Dive Brief: Prevalon Energy has brought online a four-hour, 80-MW battery storage project that will be owned by Idaho Power, the companies said Tuesday. Prevelon, a joint venture between Mitsubishi Power Americas and EES, in January said it signed a contract to build Idaho Power an additional 200-MW/800-MWh battery storage project. The project at the Happy Valley substation in Nampa, Idaho, started operating as Idaho Power has been lining up battery storage projects to help meet potential near-term capacity shortfalls and to prepare for a planned shift to 100% clean power by 2045. Dive Insight: Idaho Power has contracts to buy battery storage projects totaling 330 MW and it has entered into power purchase agreements to buy the output from storage facilities totaling 250 MW over 20 years, Idacorp, the utility’s parent company, said in a May 30 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission report. The Boise, Idaho-based utility owns about 230 MW of energy storage and has about 5,100 MW of generation on its system, including non-utility resources, according to a June investor presentation. Idaho Power could add 705 MW of 4-hour storage between 2026 and 2030, according to a summary of its draft integrated resource plan that was presented to a stakeholder group last month. The draft IRP also calls for adding 745 MW of solar and 700 MW of wind by the end of this decade as the utility converts its remaining 480 MW of coal-fired generation to gas. Idaho Power expects to file the IRP with utility regulators in Idaho and Oregon by the end of this month. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission in November approved a 150-MW, 20-year energy storage agreement under which Idaho Power will buy the output from the roughly $323 million Kuna project, which is owned by Aypa Power. Meanwhile, Idaho PUC staff is

Roger Ballentine is president of Green Strategies. June and July are critical months for the once-in-a-decade update to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s Scope 2 rules — the rules that guide voluntary corporate investment in clean energy. Since the Protocol first issued its Scope 2 Guidance in 2015, the private sector has responded resoundingly — corporate investment has since enabled the deployment of 100 GW of new renewable energy.  At a time when federal support for clean energy is receding and unprecedented increases in electricity demand are leading to new fossil generation development, ensuring the continued growth and impact of the voluntary market is a climate imperative. As the Protocol update process moves into its decision-making phase, that climate imperative would lead one to assume that the voices of those that make the decisions and approve the investments that drive the voluntary market would be front and center in the update process. That, however, is not at all clear. Evidence that the voices of the broad buyer community are not being adequately heard is reflected in some of the current front-running proposals of the Protocol’s Technical Working Group — the body developing the new Scope 2 Guidance. Under current Scope 2 rules, companies reduce Scope 2 inventories by matching their consumption on an annual basis with clean electricity purchased within broad market boundaries. The Technical Working Group, however, is evaluating proposals to scrap the current framework and replace it with requirements for companies to match their electricity consumption with clean electricity purchases on a granular hourly basis and only with procurements made within narrow geographic boundaries (sometimes called “24/7” accounting). Many companies, thought leaders and stakeholders (including this author) recognize that the decade-old Scope 2 guidance needs modernization. Consistent with the over-riding imperative that updates to the Scope 2 Guidance should be

Vallourec said it has secured a large contract to supply oil country tubular goods (OCTG) for drilling operations in Qatar, representing over $50 million in potential revenue. The contract includes the supply of carbon steel OCTG products with premium connections, to be delivered in 2026 to support Qatar’s increasing onshore and offshore drilling activity, the company said in a news release. Vallourec said that the contract aligns with the goals of the Qatari government to increase the country’s oil production by 19 percent and liquefied natural gas (LNG) production by 85 percent by 2030. Vallourec Group Chairman and CEO Philippe Guillemot said, “Vallourec has been a reliable supplier to operators in Qatar for decades. This new order demonstrates our competitiveness in supplying significant quantities of premium tubes and connections. Vallourec will remain a key strategic partner in oil, gas or carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) projects in Qatar for the coming years”. Hydrogen Storage Solution Qualified by DNV Earlier in the month, Vallourec, said its vertical gaseous hydrogen storage solution Delphy was granted official qualification by global assurance and risk management firm DNV. Delphy enables the storage of up to 100 tons of hydrogen under maximum safety conditions, extending up to 100 meters underground and meeting “the challenge of complex and demanding industrial environments,” the company said in an earlier statement. The solution targets both green hydrogen producers and industrial players such as synthetic fuel producers, green ammonia producers, steelmakers, and refineries, Vallourec said. Vallourec said it has signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for Delphy: one with H2V for green hydrogen production and utilization projects, and one with NextChem Tech for green hydrogen and green ammonia projects. Around 50 projects in France and globally are currently under discussion, representing potential revenue of approximately $2.3 billion (EUR 2 billion),

