Pipeline disruption leads to record gasoline stock changes in Southeast, Gulf Coast

The outage of Colonial Pipeline Line 1 between September 9 and September 21 resulted in record changes in motor gasoline stocks in both the Lower Atlantic and Gulf Coast states during the week ending September 16. Colonial's Line 1 is the largest gasoline supply pipeline linking the Gulf Coast—home to roughly half of the nation's refining capacity—to the Lower Atlantic, a major demand region that has no petroleum refineries. More »

United States exports distillate from the Gulf Coast while importing it on the East Coast

U.S. distillate exports increased 85,000 barrels per day (b/d) in 2015, reaching nearly 1.2 million b/d. Distillate exports in the first six months of 2016 have averaged 50,000 b/d more than in the first half of 2015. U.S. distillate imports, which are relatively fewer, averaged 200,000 b/d in 2015 and 157,000 b/d in the first half of 2016. Patterns of U.S. distillate trade can be explained by regional supply and demand imbalances within the East Coast and Gulf Coast regions. More »

China expected to account for more than half of world growth in nuclear power through 2040

EIA's "International Energy Outlook 2016" (IEO2016) projects that total global nuclear generation will increase by 73% through 2040, from 2.6 trillion kilowatthours in 2015 to 4.5 trillion kilowatthours in 2040. Countries that are not a part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (non-OECD countries) account for 86% of this increase, with China alone making up more than 54% of total growth. China's growing nuclear fleet is expected to produce more than 1.2 trillion kilowatthours of electricity annually by 2040. More »

Recent increases in global nuclear capacity led by Asia

Global nuclear capacity reached 383 gigawatts (GW) in 2015, driven primarily by nuclear additions in Asia. Currently, 31 countries have nuclear power programs, totaling 441 operating reactors. An additional 60 reactors are under construction in 15 countries, adding 59 GW of electricity generating capacity over the next decade. Plans to add another 90 reactors (76 GW) have been formally transmitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by 8 countries. More »

Weekly Energy Snapshots provides a weekly recap of EIA data visualizations

Weekly Energy Snapshots, an album recently launched on the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Flickr page, features EIA data visualizations showing pricing, inventories, trade, and other key energy graphics. The album, updated each Friday before noon, shows data and statistics from the week and highlights charts, graphs, maps, and other images. More »

Hydrocarbon production in the Utica play increasingly targets natural gas-rich areas

Production of oil and natural gas in the Appalachian Basin's Utica play-which includes both the Utica and Point Pleasant formations-has increased significantly since 2012. Monthly natural gas production from Utica wells increased from 0.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in December 2012 to more than 3.5 Bcf/d in June 2016. Oil production increased from 4,400 barrels per day (b/d) to nearly 76,000 b/d over the same period. More »

First shipment of ethane from U.S. Gulf Coast arrives in Europe

Increased production of ethane in the United States has led to increased ethane exports, first by pipeline to Canada and more recently by tanker to overseas destinations. Ethane is used domestically and internationally as a key feedstock for plastics production and other industrial uses. More »

Pipeline shutdown disrupts gasoline supply in the Southeast

A partial shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline system, a major source of transportation fuels to the Southeast, has disrupted gasoline supplies, leading to higher prices and product shortages in parts of the region. More »

EIA provides daily summary of Southern California energy conditions

The U.S. Energy Information Administration now provides a report with daily information on Southern California energy markets, the Southern California Daily Energy Report, to help give context to the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage situation. More »

The United States is both a major importer and exporter of motor gasoline

The United States simultaneously imports and exports gasoline because of regional differences in gasoline supply and demand balances. The two regions with the largest supply and demand imbalances are the East Coast, which imported 581,000 barrels per day (b/d) of gasoline in 2015, and the Gulf Coast, which exported 551,000 b/d of gasoline in 2015. More »

Recent energy intensity decline in government buildings exceeds commercial sector average

About 14% of commercial buildings in the United States are owned by a government agency at federal, state, and local levels. The latest data from EIA's Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) show these buildings have significantly reduced their energy intensity in recent years. More »

Electricity customers' service restored in Tallahassee after Hurricane Hermine

Many electric customers lost service as Hurricane Hermine made landfall in Florida and moved over portions of several southern states in early September. Electricity use in the city of Tallahassee, Florida dropped rapidly in the hours after the hurricane's landfall around midnight on September 2, falling to less than 20% of forecast normal hourly demand. Service was not back to near normal levels until at least three days later. More »

EIA now provides estimates of drilled but uncompleted wells in major production regions

Starting this month, EIA's Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) includes monthly estimates of the number of drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs) in the seven DPR regions. Estimates will go through the prior month; the September DPR includes estimates through August. More »

Three and a half years after Fukushima, 3 of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors are operating

Since the accident at Fukushima Daiichi in March 2011 and the subsequent shutdown of nuclear reactors in Japan, five reactors have received approval to restart operations under the new safety standards imposed by Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA). Only three of those reactors are currently operating. More »

EIA data show average frequency and duration of electric power outages

Interruptions in electricity service vary by frequency and duration throughout the country across the many electric distribution systems that serve roughly 145 million customers throughout the United States. While some distribution customers have backup generators to provide auxiliary power, most customers are simply without electricity when outages occur. More »

Japan's electricity prices rising or stable despite recent fuel cost changes

As Japan's electricity generation mix shifted away from nuclear energy toward the increased use of coal and natural gas after the Fukushima accident, Japan became increasingly reliant on generating electricity using imported coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG). More »

Narrowing crude oil price differences contribute to global convergence of refining profits

Earnings per barrel of crude oil and other inputs processed by refiners that operate mainly in North America were lower in the second quarter of 2016 compared with the same time last year and are now close to per-barrel earnings by refiners operating elsewhere. North American refiners, which for years were consistently more profitable than other refiners, were less profitable than European refiners and the global average, based on the four-quarter moving average of profits. More »

Natural gas generation and electricity imports used to follow load in California

The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the entity responsible for maintaining the balance between supply and demand for electricity throughout most of the state, operates in a setting where demand peaks in the late afternoon or early evening on summer days. More »

California is using more renewables and less natural gas in its summer electricity mix

The mix of energy sources used for power generation in California this summer changed from last summer, as renewables and imported electricity offset lower natural gas use. During summer 2016 (June, July, and August) thermal generation (almost all from natural gas) in the area serviced by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) was down 20% from the previous summer, while generation from hydroelectricity, other renewables, and electricity imports was higher than the same period last year. More »

Gasoline prices prior to Labor Day lowest in 12 years

The U.S. average retail price for regular gasoline was $2.24/gallon (gal) on August 29, the lowest price on the Monday before Labor Day since 2004, and 27¢/gal lower than the same time last year. Lower crude oil prices are the main factor behind falling U.S. gasoline prices. Lower crude oil prices reflect continued high global crude oil and petroleum product inventories and increased drilling activity in the United States. More »

U.S. nuclear outages this summer were higher than in summer 2015

U.S. nuclear power plant outages have been higher this summer (June through August), averaging 4.3 gigawatts (GW), or 51% more than in 2015. Summer outages were at their highest in June, reaching 9.9 GW, or about 10% of total U.S. nuclear capacity, on June 17 and averaging 6.2 GW for the month. Outages dropped to an average of 4.4 GW in July and 2.4 GW in August. More »