Russia plans to sell a majority stake in Uzhuralzoloto (UGC), a gold producer seized from businessman Konstantin Strukov, to a unit of state-owned Gazprombank. The sale, valued at 85 billion roubles ($1.06 billion), follows a court ruling that transferred ownership of Strukov's shares to the state due to allegations of corruption. Strukov, whose fortune is estimated at $1.9 billion, is under sanctions by Western countries, including Britain, for his role in the Russian extractives sector. UGC itself is under U.S. sanctions. The state intends to complete the sale this year as part of a broader trend of asset seizures by Russian prosecutors, which have transferred over $50 billion to state coffers in the past three years. A company linked to Gazprombank, AAA Capital, previously acquired a 22% stake in UGC, and the remaining 10% was floated on the Moscow Exchange in 2023 and 2024.

Petro China Southwest Oil & Gasfield Company, the largest natural gas producer in Southwest China, has surpassed 700 billion cubic meters in cumulative natural gas production. The company drilled 301 new gas wells from January to August, adding 7.7 billion cubic meters of production capacity and achieving an output of 30.03 billion cubic meters. Natural gas production increased by 12% year-on-year in the first half of the year, reaching a record high. The company plans to bring 250 gas wells into production in the second half, adding 7.24 billion cubic meters of annual capacity. It aims to ensure safe execution of nine key projects, improve gas storage and emergency peak-shaving capacity, and deliver natural gas reliably to over 25 million households and 10,000 industrial enterprises. The company has identified several super-large gas fields with trillion-cubic-meter reserves, including the Anyue Gas Field, and expects annual output to reach 50 billion cubic meters by the end of the year. Its gas supply network covers the core economic zones of Sichuan and Chongqing and the Yunnan-Guizhou industrial corridor.

Russia's natural gas exports via pipeline to Europe increased by 37% in July 2025 compared to June, driven by TurkStream pipeline maintenance completion. However, total gas exports to Europe (pipeline and LNG) nearly halved in the first half of 2025 compared to 2024 due to Ukraine's pipeline shutdown. The EU aims to end Russian energy dependency by 2027, with LNG exports declining as an EU ban on Russian LNG transshipments took effect.

The EU aims to purchase $750 billion worth of American energy over three years, tripling its current import levels, but analysts say this goal is unrealistic due to U.S. export capacity limits. While U.S. LNG exports are record highs, new projects take years to build, and the EU competes with Asia for U.S. LNG, which could drive up prices. The U.S.-EU trade deal includes tariffs on EU goods, and U.S. LNG export capacity is expected to grow, but not enough to meet the EU's ambitious targets.

The Middle East is projected to increase gas production by 30% by 2030, driven by developments in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, Oman, and the UAE, contingent on Brent oil prices remaining at $70/bbl. The article also highlights global energy projects, including Blackstone's $25 billion investment in Pennsylvania, the expansion of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), and regulatory developments in energy markets.