Saudi Arabia and the United States have signed agreements on cooperation on energy – including through refined oil products trading and artificial intelligence (AI) – and critical minerals. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) on energy collaboration and the memorandum of cooperation (MOC) on critical minerals were executed during Donald Trump’s visit to the kingdom, in which the U.S. president secured $600 billion in investment commitments from the Saudis. The MOU was signed between U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud while the MOC was signed by Wright and Saudi Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Bandar Alkhorayef. The MOU “explores the potential for innovation, development, deployment of energy infrastructure in the two countries, and providing access to clean cooking solutions in developing countries”, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said in an online statement Tuesday. “The MOU also highlights the intent to collaborate in various fields including petroleum refining and refined products trading, electricity generation technologies and energy storage systems, and artificial intelligence projects to accelerate deployment of energy-driven innovations. “The two sides also outlined areas for cooperation on civil nuclear energy, including safety, security, and nonproliferation programs; vocational training and workforce development; U.S. Generation III+ advanced large reactor technologies and small modular reactors; uranium exploration, mining, and milling; and safe and secure nuclear waste disposal”. Meanwhile the MOC will create “a framework for cooperation to strengthen and secure supply chains for critical minerals mining and processing”, the DOE said. The two intend to explore joint ventures and investment opportunities, including in refining and processing facilities, and in workforce and research institutions that will ensure continued innovation related to mineral exploration, extraction, and processing”. The White House announced separately on Tuesday that Trump has secured investment pledges totaling $600 billion from Saudi partners. The investments are part of two-way deals that

President Donald Trump appears to prefer US oil prices between $40 and $50 a barrel, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., citing an in-house analysis of his social-media posts on the topic. Trump “has always been focused on oil and on US energy dominance, having posted nearly 900 times,” analysts including Daan Struyven said in a report. His “inferred preference for WTI appears to be around $40 to $50 a barrel, where his propensity to post about oil prices bottoms,” they said. Oil prices — both global crude benchmark Brent, as well as US counterpart West Texas Intermediate , or WTI — are often buffeted by the president’s prolific social-media commentary, which can reference everything from OPEC policy and US gasoline prices to sanctions against nations including Iran. His administration has favored increased domestic production, as well as a broad push for cheap energy to help bring down inflation. The US leader “tends to call for lower prices (or celebrate falling prices) when WTI is greater than $50,” the analysts said. “In contrast, President Trump has called for higher prices when prices are very low (WTI less than $30) often in the context of supporting US production.” WTI — which last traded just above $63 a barrel — has shed 12% so far this year, hurt by the fallout from Trump’s trade tariffs, as well as a decision by OPEC+ to loosen supply curbs at a faster-than-expected pace. Still, prices have recovered some ground after the US and China scaled back some levies for 90 days, rising from a four-year closing low seen earlier this month. The president’s “inferred preference for relatively low oil prices directionally supports our view that oil prices are likely to edge lower in 2025-2026,” the analysts said, while also noting upside risks to expectations given

Charles Hua is the founder and executive director of PowerLines. Abe Silverman is a former general counsel of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and researcher at Johns Hopkins University’s Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute. Ted Thomas is a former chairman of the Arkansas Public Service Commission and founder of Energize Strategies. Earlier this year, the federal government announced significant layoffs across government agencies. At the Department of Energy alone, 3,500 government workers are expected to leave. These talented and skilled professionals are now on the market, looking for new careers.  Meanwhile, immense challenges loom for the nation’s energy system — from skyrocketing utility bills and surging electricity demand to aging grid infrastructure and increased cybersecurity threats. There is a growing need for talented engineers, economists, lawyers, accountants and other professionals to help tackle these challenges. While much attention on energy issues focuses on federal action, most of the critical decisions over our‬ electricity system are taking place at the state level, at state public‬ utilities commissions, state energy offices and state consumer advocate offices. These agencies are juggling an increasingly complex and expansive set of responsibilities, from planning for‬ the buildout of energy resources and courting economic development projects to setting‬‭ electricity rates and securing critical infrastructure.‬  States bear disproportionate responsibility for maintaining affordable, reliable and safe‬ ‭electricity. And it is at the state level that departing federal workers can have the greatest impact on our energy future. The U.S. electricity system is at a crossroads. Nearly 80 million Americans, or one in three, are struggling to pay their utility bills, with electricity costs increasing 30% since 2021. According to a new national online poll conducted by Ipsos, four in five (80%) Americans say they feel powerless over their utility bills. This trend is expected to continue, with

