Gasoline futures prices are below distillate futures prices, rare for this time of year

During the spring and summer months, gasoline futures prices are generally higher than distillate futures prices by about 5 cents to 10 cents per gallon (gal). Not only is demand for gasoline in the United States higher in the spring and summer, but the gasoline sold in those months must be summer-grade gasoline, which is more costly to produce. More »

Total liquid fuels inventories return to five-year averages in the United States and OECD

Global petroleum inventories declined through 2017 and the first quarter of 2018, marking the end of an extended period of oversupply in global petroleum markets that began before the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) November 2016 agreement to cut production. As OPEC plans to reconvene on June 22, markets now appear more in balance, but uncertainty remains going forward. More »

Electric power sector consumption of fossil fuels at lowest level since 1994

Fossil fuel consumption in the electric power sector declined to 22.5 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) in 2017, the lowest level since 1994. The declining trend in fossil fuel consumption by the power sector has been driven by a decrease in the use of coal and petroleum with a slightly offsetting increase in the use of natural gas. More »

National average gasoline prices approach $3 per gallon heading into Memorial Day

Heading into the 2018 Memorial Day weekend, regular gasoline prices averaged $2.92 per gallon (gal) nationally on May 21, up from last year’s price of $2.40/gal before the holiday weekend. This year marks the highest price ahead of the Memorial Day weekend since 2014, when the national average price of regular gasoline was $3.67/gal. More »

Most U.S. motor gasoline exports go to Mexico

More than half of all U.S. motor gasoline exports went to Mexico in 2017. Changes to Mexico's retail gasoline and diesel fuel markets, combined with low utilization of Mexico's petroleum refineries, resulted in increased gasoline imports from the United States. Although Mexico is a relatively large crude oil producer, Mexico relies on imports of gasoline from the United States to meet domestic demand. More »

The United States is a net energy importer from Canada

Canada is the largest energy trading partner of the United States, based on the combined value of energy exports and imports. Although the value of bilateral energy trade with Canada has varied over the past decade, driven primarily by changes in the prices of oil and natural gas, the overall structure of bilateral energy trade flows has changed relatively little, with the value of U.S. energy imports from Canada consistently exceeding the value of U.S. energy exports to Canada by a large margin. More »

Electrified vehicles continue to see slow growth and less use than conventional vehicles

Electrified vehicles (hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid electric, and battery electric) have been sold as high fuel economy alternatives to conventional gasoline vehicles for a number of years but collectively have been slow to gain market share in the United States. More »

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

The United States remained the world's top producer of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbons in 2017, reaching a record high. The United States has been the world's top producer of natural gas since 2009, when U.S. natural gas production surpassed that of Russia, and the world's top producer of petroleum hydrocarbons since 2013, when U.S. production exceeded Saudi Arabia’s. Since 2008, U.S. petroleum and natural gas production has increased by nearly 60%. More »

Northeast region slated for record natural gas pipeline capacity buildout in 2018

EIA expects construction of new natural gas pipeline capacity in the United States to continue in 2018, in particular in the northeastern United States. By the end of 2018, if all projects come online by their scheduled service dates, more than 23 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of takeaway capacity will be online out of the Northeast, up from an estimated 16.7 Bcf/d at the end of 2017 and more than three times the takeaway capacity at the end of 2014. More »

Changing energy efficiency and fuel economy standards affects energy consumption

Legislation passed in the 1970s and 1980s and updated in subsequent decades established mandatory federal minimum energy efficiency standards for equipment and appliances in buildings and fuel economy standards for light-duty vehicles (LDVs). Three scenarios in EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2018 (AEO2018) examine the impacts of varying energy efficiency policies on end-use consumption, including what could happen under current laws and what might happen if energy efficiency policies were made more or less stringent. More »

U.S. Gulf Coast port limitations impose additional costs on rising U.S. crude oil exports

U.S. crude oil exports averaged 1.1 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2017 and 1.6 million b/d so far in 2018, up from less than 0.5 million b/d in 2016. This growth in U.S. crude oil exports happened despite the fact that U.S. Gulf Coast onshore ports cannot fully load Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC), the largest and most economic vessels used for crude oil transportation. Instead, export growth was achieved using smaller and less cost-effective ships. More »

Tax credits and solar tariffs affect timing of projected renewable power plant deployment

