Demand-side management programs save energy and reduce peak demand

Utilities implement demand-side management programs to help customers save energy. Energy efficiency programs, by far the largest demand-side management effort, offer customers incentives to increase efficiency and, therefore, decrease overall electricity demand. Demand response programs, another type of demand-side management, are implemented to decrease customer demand during times of very high system demand or emergencies. More »

Tight oil development will continue to drive future U.S. crude oil production

EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2019 (AEO2019) Reference case projects that U.S. tight oil production, which became the more common form of oil production in 2015, will continue to increase through 2030, ultimately reaching more than 10 million barrels per day (b/d) in the early 2030s. Tight oil production reached 6.5 million b/d in the United States in 2018, accounting for 61% of total U.S. production. EIA projects further U.S. tight oil production growth as the industry continues to improve drilling efficiencies and reduce costs, which makes developing tight oil resources less sensitive to oil prices than in the past. More »

In 2018, U.S. coal exports were the highest in five years

While U.S. coal consumption has generally declined since its 2008 peak, EIA expects that U.S. coal exports reached 116 million short tons (MMst) in 2018, the highest level in five years, based on foreign trade data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. Exports of coal from the United States have increased since 2016 as international prices have made it more economic for U.S. producers to sell coal overseas. More »

Permian region crude oil prices have increased with additional pipeline takeaway capacity

Crude oil prices in the Permian region have increased since the beginning of the year as two recent pipeline capacity additions reduced some of the takeaway constraints that developed in the middle of 2018. These transportation constraints had forced producers to use more expensive ways to transport crude oil, resulting in lower received prices. More »

Power sector pushed domestic U.S. natural gas consumption to new record in 2018

U.S. natural gas consumption increased by 10% in 2018, reaching a record high of 82.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), according to EIA’s recently released Natural Gas Monthly. Domestic consumption of natural gas increased across all sectors in 2018, led by a 3.8 Bcf/d increase in the electric power sector caused by a combination of recent natural gas-fired electric capacity additions and weather-related factors. More »

U.S. natural gas plant liquid production continues to hit record highs

Since 2012, when horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques became more common, U.S. production of natural gas plant liquids (NGPL) has significantly increased, averaging 4.3 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2018, up from 2.5 million b/d in 2012. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. NGPL production is concentrated within six producing regions. More »

Despite closures, U.S. nuclear electricity generation in 2018 surpassed its previous peak

Electricity generation from U.S. nuclear power plants totaled 807.1 million megawatthours (MWh) in 2018, slightly more than the previous peak of 807.0 million MWh in 2010, based on preliminary annual data. Although several nuclear power plants have closed since 2010, a combination of added capacity through uprates and shorter refueling and maintenance cycles allowed the remaining nuclear power plants to produce more electricity. In the near future, however, EIA expects that U.S. nuclear power output will decline. More »

EIA projects U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions will remain near current level through 2050

Carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. energy consumption will remain near current levels through 2050, according to projections in EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2019. The AEO2019 Reference case, which reflects no changes to current laws and regulations and extends current trends in technology, projects that U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will be 5,019 million metric tons in 2050, or 4% below their 2018 value, as emissions associated with coal and petroleum consumption fall and emissions from natural gas consumption rise. More »

U.S. renewable electricity generation has doubled since 2008

Renewable generation provided a new record of 742 million megawatthours (MWh) of electricity in 2018, nearly double the 382 million MWh produced in 2008. Renewables provided 17.6% of electricity generation in the United States in 2018. More »

The U.S. Gulf Coast became a net exporter of crude oil in late 2018

In the last two months of 2018, the U.S. Gulf Coast exported more crude oil than it imported. Monthly net trade of crude oil in the Gulf Coast region (the difference between gross exports and gross imports) fell from a high in early 2007 of 6.6 million barrels per day (b/d) of net imports to 0.4 million b/d of net exports in December 2018. As gross exports of crude oil from the Gulf Coast hit a record 2.3 million b/d, gross imports of crude oil to the Gulf Coast in December—at slightly less than 2.0 million b/d—were the lowest level since March 1986. More »

U.S. Gulf Coast refinery demand for hydrogen increasingly met by merchant suppliers

Petroleum refineries in the U.S. Gulf Coast increasingly rely on merchant suppliers, rather than their own production, to provide the hydrogen used to reduce the sulfur content of fuel. As global demand for distillate fuel oil has increased and sulfur content regulations have become more stringent, refineries have needed to use more hydrogen. Hydrogen demand is expected to continue to rise as International Maritime Organization regulations that limit the sulfur content in marine fuels take effect on January 1, 2020. More »

