Presentations from EIA’s annual energy conference are now available

EIA just held its annual energy conference in Washington, DC on June 26 and 27. More than 900 attendees from business, industry, academia, and government were on hand to discuss a wide range of energy issues. More »

Low inventories and supply developments are affecting Asian residual fuel oil prices

The difference between high-sulfur residual fuel oil prices in Singapore and crude oil prices in Dubai/Oman has been narrowing since the spring. Low inventories of residual fuel oil in Singapore and lower residual fuel oil production from Russia are likely contributing to the narrowing price spread. More »

U.S. ethanol production capacity continues to increase

Fuel ethanol production capacity in the United States reached 15.5 billion gallons per year, or 1.01 million barrels per day (b/d), at the beginning of 2017, according to EIA's most recent U.S. Fuel Ethanol Plant Production Capacity report. More »

U.S. exports of crude oil and petroleum products have more than doubled since 2010

U.S. crude oil and petroleum product gross exports have more than doubled over the past six years, increasing from 2.4 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2010 to 5.2 million b/d in 2016. Exports of distillate, gasoline, propane, and crude oil have all increased, but at different paces and for different reasons. More »

Future coal production depends on resources and technology, not just policy choices

EIA projects that trends in coal production in the United States could range from flat to continuing declines through 2040. Electric power generation accounts for more than 92% of U.S. coal demand, and domestic coal production has declined significantly over the past decade as coal has been displaced by natural gas and renewables in electric generation. More »

U.S. uranium production, prices, and employment all fell in 2016

Production of U.S. uranium concentrate decreased 40% between 2014 and 2016 to 2.9 million pounds U3O8 in 2016, the lowest annual total since 2005. Uranium production has been affected by falling uranium prices, with spot prices falling from $34 per pound (lb) in January 2016 to $18/lb in November, the lowest uranium spot price since May 2004. More »

Earthquake trends in Oklahoma and other states likely related to wastewater injection

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the number of earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains has increased dramatically since 2009. More earthquakes in these areas have coincided with the increase in oil and natural gas production from shale formations. More »

Growing octane needs widen the price difference between premium and regular gasoline

The difference between U.S. average retail prices for premium and regular gasoline reached 50 cents per gallon in late 2016, and it has remained near that level so far in 2017. This price difference, or spread, has been generally increasing since 2000. Many factors on both the supply and demand sides are influencing this trend. More »

U.S. refineries are running at record-high levels

Gross inputs to U.S. petroleum refineries, also referred to as refinery runs, averaged a record high 17.7 million barrels per day (b/d) for the week ending May 26, before dropping slightly to 17.5 million b/d for the week ending June 2 and 17.6 million b/d for the week ending June 9. Product supplied to the U.S. market as well as inventories and exports are also at relatively high levels. More »

Dishwashers are among the least-used appliances in American homes

Compared with other major home appliances such as clothes washers, dryers, and cooking equipment, dishwashers are both less pervasive and less likely to be used when available. Of the 80 million households that have a dishwasher, 16 million (almost 20%) did not use their dishwasher in 2015, based on data from EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS). More »

Competition between coal and natural gas affects power markets

In 2016, natural gas provided 34% of total electricity generation, surpassing coal to become the leading generation source. Natural gas first exceeded coal as the most common electricity fuel on a monthly basis in April 2015 and on an annual basis in 2016. The increase in natural gas generation since 2005 is primarily a result of the continued cost competitiveness of natural gas relative to coal. More »

Global oil markets expected to tighten in third quarter 2017, then loosen through 2018

Forecast world production of crude oil and other liquids in 2017 and 2018 was revised slightly downward in the June edition of EIA's Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), which was issued after the May 25 announcement by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) of an extension to production cuts that were originally set to end this month. More »

Wind and solar in March accounted for 10% of U.S. electricity generation for first time

For the first time, monthly electricity generation from wind and solar (including utility-scale plants and small-scale systems) exceeded 10% of total electricity generation in the United States, based on March data in EIA’s Electric Power Monthly. Electricity generation from both of these energy sources has grown with increases in wind and solar generating capacity. More »

Three Mile Island is the latest nuclear power plant to announce retirement plans

At the end of May, Exelon, the owner of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in southeastern Pennsylvania, announced its intention to retire the plant in 2019 unless the company is given assistance by the state to help keep the plant financially viable. Exelon’s announcement marks the sixth announced nuclear retirement in the past seven years. More »

Reporting oil companies’ proved reserves in 2016 decline for second consecutive year

Annual reports of 68 publicly traded oil companies indicated that their aggregate proved liquids reserves declined in 2016 for the second consecutive year. The decline in proved reserves was heavily concentrated in a few companies that reduced their estimated reserves from Canadian oil sands projects. More »

U.N. cap on North Korean coal exports could decrease North Korean export earnings

n 2016, the almost $1.2 billion value of North Korea’s coal exports accounted for about 40% of their total export revenue. A cap imposed by the United Nations (U.N.) on imports of coal from North Korea would limit North Korea’s coal export earnings to about US $400 million in 2017, about one-third of the previous five-year average. More »

Global access to electricity has increased over the past two decades

According to the most recent data from the World Bank, 15% of the world's population—approximately 1.1 billion people—lacked access to electricity in 2014. However, access to electricity has been generally increasing over the past two decades. In 1994, approximately 27% of the world's population lacked access to electricity. More »

United States remains the world’s top producer of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbon

The United States remained the world's top producer of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbons in 2016 for the fifth straight year despite production declines for both petroleum and natural gas relative to their 2015 levels. More »

As U.S. airlines carry more passengers, jet fuel use remains well below its previous peak

The amount of jet fuel consumed by U.S. airlines increased in both 2015 and 2016, although jet fuel use in 2016 remained 11% lower than its level a decade ago. Jet fuel use was lower despite the fact that the number of passengers traveling on U.S. carriers in 2016 was 7% higher than in 2007. More »

NERC’s Summer Reliability Assessment highlights seasonal electricity reliability issues

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation's (NERC) recent "2017 Summer Reliability Assessment" finds that there are enough resources to meet this summer's projected peak electricity demand in all areas of the country. More »

As coal shipments decline, rail remains dominant mode of coal transport to power sector

The U.S. electric power sector consumed 677 million short tons of coal in 2016, the lowest amount since 1984. Electric power sector coal consumption accounted for more than 93% of all coal consumed in the United States, and more than two-thirds of this coal was shipped either completely or in part by rail. More »

More than half of small-scale photovoltaic generation comes from residential rooftops

Generation from small-scale photovoltaic (PV) systems totaled about 37% of the annual generation from all U.S. solar PV electricity generators in 2016. EIA's small-scale category includes PV systems that have less than one megawatt (MW) of generating capacity. More »