Expanded Panama Canal reduces travel time for shipments of U.S. LNG to Asian markets

The newly expanded Panama Canal will be able to accommodate 90% of the world's current liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers with LNG-carrying capacity up to 3.9 billion cubic feet (Bcf). Prior to the expansion, only 30 of the smallest LNG tankers (6% of the current global fleet) with capacities up to 0.7 Bcf could transit the Canal. The expansion has significant implications for LNG trade, reducing travel time and transportation costs for LNG shipments from the U.S. Gulf Coast to key markets in Asia and providing additional access to previously regionalized LNG markets. More »

Oil stripper wells accounted for 10% of U.S. oil production in 2015

Stripper wells, or wells that produce small volumes, represent an important but decreasing share of total U.S. oil and natural gas production. These wells are characterized as producing no more than 15 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) over a 12-month period. EIA estimates that there were about 380,000 stripper oil wells (so called because they are stripping the remaining oil out of the ground) in the United States operating at the end of 2015, compared to about 90,000 nonstripper oil wells. More »

Extended policies case shows reduced energy use, emissions, more renewables, efficiency

Tax credits and efficiency standards for appliances and vehicles have been key drivers for increasing renewable energy use and energy efficiency in the United States. Extending these policies and increasing the stringency of the Clean Power Plan beyond 2030 would reduce energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by reducing motor fuel use and energy use in buildings by increasing efficiency and by increasing the share of solar and wind in the electricity generation mix. More »

Proposed standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles would reduce diesel consumption

Proposed fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards would increase fuel economy and reduce diesel consumption in medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The first phase of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle standards was recently implemented, starting with model year 2014. The proposed Phase 2 standards would take effect in model year 2021 for most medium- and heavy-duty vehicle classes and increase in stringency through model year 2027. More »

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auction prices decline

Prices of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission allowances in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) have fallen for the second auction in a row, to $4.53 per metric ton (mt) of CO2. The auction prices on June 1 were 40% below their previous peak value of $7.50/mtCO2, reached on December 2, 2015. More »

Panama Canal expansion unlikely to significantly change crude oil, petroleum product flows

On June 26, the Panama Canal Authority, the body that operates the Panama Canal, will inaugurate a third set of locks, which will allow for the transit of larger ships. This is the first such expansion since the canal was completed in 1914. More »

U.S. crude oil storage capacity utilization rises even as storage capacity grows

Weekly U.S. commercial crude oil inventories have increased by more than 71 million barrels (15%) since the end of September, pushing crude oil storage capacity utilization to a near record high of 73% for the week ending June 10. More »

Clean Power Plan implementation decisions affect CO2 emissions and electricity prices

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan (CPP) regulates carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at existing fossil-fueled electric power plants, but the ultimate energy-related emissions effect depends to an important extent on how the rule will be implemented by states. Because the CPP provides the flexibility to choose different compliance options for reducing CO2 emissions, EIA has produced an Issues in focus analysis that considers several compliance paths. More »

Clean Power Plan accelerates the growth of renewable generation throughout United States

EIA's "Annual Energy Outlook 2016" (AEO2016) Reference case projects that natural gas-fired electricity generation will exceed coal-fired electricity generation by 2022, while generation from renewables-driven by wind and solar-will overtake coal-fired generation by 2029. The shift away from coal-fired generation to a combination of higher natural gas-fired and renewables generation and greater energy efficiency is expected to be accelerated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan (CPP). More »

EIA launches data add-on tool for Google Sheets

The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released a free data add-on for Google Sheets. Similar to EIA's Microsoft Excel extension, the new Sheets add-on allows users to browse EIA's energy API data categories or search keywords to find domestic and international energy data for the production, consumption, and price of different fuels, as well as EIA's short-term forecasts and long-term projections. EIA currently has 1.2 million data series available through the Application Programming Interface (API), developed as part of EIA's Open Data policy. More »

The 2016 EIA Energy Conference and job fair is next month

The U.S. Energy Information Administration will hold its 2016 Energy Conference on July 11 and 12 in Washington, DC. This two-day event provides the opportunity to meet and network with energy analysts, decision makers, and EIA staff. This year's conference also includes an EIA job fair. More »

Total U.S. electricity sales projected to grow slowly as electricity intensity declines

Electricity sales, as projected in the U.S. Energy Information Administration's most recent Annual Energy Outlook (AEO2016) Reference case, increase in each sector through 2040. In 2015, 3.7 trillion kilowatthours (kWh) of electricity were sold, and total electricity sales are projected to rise 0.7% annually through the projection period. The residential sector currently purchases the most electricity, with a 38% share of total electricity sales in 2015. However, sales in the commercial sector are projected to surpass those in the residential sector in the early 2020s. More »

