Dive Brief: Despite trade barriers and project cost inflation, the U.S. is set to deploy 30% more energy storage capacity over the next 10 years than expected just six months ago, BloombergNEF said Thursday. BNEF forecasts cumulative U.S. deployments of 213.9 GW by 2030 and 434.4 GW by 2036, BNEF senior energy storage analyst Isshu Kikuma told Utility Dive. The latest edition of the energy consultancy’s semiannual energy storage outlook sees global deployments reaching 3,098 GW/11,106 GWh in 2036, roughly 10 times today’s levels. In the U.S., near-term drivers include favorable economics for colocated storage and renewables and data centers’ growing appetite for both behind-the-meter and front-of-meter capacity, BNEF said. BNEF’s report landed amid signs of continued momentum for the U.S. energy storage industry. On Thursday, Google said it would expand by a factor of 10 the battery-supported virtual power plant it plans to deploy with Voltus in the PJM Interconnection, to more than 1 GW. The same day, the sodium-ion battery manufacturer Peak Energy said it closed $108 million in financing from General Motors and other backers as it works to deploy nearly 5 GWh of capacity by 2030. Dive Insight: Energy storage deployments have far outpaced solar capacity additions in recent years, with the global cumulative installed solar-to-storage ratio falling from 94:1 in 2016 to 7:1 in 2026, BNEF said Thursday.  BNEF sees the capacity ratio stabilizing at 4:1 in 2030, and annual deployments remaining steady at 3:1 thereafter, as the energy storage industry matures. Much of the new solar and storage capacity is colocated. The United States had installed 20.7 GW/66.4 GWh of energy storage projects colocated with 41.3 GW of solar by the end of 2025, about 30% of total colocated solar-plus-storage capacity, according to BNEF. Some 4 GW of storage was colocated with solar in

Timor Gás & Petróleo EP (Timor GAP) agreed to acquire Woodside Energy Ltd.’s entire 33.44% participating interest in the Sunrise joint venture, including interests covering Greater Sunrise fields in the Timor Sea, for $200 million. The acquisition would once again increase Timor GAP’s interest in the project, following its previously announced agreement to acquire Osaka Gas’ 10% interest in the joint venture.  Upon closing of the two transactions, Timor GAP would hold 100% interest in Greater Sunrise, allowing the company to progress toward development via pipeline to Natarbora on Timor-Leste’s south coast. The development concept is enabled under the Maritime Boundaries Treaty between Timor-Leste and Australia. The Sunrise and Troubadour gas-condensate fields, collectively known as Greater Sunrise, lie about 150 km southeast of Timor-Leste and 450 km northwest of Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory. The complex is estimated to hold 5.1 tcf of gas and 226 million bbl of condensate.  The transaction is targeted to close in first-half 2027, subject to government, regulatory, and joint-venture approvals. At closing, Timor GAP will pay base consideration of $13.71 million. A further $11.29 million will be payable within 30 days of a final investment decision, while a production-contingent payment of $175 million will be due within 365 days of first-cargo loading for customer sale.

@import url(‘https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Inter:wght@100..900&display=swap’); .ebm-page__main h1, .ebm-page__main h2, .ebm-page__main h3, .ebm-page__main h4, .ebm-page__main h5, .ebm-page__main h6 { font-family: Inter; } body { line-height: 150%; letter-spacing: 0.025em; } button, .ebm-button-wrapper { font-family: Inter; } .label-style { text-transform: uppercase; color: var(–color-grey); font-weight: 600; font-size: 0.75rem; } .caption-style { font-size: 0.75rem; color: color-mix(in srgb, currentColor 60%, transparent); } Artificial intelligence is moving beyond copilots and generative tools toward systems that can plan, coordinate workflows, and take action with varying degrees of human supervision. For oil and gas, that shift could have significant implications for how operations are managed. In this Insights episode of the Oil & Gas Journal ReEnterprised podcast, Chris Smith speaks with Gino Hernandez, head of global digital business at ABB Energy Industries, about what agentic AI could mean for the future of oil and gas operations. The discussion explores: How agentic AI differs from generative AI and today’s AI copilots. How AI agents could transform workflows in the field, control room, and plant. The importance of data quality, provenance, and context in enabling trusted AI-driven decisions. How companies can balance greater AI autonomy with operational safety, cybersecurity, and human oversight. Where agentic AI offers the greatest near-term potential and where the risks demand caution. What oil and gas executives should do now to prepare for increasingly autonomous operations. Hernandez examines how the industry could move from using AI to assist in executing individual tasks toward systems capable of coordinating entire workflows and making decisions within defined boundaries. The conversation considers what that transition will require in terms of governance, accountability, and human judgment, and how oil and gas companies can determine where greater AI autonomy creates value without introducing unacceptable risk. <!–> Gino Hernandez Gino Hernandez, head of digital business, ABB Energy Industries.  –> <!–> About our guest Gino Hernandez is head of