Macquarie strategists, including Walt Chancellor and Vikas Dwivedi, are forecasting that U.S. crude inventories will be down by 0.9 million barrels for the week ending June 20, an oil and gas report sent to Rigzone by the Macquarie team late Monday revealed. “This follows an 11.5 million barrel draw in the prior week, with the crude balance realizing significantly tighter than our expectations,” the strategists said in the report. “For this week’s crude balance, from refineries, we model a small reduction in crude runs (-0.1 million barrels per day). Among net imports, we model a sharp increase, with exports significantly lower (-0.6 million barrels per day) and imports significantly higher (+0.7 million barrels per day) on a nominal basis,” they added. Timing of cargoes remains a source of potential volatility in this week’s crude balance, the strategists noted in the report. “From implied domestic supply (prod. +adj.+transfers), we look for a small nominal increase (+0.1 million barrels per day) this week. Rounding out the picture, we anticipate another small increase in SPR [Strategic Petroleum Reserve] stocks (+0.2 million barrels) this week,” they added. “Among products, we look for yet another week of builds led by gasoline (+1.5 million barrels) and distillate (+1.1 million barrels), with jet stocks modestly higher (+0.3 million barrels),” they continued. “We model implied demand for these three products at ~14.2 million barrels per day for the week ending June 20,” the Macquarie strategists went on to state in the report. In its latest weekly petroleum status report at the time of writing, which was released on June 18 and included data for the week ending June 13, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) highlighted that U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the SPR, decreased by 11.5 million barrels from the week ending June 6

Woodside Energy Group Ltd. has completed the farm-down of a 40 percent stake in its under-construction Louisiana LNG project in Calcasieu Parish to Stonepeak Partners LP. “Under the transaction, Stonepeak will provide US$5.7 billion towards the expected capital expenditure for the foundation development of Louisiana LNG on an accelerated basis, contributing 75 percent of project capital expenditure in both 2025 and 2026”, a joint statement said Tuesday. Woodside made a final investment decision (FID) last April, estimating the gross capital expenditure to be $17.5 billion. The FID approved phase 1, which involves three liquefaction trains with a combined capacity of 16.5 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa). Louisiana LNG holds an Energy Department permit to export a cumulative 1.42 trillion cubic feet a year of natural gas equivalent, or 27.6 MMtpa of LNG according to Woodside, to both FTA and non-FTA countries. “The closing payment of approximately US$1.9 billion received by Woodside reflects Stonepeak’s 75 percent share of capex funding incurred since the effective date of 1 January 2025”, Tuesday’s statement said. Woodside chief executive Meg O’Neill commented, “Our partnership with Stonepeak reflects the attractiveness of Louisiana LNG and was a key milestone towards achieving a successful final investment decision”. “The accelerated capital contribution from Stonepeak enhances Louisiana LNG project returns and strengthens our capacity for shareholder returns ahead of first cargo from the Scarborough Energy Project in Western Australia, targeted for the second half of 2026”, O’Neill added. “We continue to see strong interest from additional potential partners in Louisiana LNG”. Days earlier Woodside announced offtakes for Louisiana LNG and the Scarborough Energy Project. In the latter, gas from the Scarborough field will be processed at Pluto LNG, where Woodside is building a second train. Pluto train 2 is designed to produce around five MMtpa of LNG. It is

President Donald Trump on Tuesday appeared to undermine years of US sanctions on Iran, giving its biggest customer China the green light to carry on buying its oil as he seeks to bolster a ceasefire with Israel. The announcement on social media – which surprised both oil traders and officials in his own government – could undermine the central element of Washington’s Iran policy under multiple administrations, which have sought to cut the regime’s main source of revenue by making its top export off limits. “China can now continue to purchase oil from Iran,” the president said on Truth Social, amid a flurry of posts demanding Israel and Iran cease hostilities. The statement landed only hours after Trump declared the Middle East rivals had agreed to a ceasefire, which got off to a shaky start with early breaches by both sides. It follows massive US airstrikes on several of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities Sunday, an offensive aimed at stopping Tehran from obtaining an atomic weapon. Oil prices extended losses on Tuesday after Trump’s comments, with West Texas Intermediate futures sinking 6 percent to settle near $64 a barrel. Futures plunged as the threat to crude flows from the Israel-Iran conflict faded. US Treasury and State department officials handling Iranian oil sanctions were surprised by Trump’s statement and uncertain how to immediately interpret it, according to people familiar with the situation. In the meantime, however, Treasury will continue to strictly enforce related sanctions, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified given the political and market sensitivity of the issue. Treasury Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment, while the State Department referred questions to the White House. A senior White House official later signaled that sanctions would remain, saying that the president continues to call on China and