First new U.S. nuclear reactor in almost two decades set to begin operating

The Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Watts Bar Unit 2 was connected to the power grid on June 3, becoming the first nuclear power plant to come online since 1996, when Watts Bar Unit 1 started operations. Watts Bar Unit 2 is undergoing final testing, producing electricity at incremental levels of power, as TVA prepares to start commercial operation later this summer. The new reactor is designed to add 1,150 megawatts (MW) of electricity generating capacity to southeastern Tennessee. More »

Natural gas flaring in North Dakota has declined sharply since 2014

The volume of North Dakota's natural gas production that is flared has fallen sharply in both absolute and percentage terms since 2014. In March 2016, 10% of North Dakota's total natural gas production was flared, less than one-third of the January 2014 flaring rate, which was at 36%. Flaring rates and volumes have significantly decreased as North Dakota's total natural gas production has continued to grow, setting a monthly total natural gas production record of 1.71 billion cubic feet per day in March 2016. More »

Quarterly coal production lowest since the early 1980s

Coal production in the first three months of 2016 was 173 million short tons (MMst), the lowest quarterly level in the United States since a major coal strike in the second quarter of 1981. Among the supply regions, coal production from the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming declined the most in tonnage and percentage since the previous quarter. More »

Unplanned global oil supply disruptions reach highest level since at least 2011

Unplanned global oil supply disruptions averaged more than 3.6 million barrels per day (b/d) in May 2016, the highest monthly level recorded since EIA started tracking global disruptions in January 2011. From April to May, disruptions grew by 0.8 million b/d as increased outages, largely in Canada, Nigeria, Iraq, and Libya, more than offset reduced outages in Kuwait, Brazil, and Ghana. Along with other factors such as rising oil demand and falling U.S. crude oil production, the rise in disruptions contributed to a month-over-month $5 per barrel increase in Brent crude oil spot prices in May. More »

Fires near Fort McMurray are reducing Canada's oil sands production

While evacuees from the ongoing fires in Fort McMurray have begun to return to the city, a state of emergency remains in place throughout Alberta, Canada, and the temporary shutdown of the area's oil sands production sites continues. EIA estimates that disruptions to oil production averaged about 0.8 million barrels per day (b/d) in May, with a daily peak of more than 1.1 million b/d. Although projects are slowly restarting as fires subside, it may take weeks for production to return to previous levels. EIA expects disruptions to average 400,000 b/d in June. More »

Most natural gas production growth is expected to come from shale gas and tight oil play

The growth in total U.S. dry natural gas production projected in the Annual Energy Outlook 2016 (AEO2016) Reference case results mostly from increased development of shale gas and tight oil plays. Natural gas resources in tight sandstone and carbonate formations (often referred to as tight gas) also contribute to the growth, to a lesser extent, while production from other sources of natural gas such as offshore, Alaska, and coalbed methane remains relatively steady or declines. More »

EIA publishes construction cost information for electric power generators

Many factors influence the economic competitiveness of electricity generation technologies; however, two fundamental factors are the cost of constructing generators and the cost of operating them. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently began collecting construction costs for new electric generators at utility-scale power plants. The publication released today covers generators installed in 2013 and includes average costs by technology type or region. EIA expects to publish 2014 construction cost information in August 2016 and 2015 information in October 2016. More »

Recent data show divergent trends for rail shipments of crude oil, ethanol, and biodiesel

Although pipelines, tankers, and barges are widely used to transport liquid fuels to, from, and within the United States, several types of liquid fuels, including crude oil, ethanol, and biodiesel, are transported by rail in large volumes. EIA recently expanded its rail data for crude oil, ethanol, and biodiesel to provide monthly data going back to January 2010. The data cover rail movements within each Petroleum Administration for Defense District (intra-PADD) and between PADDs (inter-PADD), as well as rail movements to and from Canada. More »

Higher renewable capacity additions in AEO2016 reflect policy changes and cost reductions

Projections for renewable electricity capacity in the U.S. Energy Information Administration's most recent Annual Energy Outlook (AEO) are significantly higher than the projections in AEO2015. The December 2015 enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, which extended certain tax credits for renewable generation technologies, and the August 2015 promulgation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's final Clean Power Plan (CPP) are policies that have a significant effect on projected renewables deployment. Reductions in technology costs and some changes in state policies on renewables also affect the new AEO projections. More »

U.S uranium production remains near historic low as imports continue to fuel U.S. reactors

Most of the uranium loaded into U.S. nuclear power reactors is imported. During 2015, owners and operators of U.S. nuclear power reactors purchased 57 million pounds of uranium. Nearly half of these purchases originated from two countries, Canada and Kazakhstan, providing 17 million pounds and 11 million pounds of uranium, respectively. More »