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO) joined Navajo Transitional Energy Company (NTEC) in Laramie, Wyoming on October 23, 2026, to recognize a three-year coal supply agreement valued at more than $100 million with Malaysia’s TNB Fuel Services, the fuel procurement subsidiary of Malaysia’s largest electric utility, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). Under the agreement, NTEC, a Navajo Nation-owned energy company, will supply coal from its Spring Creek Mine in Montana to Malaysia, further strengthening energy trade ties between the two countries. The agreement builds on broader U.S.–Malaysia trade commitments announced during President Trump’s October 2025 visit to Kuala Lumpur, including $42.7 million annually in U.S. coal sales to TNB Fuel.  “This agreement is a great example of what’s possible when we bring American coal producers together with international partners,” said DOE Acting Assistant Secretary of the Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office Curt Coccodrilli. “What started with a visit to coal mines in Montana and Wyoming has turned into a major opportunity for American coal exports and regional prosperity. Under President Trump’s leadership, we’re focused on opening new markets, strengthening our coal industry, and supporting the American workers and communities that make it all possible.” Through continued coordination with American coal producers, HGEO is supporting the Trump Administration’s commitment to strengthening the U.S. coal industry, expanding American energy exports, and supporting the workers and communities that power the nation. 

The deal also includes two new oil batteries in Simonette—the first of which came online in this year’s third quarter and the second expected online by the end of first-quarter 2027—with combined capacity of 24,000 b/d, a 50% interest in a 90-MMcfd Simonette natural gas processing plant, and a 65% interest in a 57-MMcfd Pouce Coupe gas plant. Ovintiv said the infrastructure is expected to enhance margins and support future oil growth. “The Logan assets have demonstrated leading oil productivity performance and will immediately compete for capital alongside the rest of our portfolio,” said Brendan McCracken, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Ovintiv. The company estimates the acquisition will generate about $60 million/year in cost synergies, primarily through reduced capital, operating, and overhead costs. Ovintiv said the transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to key operational and financial metrics, including about 5% accretion to cash flow per share in 2027. Ovintiv’s acquisition of Logan assets is expected to close in first-quarter 2027, subject to shareholder, court, and regulatory approvals, after which, the operator expects its core Montney position to increase to about 720,000 net acres. Also included in the transaction is about 60,000 net acres with exposure to the Duvernay shale. Logan Oil spin-out As part of the transaction, Logan will spin out Logan Oil Corp. to existing shareholders ahead of closing. The company will include the Sawn Lake steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) project in Alberta’s Peace River region, to be acquired through a previously announced deal to acquire Andora Energy Corp. from CanAsia Energy Corp.; Clearwater assets in the Nipisi area to be acquired from Woodcote Energy Inc.; and certain undeveloped lands in northwest Alberta, including Charlie Lake lands. The assets will be excluded from the Ovintiv transaction and retained by Logan shareholders through the new company. Logan

That’ll be the case particularly in Appalachia, where many EQT and Range operations sit side by side and where new power generation facilities are being built to serve demand from data centers and other users. Rice said EQT today is exposed to 3 bcfd of demand from local markets. “That’s before we think about adding the sustainable growth,” Rice added. “We’ve got a significant amount of supply that we’re going to be able to support with gas supply contracts. This long-duration inventory that we have is going to allow us to continue to extend that opportunity set.” EQT CEO Jeremy Knop added that Range’s acreage along and near parts of the Ohio River is “almost like beachfront real estate” as economic development leaders in the region look to capitalize on long-term tailwinds from the data center, energy and advanced manufacturing sectors. Those factors, Rice said, helped kick EQT-Range talks into gear from a timing perspective. He told analysts that the long-term prospect of Range assets growing their capacity to 5 bcfd from today’s roughly 2.5 bcfd and EQT growing its productive capacity to more than 12 bcfd will allow the combined organization to be more aggressive in the market. “Seeing how we can put these companies together and take a significant piece of this opportunity, I think to me was the compelling catalyst for us to act now,” Rice said. Another contributor to making the deal work is Range’s natural gas liquids production, which accounts for about 30% of the company’s total output. Andrew Dittmar, principal analyst at Enverus Intelligence Research, said working more liquids into its profile has been a key strategic priority. “It helps lower the cost of supply relative to gas prices and improves cash flow when gas struggles, as it has through 2026,” Dittmar wrote. “That