U.S. refinery capacity reaches record high at the start of 2019

As of January 1, 2019, U.S. operable atmospheric crude oil distillation capacity was a record-high 18.8 million barrels per calendar day (b/cd), an increase of 1.1% since the beginning of 2018, according to EIA's annual Refinery Capacity Report. The previous high of 18.6 million b/cd was set at the beginning of 1981. U.S. annual operable crude oil distillation unit (CDU) capacity has increased slightly in six of the past seven years. Operable capacity includes both idle and operating capacity. More »

Colorado changes its regulatory structure for oil and natural gas production

In mid-April, Colorado’s governor signed a law changing the way the state regulates its oil and natural gas industry. Senate Bill 181, also known as Protect Public Welfare Oil and Gas Operations, amends the Oil and Gas Conservation Act and gives counties and municipalities increased regulatory authority over oil and natural gas development in their jurisdictions. More »

U.S. electricity generation from renewables surpassed coal in April

In April 2019, U.S. monthly electricity generation from renewable sources exceeded coal-fired generation for the first time based on data in EIA’s Electric Power Monthly. Renewable sources provided 23% of total electricity generation to coal’s 20%. This outcome reflects both seasonal factors as well as long-term increases in renewable generation and decreases in coal generation. EIA includes utility-scale hydropower, wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass in its definition of renewable electricity generation. More »

Crude oil inputs to Mexico’s petroleum refineries continued to decline in 2018

Crude oil inputs to Mexico’s petroleum refineries declined for the fifth consecutive year in 2018, falling to nearly 600,000 barrels per day (b/d), a 50% drop from 2013 levels. This decline in crude oil processing has coincided with a decrease in domestic production of the light crude oil that the country’s refineries are better suited to process. Mexico has increasingly relied on imports of petroleum products from the United States to satisfy domestic demand. More »

Four states updated their renewable portfolio standards in the first half of 2019

As of the end of 2018, 29 states and the District of Columbia had renewable portfolio standards (RPS), or polices that require electricity suppliers to source a certain portion of their electricity from designated renewable resources or eligible technologies. Four states—New Mexico, Washington, Nevada, and Maryland—and the District of Columbia have updated their RPS since the start of 2019. More »

Energy products are key inputs to global chemicals industry

The industrial sector of the worldwide economy consumed more than half (55%) of all delivered energy in 2018, according to the International Energy Agency. Within the industrial sector, the chemicals industry is one of the largest energy users, accounting for 12% of global industrial energy use. Energy—whether purchased or produced onsite at plants—is very important to the chemicals industry, and it links the chemical industry to many parts of the energy supply chain including utilities, mines, and other energy product manufacturers. More »

The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most important oil transit chokepoint

The Strait of Hormuz, located between Oman and Iran, connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most important oil chokepoint because of the large volumes of oil that flow through the strait. In 2018, its daily oil flow averaged 21 million barrels per day (b/d), or the equivalent of about 21% of global petroleum liquids consumption. More »

More new natural gas combined-cycle power plants are using advanced designs

Lower natural gas prices in recent years have spurred the construction of new natural gas-fired power plants in the United States. Of the new U.S. natural gas capacity added since 2016, 31% use advanced natural gas-fired combined-cycle (ANGCC) units. Greater use of the new, larger ANGCC designs has led to efficiency gains and economies of scale, which have resulted in reduced capital construction costs. These lower costs are likely to substantially increase ANGCC’s share of new U.S. natural gas capacity additions in future years. More »

NERC report highlights potential summer electricity issues for Texas and California

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation's (NERC) recent 2019 Summer Reliability Assessment finds that enough resources are available to meet this summer's projected peak electricity demand in all areas of the country except the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). ERCOT typically has one of the lowest anticipated reserve margins in the country, meaning it may have relatively little unused electric generating capacity during times of peak electric load. NERC’s assessment also highlighted potential ramping issues associated with the growth in solar generation that may affect the California Independent System Operator (CAISO). More »

