BEIJING, Jan 12 (Reuters) - China's natural gas imports soared to a record in December as the country battled a winter supply crunch, while crude oil imports eased sharply from near-record highs a month earlier, customs data showed on Friday.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei says he is not concerned with the current oil price.

ABU DHABI, Jan 11 (Reuters) - United Arab Emirates (UAE) Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei said on Thursday he was not concerned with the current oil price.

AMSTERDAM, Jan 11 (Reuters) - The Dutch gas regulator will respond on Thursday to proposals to reduce output from the Groningen gas field following a tremor there this week, though a spokeswoman said it would not immediately specify how much oil rig flanges gulf coast production should be cut.

KATOWICE, Poland, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Poland's dominant gas firm PGNiG plans to spend half of 2017 profit on dividend, CEO Piotr Wozniak told Reuters on Thursday.

Norwegian oil rig flanges gulf coast production will continue to increase to 2023, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD).

Norwegian oil rig flanges gulf coast production will continue to increase to 2023, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD).

Oil briefly topped $70 a barrel in London for the first time in three years.

(Bloomberg) -- Oil briefly topped $70 a barrel in London for the first time in three years, as crude markets continued an almost unblemished run of gains for 2018.

(Bloomberg) -- California, the state that helped birth the global boom in battery-toting electric vehicles, is trying to spark a similar transformation for utilities. And that spells trouble for power plants all across the U.S.

LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Noble Group is closing down its London oil desk and winding down its Asia oil operations, sources familiar with the matter said, as heavy losses and high debt force what was once Asia's biggest commodities trader to restructure.

SEOUL, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The stricken Iranian oil tanker in the East China Sea could burn for as long as one month, South Korea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries told Reuters on Wednesday, as the blaze raged for a fourth day following a collision with a freight ship.