Tallgrass said Tuesday it has signed anchor shipper precedent agreements for a planned Permian Basin pipeline that would carry up to 2.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The firm transport commitments “financially justify construction of the pipeline project, subject to customary regulatory and corporate conditions and approvals, with a target in-service date in late 2028”, the Kansas City-based energy transport infrastructure company said in an online statement. Tallgrass said it would launch an open season for more shippers to subscribe and for the company to determine the pipeline’s ultimate capacity. The pipeline is planned to pick up gas from different points in the Permian for transport to the Rockies Express Pipeline, Tallgrass’ gas pipeline stretching about 1,700 miles from Colorado’s Blanco County to Ohio’s Monroe County. Tallgrass is also eyeing other delivery points. “The new pipeline project is unique in that it will enable affordable and plentiful natural gas to access markets across the U.S., including multiple major markets that are key hubs of activity for industrial, agricultural, and technological development and innovation, from reshoring, policies to promote U.S. agriculture, and AI-driven power demand”, Tallgrass said. “Upon in-service, natural gas from the project will also be able to reach markets across Tallgrass’ approximately 800-mile decarbonization pipeline network, so that consumers of new natural-gas-fired power generation and industrial consumers of natural gas will have an immediate and financially viable opportunity to supply their growing energy demand while decarbonizing through CO2 capture and sequestration and the use of clean hydrogen”. CO2 Pipeline Project Tallgrass is converting a natural gas pipeline that operated for over a decade to transport CO2 to its sequestration site being developed in Wyoming. The converted pipeline is planned to transport over 10 million tons a year of CO2 from industries in Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming. Tallgrass expects the converted

Swedish firm CorPower Ocean is set to build the UK’s largest wave energy array at a test site in the Orkney Islands. The Scottish government made the announcement at the All-Energy conference in Glasgow. As part of the berth agreement, CorPower will deploy a 5 MW wave array at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) by 2029. The project will be located at EMEC’s grid-connected Billia Croo wave energy test site and will consist of 14 wave energy converters (WECs) operating for up to 15 years. The wave array mark’s CorPower’s second project at EMEC after it tested its C3 WEC at the Scapa Flow test site in 2018 in partnership with Wave Energy Scotland. Since then, the Stockholm-headquartered firm has demonstrated its C4 WEC device off the coast of Portugal. Speaking at All-Energy in 2024, CorPower head of business development Anders Jansson said the company had wanted to continue its testing at EMEC. However, he said CorPower made the decision to move its testing from Scotland to Portugal after Brexit impacted access to EU research funding. © Supplied by CorPowerA CorPower wave energy converter in Portugal. Ahead of building the wave array at EMEC, CorPower will build three more WECs to its fleet for a small wave farm demonstration project before developing the 5 MW array. The Scottish government said CorPower will produce the hull and other subsystems for its Billia Croo array project in Orkney, alongside using local vessels during deployment. Scotland wave and tidal energy ambitions SNP deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said Scotland is in a “prime position” for the development and deployment wave and tidal stream energy. “This new project will create skilled jobs in Orkney, support a developing supply chain while reinforcing Scotland’s global leadership in marine renewables,” Forbes said. Jansson said the company

The UK will need to invest heavily in renewable energy and upgrading the grid to meet growing electricity demand despite a growing political pushback against net zero efforts, the chief of executive of ScottishPower has said. Speaking at the opening of the All-Energy conference in Glasgow, Keith Anderson said UK electricity demand is set to double “no matter your politics”. His comments come after a swathe of electoral victories by Reform UK in local elections in England which have raised alarm bells in the clean energy sector. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has also said it will be “impossible” for the UK to meet its net zero by 2050 target. But Anderson said the UK needs to continue its energy transition investments because of the “overwhelming consensus” that electrification is becoming “unstoppable”. “Electrification of our economy is critical for energy security, national security, economic growth, the health and wealth of our country, and net zero will come as a result of that electrification,” he said. © Image: SP Energy NetworksA ScottishPower employee standing near grid transmission infrastructure. “No matter your politics, electricity demand will double. “Britain needs the right infrastructure to support it, or we get left behind.” Alongside calls for the UK government to abandon the possible introduction of zonal electricity pricing, Anderson hit out at suggestions that net zero is “doomed to fail”. He said the UK “still has a brilliant pipeline of opportunities” despite a recent announcement that Danish developer Orsted will not proceed with its Hornsea 4 offshore wind project. ‘Go big or go home’ on AR7 Amid these setbacks, he said the UK needs to “go big or go home” in the upcoming seventh Contracts for Difference (CfD) allocation around (AR7). “To hit the clean power 2030 targets, [AR7] has to be the most successful auction