PENNENERGY - The Trump administration accused Russia on Thursday of a concerted, ongoing operation to hack and spy on the U.S. energy grid and other critical infrastructure, and separately imposed sanctions on Russian officials for alleged high-tech interference in the 2016 American presidential election.

PENNENERGY - Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy has secured orders for the supply of 39 onshore wind turbines in France, with aggregate capacity of 104 MW, at five wind farms being developed in the regions of Hauts de France, Grand Est, Burgundy and in Western France.

FRB - Industrial production rose 1.1 percent in February following a decline of 0.3 percent in January. Manufacturing production increased 1.2 percent in February, its largest gain since October. Mining output jumped 4.3 percent, mostly reflecting strong gains in oil and gas extraction.

PLATTS - The objective of this program is to increase its domestic refinery utilization rates to 90% from current levels of 10-20%, Kragha said speaking to Platts in Cape Town on the sidelines of the African Refiner Association conference.

PLATTS - "The increase in competition induced new practices in the market that resulted in imports returning to normal," Petrobras' Jorge Celestino said during a presentation of the company's 2017 financial results.

PLATTS - The company outlined plans Friday to increase its annual contracted LNG volume to 12 million mt a year by 2021 and to 14 million mt/year by 2025 from the 10 million mt/year envisioned in its previous 2017-20 plan.

PLATTS - NYMEX Apr natural gas little changed at $2.678/MMBtu

FT - “Resilience to the sanctions has been very high. Currently, we see no serious consequences,” said Tatiana Mitrova, director of the Skolkovo Energy Centre in Moscow. “It came as a big surprise to many.” 

REUTERS - Iran has nearly doubled gas production at South Pars, the world’s largest gas field, in the past year, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday,

REUTERS - Siemens said last year that it was reviewing aspects of its dealings with Russia after claiming that four of its power-generating turbines meant for southern Russia had been delivered to Crimea, which is subject to European sanctions on technology supplies after Russia annexed the region. In October, however, Siemens said it was ready to participate in the modernization of power plants in Russia.

BLOOMBERG - “Should the statements become a reality regarding alternative sources for gas instead of Russia, that will damage first and foremost the consumers,” Novak said in a Bloomberg television interview in Moscow. “Should any company or country opt for another supplier, I don’t think that condition will be that preferential and beneficial for them."

REUTERS - U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $62.02 a barrel at 0350 GMT, down 32 cents, or 0.5 percent, from their previous close. Brent crude futures were at $65.85 per barrel, down 36 cents, or 0.5 percent.

AOG - Total contributed a participation fee of $1.15bn to enter the Umm Shaif and Nasr concession and a fee of $300mn to enter the Lower Zakum concession. Both concessions are operated by ADNOC Offshore, a subsidiary of ADNOC, on behalf of all concession partners.

EIA - The United States exported more natural gas than it imported in 2017, marking the first time since 1957 that the United States has been a net natural gas exporter. The transition to net exporter occurred as natural gas production in the United States continued to grow, reducing pipeline imports from Canada and increasing exports, both by pipeline and as liquefied natural gas (LNG).

BLOOMBERG - The Saudis see atomic energy as a way to ease their dependence on finite fossil fuels. But they are also driven by competition with their rival Iran, which has multiple nuclear facilities.

GAZPROM - The Italian Republic is currently the third-largest importer of Russian gas. According to preliminary data, Russia’s gas exports to Italy grew by 99 per cent in March 1–19, 2018, compared to the same period of last year.

ROSNEFT - Net income attributable to Rosneft shareholders reached RUB 100 bln in 4Q 2017, more than doubling QoQ. In 12M 2017 it amounted to RUB 222 bln, exceeding the 2016 level by 27.6%.

PLATTS - ExxonMobil remains more bullish on the future for oil, predicting that demand for oil will likely continue to grow by 19% to 117 million b/d to 2040.

PLATTS - UK oil production is expected to rise by 9% this year, to nearly 1.1 million b/d, while gas output will remain flat and the longer term looks less positive, industry group Oil & Gas UK said Tuesday.