Bloomberg Pilot production at Egypt’s Eni SpA-operated Zohr natural gas field will begin “in the coming few days,” the oil ministry said, as the country nears its goal of commercial output from the biggest gas discovery in the Mediterranean Sea by the end of this year. Gas is being pumped from the national distribution system to test pipelines in preparation …

Bloomberg China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) is restricting natural-gas sales to industries across the country to divert more of the fuel to heat homes in the northern part of the country. The move is a response to instructions from the Nati- onal Development & Reform Commission, which called on local governments and gas suppliers to combat gas shortages in the …

Bloomberg President Vladimir Putin flew to Russia’s airbase in Syria and declared “victory” in its two-year military campaign in support of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, as he issued an order to begin withdrawing forces from the war-torn country. Putin’s unannounced stop, where he was greeted by Assad, began a whirlwind day of Middle East diplomacy on Monday that includes talks …