U.S. natural gas production hit a new record high in 2018

U.S. natural gas production grew by 10.0 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2018, an 11% increase from last year. The increase was the largest annual volumetric growth on record and reached a record high for the second consecutive year. U.S. natural gas production measured as gross withdrawals averaged 101.3 Bcf/d in 2018, the highest volume on record. U.S. natural gas production measured as marketed production and dry natural gas production also reached new highs at 89.6 Bcf/d and 83.4 Bcf/d, respectively. More »

The United States imports and exports substantial volumes of petroleum

U.S. net trade of petroleum, which includes crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas plant liquids, has fallen in recent years, reaching 2.3 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2018. This level is the lowest level of net petroleum trade (imports minus exports) since 1967. At the same time, total U.S. gross petroleum trade (imports plus exports) have reached an all-time high of 17.5 million b/d in 2018. The result has been a growing role for the United States in world petroleum trade. More »

Increases in natural gas production from Appalachia affect natural gas flows

The 2019 Annual Energy Outlook (AEO2019) Reference case shows continued growth of natural gas production in the Mid-Atlantic and Ohio region from the Marcellus and Utica formations, resulting in increases of natural gas being transported to the Eastern Midwest and, ultimately, into the South Central region, which includes the Gulf Coast and Texas. More »

More than 60% of electric generating capacity installed in 2018 was fueled by natural gas

Based on EIA’s December 2018 monthly electric generator inventory of utility-scale generation, 31.3 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity were added in the United States in 2018 and 18.7 GW of capacity were retired. The 2018 annual capacity additions were the largest since 48.8 GW were added in 2003. Most of the additions happened in the second half of the year, while the retirements occurred mostly in the first half. More »

New U.S. power plants expected to be mostly natural gas combined-cycle and solar PV

EIA’s long-term projections show that most of the electricity generating capacity additions installed in the United States through 2050 will be natural gas combined-cycle and solar photovoltaic (PV). Onshore wind looks to be competitive in only a few regions before the legislated phase-out of the production tax credit (PTC), but it becomes competitive later in the projection period as demand increases and the cost for installing wind turbines continues to decline. More »

U.S. natural gas processing plant capacity and throughput have increased in recent years

EIA estimates that between 2014 and 2017 natural gas processing capacity and processing throughput increased by about 5% on a net basis in the Lower 48 states, even as the number of individual plants declined. Natural gas processing plant utilization rates stayed constant at 66% from 2014 to 2017, but several states experienced significant changes, largely reflecting changes in natural gas production across regions. More »

Record U.S. electricity generation in 2018 driven by record residential, commercial sales

U.S. net electricity generation increased by 4% in 2018, reaching a record high of 4,178 million megawatthours (MWh), according to EIA’s Electric Power Monthly. Last year was the first time total utility-scale generation surpassed the pre-recession peak of 4,157 million MWh set in 2007. Weather is the primary driver of year-to-year fluctuations in electricity demand. The increased demand for electricity in 2018—including record demand in the commercial and residential sectors—is largely attributable to cold winters and a hot summer. More »

In late January, Gulf Coast gasoline crack spreads reached their lowest levels since 2014

U.S. Gulf Coast gasoline crack spreads had been declining since mid-2018 and briefly went negative in January and early February 2019 before rising, while distillate crack spreads remained relatively stable. The gasoline crack spread is the difference between the spot prices of gasoline and crude oil. EIA attributes relatively low gasoline crack spreads to more costly crude oil inputs and high gasoline inventories. More »

Nuclear reactor restarts in Japan displacing LNG imports in 2019

n 2018, Japan restarted five nuclear reactors that were shut down after the 2011 Fukushima accident. As those reactors return to full operation, the resulting increase in nuclear generation is likely to displace generation from fossil sources, in particular natural gas. Because Japan imports all of its natural gas in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG), increased nuclear power production is likely to reduce Japanese imports of LNG in the electric power sector by as much as 10% in 2019. More »

EIA expects stable U.S. biofuels production, consumption, and trade through 2020

In its February 2019 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), EIA forecasts that several recent trends in U.S. biofuels markets will continue through 2020. In the STEO, production of fuel ethanol and net imports of biomass-based diesel stay unchanged, while net exports of fuel ethanol decline modestly. Federal mandates and state programs continue to support biofuel consumption through 2020, however, biofuels remain a relatively small share of total U.S. liquid transportation fuels supply. More »