclear power system. In addition, the new fuel will maintain and improve the performance of nuclear power plants."

PLATTS - China's annual coal production in 2018 reached 3.55 billion mt, rising 5.2% year on year as the government replaced outdated production capacity with higher-quality coal supply, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.