Mixed water supply conditions affect hydropower outlook in Pacific Northwest

On June 6, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Northwest River Forecast Center (NWRFC) released its final Pacific Northwest water supply projection of 2019. The forecast through September, the end of the current water year, shows above-average water supply in the southern half of the Columbia River Basin and below-average supply in the northern half. More »

Japan is the world's third-largest coal-importing country

Japan imported more than 210 million short tons (MMst) of coal in 2018, making it the world's third-largest coal-importing country after only India and China. Japan continues to use steam coal to fuel one-third of its electricity generation and metallurgical coal for raw steel production. More »

Monthly U.S. crude oil imports from OPEC fall to a 30-year low

U.S. imports of crude oil from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in March 2019 totaled 1.5 million barrels per day (b/d), their lowest level since March 1986, based on data in EIA’s Petroleum Supply Monthly. U.S. crude oil imports from OPEC members have generally fallen over the previous decade as domestic crude oil production has increased More »

Southwestern states have better solar resources and higher solar PV capacity factors

On average, utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) power plants in the United States operated at about 25% of their electricity generating capacity, based on an average of annual values from 2014 through 2017. This measurement, known as a plant’s capacity factor, is based on the plant’s electricity generation as a percentage of its summer capacity value for plants with a full-year of operation, as expressed in terms of alternating current (AC) power. States in the Southwest United States tend to have better solar resources—and higher capacity factors—than those in the Southeast or Northeast. More »

Sempra Energy ships first liquefied natural gas cargo from Cameron LNG export facility

On May 31, 2019, Sempra Energy, the majority owner of the Cameron liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility, announced that the company had shipped its first cargo of LNG, becoming the fourth such facility in the United States to enter service since 2016. Upon completion of Phase 1 of the Cameron LNG project, U.S. baseload operational LNG-export capacity increased to about 4.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). More »

Almost all U.S. coal production is consumed for electric power

Coal is one of the main sources of energy in the United States, accounting for 16% of its primary energy production in 2018 according to EIA's Monthly Energy Review. Nearly all of the coal consumed in the United States is produced domestically, and most is consumed by the electric power sector to generate electricity, while some is exported. EIA's U.S. coal flow diagram helps to visualize the overall view of U.S. coal energy from supply (production, imports, and stock withdrawals) to disposition (consumption, exports, and losses). More »

Four states account for more than half of U.S. wind electricity generation

In the United States, producers generated 275 million megawatthours (MWh) of electricity from wind power in 2018. Of that, more than half came from just four states: Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa, and Kansas. Five other states—California, Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Colorado—provided another 20% of total wind generation in the country. More »

Horizontally drilled wells dominate U.S. tight formation production

Wells drilled horizontally into tight oil and shale gas formations continue to account for an increasing share of crude oil and natural gas production in the United States. In 2004, horizontal wells accounted for about 15% of U.S. crude oil production in tight oil formations. By the end of 2018, that percentage had increased to 96%. Similarly, horizontal wells made up about 14% of U.S. natural gas production in shale formations in 2004 and increased to 97% in 2018. More »

EIA tool compares individual power plants’ generation, cooling water use, and emissions

EIA’s electric power sector surveys collect plant-level information on several attributes of U.S. power plants, including cooling water use and emissions data. EIA has made enhancements to the Electricity Data Browser to simplify access to information about plant-level cooling water use and estimates of emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and carbon dioxide (CO2). These data are now available on the beta version of the Electricity Data Browser. More »

U.S. hydrocarbon gas liquids production reaches 5 million barrels per day in 2018

U.S. production of hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGLs) reached 5 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2018, an increase of more than 0.5 million b/d (13%) over 2017 levels. HGLs accounted for over a quarter of total U.S. petroleum products output in 2018. More »

Saudi Arabia used less crude oil for power generation in 2018

In 2018, Saudi Arabia reported burning an average of 0.4 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil for power generation, the lowest amount since at least 2009, the earliest year that data are available from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI). Saudi Arabia burns considerably more crude oil directly for power generation than any other country. Between 2015 and 2017, Saudi Arabia used more than three times the amount of crude oil for power generation than Iraq, the second-largest user of crude oil for power during those years. More »