U.S. homes and businesses receive natural gas mostly from local distribution companies

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Natural Gas Annual Respondent Query System, 2,022 natural gas delivery companies delivered natural gas to end-use customers in the United States in 2018. A delivery company is defined as any entity that delivers natural gas directly to end users. In 2018, local distribution companies (LDCs) primarily served homes and businesses, delivering approximately 90%, or 22 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), of end-use natural gas to the residential and commercial sectors. Pipeline companies deliver the highest volume of natural gas to end-use consumers in the United States, predominately to electric power and industrial customers. Natural gas distributers operated by municipalities, referred to here as municipal companies, are the most common type of natural gas distributor in the United States, but they deliver relatively small volumes of end-use natural gas. More »

Most U.S. utility-scale geothermal power plants built since 2000 are binary-cycle plants

Utility-scale geothermal power plants in the United States use either steam power or a binary cycle to generate electricity. Of the 2,558 megawatts (MW) of geothermal power plant capacity currently operating in the United States, 1,826 MW of capacity is from steam-powered plants and 731 MW of capacity is from binary-cycle powered plants. Unlike steam-powered geothermal power plants, which use steam directly from a geothermal well to spin a turbine and generate electricity, binary-cycle geothermal power plants use a heat exchanger to take heat from the hot water to heat a secondary fluid that then spins a turbine. More »

U.S. energy consumption in April 2020 fell to its lowest level in more than 30 years

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) most recent Monthly Energy Review, the United States consumed 6.5 quadrillion British thermal units of energy in April 2020, the lowest monthly energy consumption since September 1989. Energy consumption in April 2020 was 14% lower than in April 2019, the largest year-over-year decrease in EIA's monthly total energy consumption, a data series that dates back to 1973. More »

2019 U.S. coal production falls to its lowest level since 1978

In 2019, U.S. coal production totaled 706 million short tons (MMst), a 7% decrease from the 756 MMst mined in 2018. Last year's production was the lowest amount of coal produced in the United States since 1978, when a coal miners' strike halted most of the country's coal production from December 1977 to March 1978. Weekly coal production estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) show the United States is on pace for an even larger decline in 2020, falling to production levels comparable with those in the 1960s. More »

Early 2020 drop in crude oil prices led to write-downs of U.S. oil producers' assets

According to publicly filed financial statements, 40 U.S. oil producers collectively wrote down $48 billion worth of assets in the first quarter of 2020, the largest quarterly adjustment since at least 2015. Low crude oil prices contributed to significant declines in revenue and the value of these companies' proved reserves. Write-downs reflect negative adjustments in asset values, for example, when a producer acknowledges the value of an oil property has declined to less than the cost of developing it and the company updates its estimate of the oil's value. More »

EIA now estimates biodiesel production and consumption by state

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently released new biodiesel estimates in the State Energy Data System (SEDS), EIA's comprehensive source for annual state energy statistics. Previously, EIA published national-level biodiesel data as well as state- and plant-level biodiesel plant production capacity. New SEDS estimates include annual biodiesel production and consumption data by state for 2001 through 2018. More »

Colorado ranks seventh among states with the most energy production

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) latest State Energy Data System (SEDS) update shows Colorado ranked seventh in energy production within a state in 2018. Since 2010, the growth in Colorado's energy production has come primarily from increased fossil fuel production, particularly natural gas and crude oil. Electricity generation from renewable sources has also grown, and coal production has declined. More »

Hydrocarbon gas liquids spot prices are generally bound by crude oil and natural gas

The combination of rapidly declining crude oil prices in March 2020 and relatively flat (and historically low) natural gas prices compressed hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL) spot prices into a narrow price band from mid-March through the end of April 2020. This relatively narrow band has since widened as crude oil prices have increased and natural gas prices have remained low. Generally, HGL prices are based on their heat content and are bracketed by the prices of natural gas (the lower bound) and crude oil (the upper bound). More »

More than 60% of energy used for electricity generation is lost in conversion

In 2019, U.S. utility-scale generation facilities consumed 38 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) of energy to provide 14 quads of electricity. Most of the difference between these values was lost as an inherent result of the energy conversion process. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) U.S. electricity flow diagram visualizes U.S. electricity flow from energy sources consumed to generate electricity and electricity net imports to disposition (conversion and other losses, plant use, and end-use consumption). More »

EIA forecasts U.S. petroleum demand will remain below 2019 levels for several more months

Consumption of U.S. liquid fuels fell in March and April 2020 as a result of reduced travel related to COVID-19 and its mitigation measures. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) July Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) forecasts that U.S. consumption of total petroleum and other liquid fuels will continue increasing in the second half of 2020 as economic activity increases, but levels will remain lower than the 2019 average until August 2021. More »

U.S. uranium production fell to an all-time annual low in 2019

The United States produced 174,000 pounds of uranium concentrate (U3O8) in 2019, 89% less than in 2018 and the lowest amount produced since the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) data series began in 1949. Domestic U3O8 production has declined since its peak of 43.7 million pounds in 1980. More »

