FSUOGM - Former Soviet Union Oil & Gas

Washington has a new focus on a Caspian energy play

For most of the last three decades since winning independence, Central Asia has been a bit of a backwater. Not any more. The Trump administration is becoming more focused on Turkmenistan's vast gas reserves and can smell money and power there.

The International Gas Union’s ledger: demand, poverty and “capital-G Gas”

“I don’t talk about “transition” anymore. Or at least I try and avoid the word,” Stegher told bne IntelliNews at OGT2025.

BOTAŞ and Turkey’s hub ambition: from “30-year dream” to cross-border reality

For Ankara, the symbolism is as important as the molecules: Turkey’s energy map is shifting from end-market to hub.

Russia faces $50bn annual losses from oil sanctions as Lukoil exits international assets

Russia is expected to lose at least $50bn annually due to oil-related sanctions, as Moscow’s largest private oil producer Lukoil agrees to sell its international assets and Germany considers nationalising operations owned by state-run Rosneft.

Three decades of Petronas in Turkmenistan

Azerbaijan’s energy diplomacy: realism over ideology

Galkynysh: Turkmenistan’s giant gas field and the new energy frontier

Kazakhstan reportedly in talks with ExxonMobil over expansion of Kashagan oil field

Kazakhstan is holding negotiations with Exxon Mobil on developing the untapped section of its giant Kashagan oil field, Bloomberg reported on October 30, citing people familiar with the discussions.

Russia’s Lukoil agrees to sell foreign holding company to Switzerland's Gunvor

Russia’s Lukoil has accepted an offer from commodity trader Gunvor to acquire LUKOIL International GmbH, the holding company for its overseas assets

Serbia’s oil refinery will continue to function until November 25

Serbia’s sole oil refinery in Pancevo will continue normal operations until November 25 despite US sanctions targeting the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS), Energy Minister Dubravka Dedovic Handanovic said on October 29.

Serbia’s central bank accuses media of spreading panic over NIS sanctions

Serbia’s central bank has rejected claims that the use of the country’s domestic Dina payment card at fuel stations run by the sanctioned oil company NIS could trigger US penalties, calling such reports an attempt to “spread panic.”

Serbia’s NIS posts 9-month net loss as US sanctions weigh on performance

NIS, majority-owned by Russia’s Gazprom Group, said it had operated in “extremely complex circumstances” after sanctions were announced by the US Treasury Department.

Finland’s Lamor signs oil spill response cooperation deal with Kazakhstan

Finnish environmental technology company Lamor has signed a memorandum of cooperation with Marine Squad, a state enterprise under Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations, to strengthen oil spill response and support marine operations.

SOCAR president meets Gazprom chairman

Rovshan Najaf, president of SOCAR, has met with Alexey Miller, chairman of Russia’s Gazprom

COMMENT: EU's LNG import ban won’t break Russia, but it will render the sector’s further growth fiendishly hard

The European Union’s nineteenth sanctions package against Russia marks a pivotal escalation in the bloc’s energy strategy, which will impose a comprehensive ban on Russian LNG imports beginning January 1, 2027.

Kazakhstan reviews Lukoil stakes in major oil projects in wake of new US sanctions

Kazakhstan’s authorities are assessing the future of Russian oil producer Lukoil’s stakes in key national energy projects following the latest round of US sanctions, which have hit the company, Reuters reported.

China’s Shandong Yulong Petrochemical to double Russian crude imports in November

China’s Shandong Yulong Petrochemical Co. plans to raise its Russian crude imports to a record 370,000-405,000 barrels per day (bpd) in November, about twice its usual volume

Indian refiners pause Russian oil purchases after fresh US sanctions

Several Indian refiners have paused new purchases of Russian crude oil after the United States imposed additional sanctions on Moscow’s top exporters

COMMENT: Sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil are symbolic and won’t stop its oil exports

The Trump administration’s sanctions on Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil, announced on October 22, may appear decisive at first glance, but they are not going to make a material difference to Russia’s export of oil, says Sergey Vakulenko.

Russia's Lukoil to sell international assets as a result of new US oil sanctions

Russia's second-largest oil producer, the privately owned Lukoil, will sell its international assets as a result of the new oil sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump last week.

KMG launches debut $175.5mn offshore yuan bond under new MTN programme

KazMunayGas (KMG), Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil and gas company, has closed the order book for its inaugural five-year senior unsecured bond worth CNY1.25bn ($175.5mn) in the offshore Chinese yuan (CNH), the company announced on October 24.

BP to launch subsea intervention operations in the Caspian Sea

BP is preparing to commence subsea well intervention operations at multiple wells in the Deepwater Gunashli area of the Caspian Sea.

Azerbaijan’s condensate output drops 6% while LPG and associated gas production rise

In January–September 2025, Azerbaijan produced 3,714,060 tonnes of gas condensate, a 6% decrease y/y, according to the State Statistics Committee.

North Macedonia’s PM says no risk of gas shortages despite new Western sanctions on Russia

Serbia’s Vucic expects breakthrough on NIS sanctions next week

Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic said he expects progress next week on resolving the situation around the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS), after US sanctions on the country’s sole oil refiner took effect earlier this month.