The timing and magnitude of adding wind- and solar-powered electricity generators to the U.S. grid are sensitive to federal policies, especially federal tax credits that are currently scheduled to expire or diminish by 2022. In addition to the Reference case of EIA’s latest Annual Energy Outlook 2018 (AEO2018), which reflects current laws and regulations, three side cases show the potential effects of extending or eliminating certain tax credits. These cases also show the effect of the recently approved tariffs on imported solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules More »

Most of America’s propane exports go to countries in Asia

In 2017, the United States exported 905,000 barrels per day (b/d) of propane, with the largest volumes going to supply petrochemical feedstock demand in Asian countries. Four of the top five countries receiving U.S. propane exports are in Asia—Japan, China, South Korea, and Singapore. More »

Countries in and around the Middle East are adding coal-fired power plants

Planned coal-fired capacity additions from a number of countries in and around the Middle East will add 41 gigawatts (GW) of new electric generating capacity over the next decade, based on announced projects and projects currently in the permitting process. Another 3 GW of coal-fired capacity is currently under construction in these countries. More »

EIA raises crude oil, gasoline price forecasts for 2018

EIA's May Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) forecasts that Brent crude oil prices will average $71 per barrel (b) in 2018, $7/b higher than forecast in last month's STEO. Correspondingly, EIA's forecast for regular gasoline retail prices increased to an average of $2.79/gallon (g) in 2018, $0.15/g higher that in last month's STEO. Monthly average Brent crude oil spot prices have increased in 9 of the past 10 months, most recently averaging $72/b in April. More »

Solar surpasses biomass to become third-most prevalent renewable electricity source

Electricity generation from solar resources in the United States reached 77 million megawatthours (MWh) in 2017, surpassing for the first time annual generation from biomass resources, which generated 64 million MWh in 2017. Among renewable sources, only hydro and wind generated more electricity in 2017, at 300 million MWh and 254 million MWh, respectively. More »

Future of U.S. nuclear power fleet depends mostly on natural gas prices, carbon policies

Existing U.S. nuclear power generating plants operate under increasingly competitive market conditions brought on by relatively low natural gas prices, increasing electricity generation from renewable energy sources, and limited growth in electric power demand. Several sensitivity cases prepared for EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2018 (AEO2018) show the potential effects on the U.S. nuclear power fleet of different assumptions for natural gas prices, potential carbon policies, and nuclear power plant operating costs. More »

Natural gas and renewables make up most of 2018 electric capacity additions

EIA expects nearly 32 gigawatts (GW) of new electric generating capacity will come online in the United States in 2018, more than in any year over the past decade. Although renewables such as wind and solar accounted for 98% of the 2 GW added so far this year (based on data for January and February), EIA expects about 21 GW of natural gas-fired generators will come online in 2018. More »

The 2018 EIA Energy Conference is one month away

EIA is hosting its 2018 Energy Conference on Monday, June 4, and Tuesday, June 5, in Washington, DC, where attendees will get up-to-date information on a wide set of emerging energy issues. This two-day event provides an opportunity to meet and network with energy analysts, decision makers, and EIA staff. Last year, more than 900 people from industry, government, and academia attended the conference. More »

Biodiesels produced from certain feedstocks have distinct properties from petroleum diesel

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel made from various feedstocks, including refined vegetable oils, recycled cooking oils, and rendered animal fats. Different feedstocks produce biodiesel with distinct qualities that must be considered when blending biodiesel with petroleum diesel for use in transportation. More »

U.S. imports of Canadian crude oil by rail increase

Growth in Canadian crude oil production has outpaced expansions in pipeline takeaway capacity and, along with past pipeline outages, has driven Canadian crude oil prices lower and increased Canadian crude oil exports by rail to the United States. However, the outlook for increased volumes of Canadian crude oil shipped by rail to the United States is highly uncertain despite significant U.S. demand for Canadian crude oil, specifically on the U.S. Gulf Coast. More »

U.S. crude oil production efficiency continues to improve

U.S. tight oil production increased in 2017, accounting for 54% of total U.S. crude oil production, in part because of the increasing productivity of new wells. Since 2007, the average first full month of oil production from new wells in regions tracked by EIA’s Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) has generally increased. These growing initial production rates have helped tight oil production to increase despite slowdowns in drilling activity when oil prices fell. More »