Several EIA products show what's happening in current energy markets

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. EIA produces energy data and analysis to provide context for how a variety of energy industries serve customers in the United States and abroad. Several of EIA's surveys of the energy sector are conducted on a monthly or annual basis, but other surveys are conducted on shorter time intervals and can provide insights into current conditions in energy markets. More »

Oil market volatility is at an all-time high

Crude oil prices have fallen significantly since the beginning of 2020, largely driven by the economic contraction caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and a sudden increase in crude oil supply following the suspension of agreed production cuts among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and partner countries. With falling demand and increasing supply, daily price changes for the U.S. benchmark crude oil West Texas Intermediate (WTI) have been extremely volatile. More »

Twelve U.S. states generate more than 30% of their electricity from nuclear power

Nuclear power plants play an important role in U.S. electricity generation, consistently providing about 20% of total annual generation. Of the 30 U.S. states with operating commercial nuclear power plants, 12 states generated more than 30% of their electricity from nuclear power. More »

Lower compensation rates for residential solar PV generation could reduce overall adoption

Electric utilities in some states have recently changed their policies regarding how they compensate electricity generation from solar photovoltaic (PV) systems installed on residential customers' homes. An Issues in Focus article published as part of the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Annual Energy Outlook 2020 (AEO2020) discusses the potential effects of alternative utility rate structures for compensating residential solar PV generation. More »

European natural gas storage inventories are at record-high levels at the end of winter

European natural gas storage inventories as of March 1, 2020, were 60% full-the highest ever recorded level for the start of March, according to Gas Storage Europe's Aggregated Gas Storage Inventory (AGSI+). European stock levels for both January and February 2020 were the highest ever recorded for those months. Europe's high levels of natural gas in storage are the result of a mild winter, which limited winter heating demand, and growing natural gas imports by pipeline and as liquefied natural gas (LNG). More »

China's crude oil imports surpassed 10 million barrels per day in 2019

China's annual crude oil imports in 2019 increased to an average of 10.1 million barrels per day (b/d), an increase of 0.9 million b/d from the 2018 average. China remains the world's top crude oil importer, surpassing the United States in 2017. China's new refinery capacity and strategic inventory stockpiling, combined with flat domestic oil production, were the major factors contributing to the increase in China's crude oil imports in 2019. More »

Most of Hawaii's electric battery systems are paired with wind or solar power plants

Nearly all of Hawaii's utility-scale battery storage capacity is installed with onshore wind turbines or solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, allowing excess electricity from those generators to be stored and used later. As of January 2020, about 30% of Hawaii's total generating capacity is solar or wind. The non-dispatchable nature of these technologies creates operational challenges for system operators. Pairing batteries with wind and solar systems has proven effective in mitigating the operational challenges. Hawaii plans to generate 100% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2045, and given this goal, wind and solar likely will account for a growing part of the state's energy mix in the future. EIA expects that additional battery installations will support this growth. More »

As total U.S. crude oil imports have fallen, imports from Canada have increased

In 2005, U.S. refineries relied heavily on foreign crude oil, importing a record volume of more than 10.1 million barrels per day (b/d). About 60% of the imported crude oil came from four countries: Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela, and each was responsible for between 12% and 16% of total U.S. crude oil imports that year. By 2019, U.S. crude oil import trading patterns had changed significantly. In total, U.S. crude oil imports have fallen sharply, but imports from Canada have risen steadily to 3.8 million b/d, more than twice the imports from Canada in 2005. U.S. crude oil imports from Canada accounted for 56% of all U.S. crude oil imports in 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Petroleum Supply Monthly. More »

U.S. coal exports declined in 2019

In 2019, U.S. coal exports declined to 93 million short tons (MMst), a 20% decrease from the previous year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's Annual Coal Report. The United States exports metallurgical coal and steam coal, and exports of both decreased in 2019. U.S. steam coal exports were affected by the downturn in global coal demand, dropping 30% in 2019 from 2018. Metallurgical coal had a more moderate decline of 12%. More »

EIA analysis shows how carbon fees would reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the near term

As part of its most recent Annual Energy Outlook, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) conducted three alternative policy cases on how carbon fees affect emissions from fossil fuel consumption. In the short term, even relatively modest carbon fees reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, especially in the electric power sector where natural gas and renewables displace coal. However, once the emissions level associated with coal consumption in the power sector has been achieved, the remaining fossil fuel emissions from natural gas and petroleum consumption are harder to reduce. More »

OPEC shift to maintain market share will cause global inventory increases and lower prices

Markets for oil, as well as other commodities and equities, have experienced significant volatility and price declines since the final week in February amid concerns over the economic effects of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). More recently, markets fell after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and partners failed to reach an agreement to continue crude oil production cuts. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has focused on several underlying assumptions about OPEC's posture regarding targeted production output and what effect it may have on global oil balances and prices. More »

EIA projects air-conditioning energy use to grow faster than any other use in buildings

