The South Korean government Tuesday gave its final approval to lower taxes on LNG used for power production by 75%, and raise those on thermal coal by 28% from April 1, in a move likely to boost downstream gas consumption.

Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said the country’s gas production capacity from the supergiant South Pars gas field would cross 750 million cubic meters per day by late 2019.

EIA - Renewable generation provided a new record of 742 million megawatthours (MWh) of electricity in 2018, nearly double the 382 million MWh produced in 2008. Renewables provided 17.6% of electricity generation in the United States in 2018.

«Уверен, что благодаря нашей сплоченности и решимости мы сможем добиться успеха в деле поддержания долгосрочной стабильности на рынке в интересах экономических агентов на всём протяжении нефтяной производственной цепи»,

Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $64 per barrel (b) in February, up $5/b from January 2019 and about $1/b lower than at the same time last year.

МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - "Мы высоко ценим, что компания продолжает поддерживать «Северный поток-2». На сегодня в Балтийском море уложено уже 818 км труб. Убежден, что наши совместные усилия и работа, проводимая для продвижения «Северного потока-2», не окажутся напрасны и в конечном итоге проект будет успешно реализован в срок."

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will continue to deliver on crude oil supply cuts under a producer agreement until the global market is re-balanced, Minister of Energy and Industry Suhail al-Mazrouei said on Sunday.

U.S. BEA - For 2018, the goods and services deficit was $621.0 billion, up $68.8 billion from $552.3 billion in 2017. Exports were $2,500.0 billion in 2018, up $148.9 billion from 2017. Imports were $3,121.0 billion, up $217.7 billion from 2017.

The USA risks losing a substantial portion of its nuclear power capacity unless it takes policy action, International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol told the US Senate

Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $59 per barrel (b) in January, up $2/b from December 2018 but $10/b lower than the average in January of last year.

MEOG - Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser gave a speech at London Petroleum Week about the oil and gas industry's future--or, rather its perceived lack of a future. He addressed what he called a "worrying and growing belief among policy makers and regulators, investment houses, NGOs, and many others that we are an industry with little or no future."

U.S. BEA - Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the "initial" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP increased 3.4 percent.

RECHARGE - The EU will spend up to €10bn ($11.37bn) supporting innovative low-carbon technologies in sectors such as renewables and energy storage over the next decade, said the European Commission.

IMF - Looking ahead, Armenia's growth is expected to moderate to about 4½ percent in 2019, reflecting a weaker global environment and copper prices, and remain in the 4-5 percent range over the medium term. CPI inflation is projected to gradually converge to the CBA’s target of 4 percent over the next two years, as one-off factors wane. The current account deficit is expected to gradually narrow to around 5 percent of GDP. The risks to the outlook are mainly external.

МИНЭНЕРГО РОССИИ - “Сегодня мы видим на рынке более-менее спокойную, стабильную ситуацию, невысокую волатильность и более-менее приемлемые цены, которые устраивают и экспортеров, и потребителей. Мы считаем, что благодаря сделке, в первую очередь, достигнута такая стабильность”, - подчеркнул Александр Новак.