Canada's oil production drops to its lowest level since 2016 wildfires

Canada was the world's fourth-largest producer of petroleum and other liquids in 2019, but in the first half of 2020, Canada�s production declined 20% from its 2019 average of 5.5 million barrels per day (b/d). Canada�s production of petroleum and other liquids declined as a result of low global crude oil prices, reduced demand for crude oil for refined petroleum products in Canada and the United States, and continued production curtailments imposed by the Government of Alberta�the province where more than 80% of Canada�s 2019 crude oil production was located. More »

COVID-19 mitigation has delayed construction of some electric generators

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) March and April Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory data, COVID-19 mitigation efforts have resulted in slightly more delays than average in the commercial operation dates of proposed electric generator projects. Based on the average of delays reported in 2018 and 2019, about 20% of the projects scheduled to come online in the next 12 months experienced some delay. In March and April 2020, 21% and 29% of projects, respectively, experienced delays, some of which were attributed to efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19. More »

U.S. crude oil and natural gas production in April had biggest monthly decreases in years

Production of crude oil and natural gas decreased in the United States in April 2020 by 670,000 barrels per day (b/d) and 2.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), respectively, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Monthly Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production Report. Production declines of that magnitude usually arise only in natural disasters such as hurricanes: the drop in U.S. crude oil production in April was the largest since September 2008 when Hurricanes Gustav and Ike caused production to fall by 1.03 million b/d. The April 2020 decline in natural gas production was the largest monthly decrease since Hurricane Isaac-related shut-ins in August 2012. More »

U.S. Henry Hub natural gas spot prices reached record lows in the first half of 2020

In the first half of 2020, natural gas prices at the U.S. Henry Hub benchmark reached record lows. The average monthly Henry Hub spot price in the first six months of the year was $1.81 per million British thermal units (MMBtu). Monthly prices reached a low of $1.63/MMBtu in June, the lowest monthly inflation-adjusted (real) price since at least 1989. Prices started the year low because of mild winter weather, which resulted in less natural gas demand for space heating. Beginning in March, spring weather and the economic slowdown induced by mitigation efforts for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) contributed to lower demand, further lowering prices. More »

In 2019, the United States produced and consumed record volumes of natural gas

Natural gas is one of the main sources of energy in the United States. In 2019, U.S. production of dry natural gas increased to almost 34 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) and consumption increased to 31 Tcf—both values were records. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) U.S. natural gas flow diagram shows the magnitude of U.S. natural gas supply (production, imports, and withdrawals from storage) and disposition (consumption, exports, and additions to storage) in 2019. More »

Drop in petroleum demand led to rise in crude oil inventories and low refinery utilization

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) latest Petroleum Supply Monthly shows the significant changes in petroleum markets that occurred in April, when most of the United States was under stay-at-home orders to limit the spread of coronavirus. In April, commercial crude oil inventories increased by 46.7 million barrels (10%)—the largest monthly increase in EIA data going back to 1920. U.S. refineries operated at 70% of their capacity, the lowest utilization rate in EIA's monthly data series dating back to 1985. Demand for finished petroleum products fell to 11.7 million barrels per day (b/d), the lowest level since at least 1981. More »

Mixed water supply conditions affect summer 2020 hydropower outlook in Pacific Northwest

On June 4, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Northwest River Forecast Center (NWRFC) released its final Pacific Northwest water supply projection for the 2020 water year, which runs from October 2019 to September 2020. The forecast shows above-average water supply in the northern half of the Columbia River Basin and below-average supply in the southern half, the opposite of last year's forecast. The below-average supply in the southern half could reduce electricity available from hydropower in the lower Columbia River Basin this summer. More »

NERC report outlines how pandemic mitigation could affect electric reliability this summer

Despite heightened uncertainty—stemming from efforts to slow the progression of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)—in demand projections, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation's (NERC) recent 2020 Summer Reliability Assessment finds that enough resources are available to meet this summer's projected peak electricity demand in most areas of the country. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has the smallest anticipated reserve margin, but each of the remaining regions exceeds, or substantially exceeds, a 20% anticipated reserve margin. More »

U.S. natural gas exports to Mexico set to rise with completion of the Wahalajara system

Exports of natural gas by pipeline are the largest component of U.S. natural gas trade, accounting for 40% of all U.S. gross natural gas exports in 2019. EIA expects these exports to increase with the completion of the southern-most segment of the Wahalajara system, the Villa de Reyes-Aguascalientes-Guadalajara (VAG) pipeline. VAG began operations in June 2020, connecting new demand markets in Mexico to U.S. natural gas pipeline exports. More »

Nonfossil sources accounted for 20% of U.S. energy consumption in 2019

Overall energy consumption in the United States totaled 100 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) in 2019, only slightly less than the record set in 2018 and the third-highest level of annual U.S. energy consumption ever. About 20% of U.S. energy consumption in 2019 came from sources other than fossil fuels. Several energy sources hit record consumption values in 2019, based on data in the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Monthly Energy Review: natural gas, nuclear, wind, and solar. More »