In the Annual Energy Outlook 2020 (AEO2020) Reference case, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that delivered energy for air conditioning will increase more than any other end use in residential and commercial buildings (also known as the buildings sector) through 2050, while energy consumption for space heating will decline. Higher residential and commercial energy consumption for air conditioning and lower energy consumption for space heating result from projected population shifts from colder to warmer parts of the United States, assumptions of warmer weather, and regional differences in sector growth. More »

U.S. crude oil exports increased to nearly 3 million barrels per day in 2019

U.S. crude oil exports averaged 2.98 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2019, up 45% (930,000 b/d) from 2018. This growth in U.S. crude oil exports was driven by increasing U.S. crude oil production, expanding domestic infrastructure, and increasing global demand for light, low-sulfur crude oils. The number of destinations for U.S. crude oil exports also increased from 41 to 44. Canada received the largest share of U.S. crude oil exports at 459,000 b/d (15%), followed by South Korea at 426,000 b/d (14%). More »

EIA's 50% Carbon-Free Generation side case projects little effect on CO2 emissions

Last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released an Issue in Focus supplement to its Annual Energy Outlook 2020 (AEO2020). The supplement discusses alternative policy cases that analyze uncertainty around recently enacted legislation and potential changes to laws and regulations. One of these alternative policy cases, the 50% Carbon-Free Generation case, increases requirements in state-level policies to 50% carbon-free generation in all states by 2050, which includes generation for renewables, nuclear, and carbon-capture and sequestration technologies. In this case, several nuclear power plants remain online instead of retiring. More »

U.S. natural gas production grew again in 2019, increasing by 10%

U.S. natural gas production grew by 9.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2019, a 10% increase from 2018. The increase was slightly less than the 2018 annual increase of 10.5 Bcf/d. U.S. natural gas production measured as gross withdrawals (the most comprehensive measure of natural gas production) averaged 111.5 Bcf/d in 2019, the highest volume on record, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Monthly Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production Report. U.S. natural gas production, when measured as marketed natural gas production and dry natural gas production, also reached new highs at 99.2 Bcf/d and 92.2 Bcf/d, respectively. More »

EIA projects U.S. biofuel production to slowly increase through 2050

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Annual Energy Outlook 2020 (AEO2020) projects that U.S. biofuel production will slowly grow through 2050, primarily driven by economic and policy factors. In the Reference case, which reflects current laws and regulations, biofuels production in 2050 is 18% higher than 2019 levels. However, in a side case with higher global crude oil prices, biofuels such as fuel ethanol and biodiesel are increasingly consumed as substitutes for petroleum products, resulting in 55% growth in biofuels production in 2050 in that case. More »

EIA's long-term power plant forecasts trade off the cost and value of new capacity

A supplemental report to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Annual Energy Outlook 2020 (AEO2020) describes two simple measures of cost and value that, when used together, largely explain the economic competitiveness of electricity generating technologies and, in turn, the types of power plants most likely to be built in EIA's long-term model for the U.S. energy sector. More »

Alternative policies cases explore effects of potential legislative and regulatory changes

To explore the uncertainty associated with the assumption of current laws and regulations in its Reference case, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release an Issue in Focus article to its Annual Energy Outlook 2020 (AEO2020) later today. The AEO2020 Reference case generally assumes existing laws and regulations remain as enacted. However, policies that target emissions reductions have changed significantly over time. The EIA Issue in Focus article discusses results from sensitivity cases associated with four alternative policy topics, with varying effects on projected U.S. carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2050. More »

Less petroleum and other liquids consumed in the U.S. is coming from refineries

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) forecasts that in 2021, U.S. consumption (as measured by product supplied) of total petroleum and other liquid fuels will average 20.71 million barrels per day (b/d), surpassing the 2007 pre-recession level. However, since the 2007—09 recession, the fastest-growing components of U.S. liquids consumption growth have not been fuels such as motor gasoline or distillate fuel but rather hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGLs) and ethanol—two components that are mostly or almost entirely produced outside of petroleum refineries. Petrochemical facilities consume HGLs as feedstocks in the growing production of plastics, resins, and other materials, and ethanol is blended with gasoline. More »

U.S. natural gas consumption sets new record in 2019

U.S. natural gas consumption increased by 3% in 2019, reaching a record of 85.0 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) recently released Natural Gas Monthly. New natural gas-fired electric capacity and lower natural gas prices led the increase in domestic natural gas consumption. More »

U.S. crude oil production grew 11% in 2019, surpassing 12 million barrels per day

Annual U.S. crude oil production reached another record level at 12.23 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2019, 1.24 million b/d, or 11%, more than 2018 levels. The 2019 growth rate was down from a 17% growth rate in 2018. In November 2019, monthly U.S. crude oil production averaged 12.86 million b/d, the most monthly crude oil production in U.S. history, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Petroleum Supply Monthly. U.S. crude oil production has increased significantly during the past 10 years, and the increase has been driven mainly by production from tight rock formations developed using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to extract hydrocarbons. More »