On 19 June 2017, ATOMEXPO-2017 IX International Forum in Moscow saw a contract signed between TVEL Rosatom Fuel Company and the Atomic Energy Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran on delivering a reserve batch of Russian nuclear fuel of Advanced Fuel Assemblies (AFA) type for the first unit of the Bushehr NPP in 2017.

Petrobras and ExxonMobil signed a memorandum of understanding regarding a strategic alliance to jointly identify and evaluate potential business opportunities.

ExxonMobil Development Africa B.V. has acquired a 25 percent indirect interest in Mozambique’s gas-rich Area 4 block from Eni and assume responsibility for midstream operations.

OPEC - Sustainable oil market stability is crucial to attract the level of investment necessary for future demand growth; In the longer term, oil will remain a vital and integral part of the energy mix; Global energy and oil demand will grow in the long term;

PLATTS - South Korea aims to boost the portion of LNG in its electricity generation mix to 18.8% in 2030 from an estimated 16.9% this year as part of efforts to reduce its heavy reliance on coal and nuclear, the energy ministry said.

PLATTS - National Australia Bank announced Thursday it will no longer provide financing for new thermal coal projects.

FRB - Industrial production moved up 0.2 percent in November after posting an upwardly revised increase of 1.2 percent in October.

ROSSETI - On the 7th of December the international rating agency Moody`s has raised the long-term credit rating of PJSC "Rossety" to the rank "Ba1" as per international scale with stable prediction. Moreover, the agency has taken a decision on raising the estimation of characteristics of own credit rating of "Rossety" of one rank to "ba1" level.

МИНФИН РОССИИ - Средняя цена на нефть Urals за период мониторинга с 15 ноября по 14 декабря 2017 года составила $62,53932 за баррель, или $456,5 за тонну.

BLOOMBERG - OPEC’s Secretary General Mohammad Barkindo said the producer group is close to its goal of rebalancing markets and the International Energy Agency said oil inventories in developed nations have slid to the lowest since July 2015. OPEC upped the implementation of promised cuts in November to 115 percent, the highest rate since the agreement began, according to the IEA.

REUTERS - Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $63.72 a barrel at 0821 GMT, up 49 cents, or 0.8 percent, from their last close. Brent crude futures LCOc1, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $63.72 a barrel at 0821 GMT, up 49 cents, or 0.8 percent, from their last close.

BEA - The U.S. current-account deficit decreased to $100.6 billion (preliminary) in the third quarter of 2017 from $124.4 billion (revised) in the second quarter of 2017, according to statistics released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The deficit decreased to 2.1 percent of current-dollar gross domestic product (GDP) from 2.6 percent in the second quarter.

EIA - Crude oil production from the major US onshore regions is forecast to increase 94,000 b/d month-over-month in January to 6,408 million b/d, gas production to increase 764 million cubic feet/day to 63,030 million cubic feet/day .

BLOOMBERG - Saudi Arabia expects oil revenue to jump 12 percent next year in a sign the world’s biggest crude exporter expects prices to keep rising in 2018.

BP - BP confirmed that production has started from the super-giant Zohr gas field, offshore Egypt. The field is operated by Eni, through its joint venture with The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), and is the largest natural gas discovery yet to be made in the Mediterranean Sea.

NPD - Preliminary production figures for November 2017 show an average daily production of 1 813 000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate, which is a decrease of 102 000 barrels per day compared to October.

NPD - On Tuesday, operator Repsol submitted a new Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) for the Yme field in the North Sea. More eight billion kroner will be invested in the development. The planned start-up is 2020.

NPD - On Tuesday, the licensees, led by operator VNG, submitted a Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) for Fenja in the Norwegian Sea. Investments are expected to total approx. NOK 10 billion.

API - Total petroleum deliveries in November rose to 19.9 million barrels per day. This was the strongest November monthly demand since 2007. Cumulatively through the first 11 months of the 2017, total domestic petroleum deliveries rose by 0.9 percent, which exceeded demand growth in 2016 despite higher prices.

IEA - Coal’s share in the global energy mix is forecast to decline from 27% in 2016 to 26% in 2022 on sluggish demand growth relative to other fuels. Growth through 2022 is concentrated in India, Southeast Asia and a few other countries in Asia. Coal demand declines in Europe, Canada, the United States and China, the largest coal consumer by far, and where we forecast a structural but slow decline with some fluctuations linked to short-term market requirements.