NERC report outlines potential electricity disruptions in the United States this summer

Parts of the United States are at elevated or high risk for potential electricity emergencies this summer, according to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation's (NERC) 2021 Summer Reliability Assessment. Summer peak electricity demand in the United States is strongly influenced by temperature. NERC's report notes that above-normal temperatures are expected for much of North America this summer and several regions are at risk of electricity shortfalls during above-normal peak temperatures. More »

U.S. distillate demand returned to 2019 levels earlier than gasoline and jet fuel demand

The combination of increases in both travel and economic activity in the United States has contributed to more demand for gasoline, distillate, and jet fuel, as reflected in the product supplied data of our Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR). Although demand has increased for all three of these products from their 2020 lows, the extent of the demand growth has differed by product. More »

EIA estimates drilled but uncompleted wells for key oil and natural gas basins

We release an updated inventory of what we consider drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs) each month in our Drilling Productivity Report (DPR). We publish updates to DUC estimates by region in a publicly accessible spreadsheet. In May 2021, the most recent month available, we estimated that the United States has about 6,521 DUCs in seven major tight oil and shale natural gas basins, up from about 4,425 DUCs in 2013, the earliest year in the data series. Nearly 40% of DUCs (or 2,616 DUCs) are in the Permian Basin, located in western Texas and eastern New Mexico. More »

EIA's updated liquids pipeline database shows 19 projects moving toward completion in 2021

So far in 2021, 2 petroleum liquids pipeline projects have been completed, and 17 more projects have been announced or are currently under construction, according to updated data in our Liquids Pipeline Projects Database. That total includes 12 crude oil projects, 6 hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGLs) projects, and 1 petroleum product project. Of the 19 projects, 10 projects are new pipelines, 7 projects are expansions or extensions of existing systems, and 2 projects are conversions of the commodity carried on the pipeline. More »

U.S. ethane exports surge with additional export capacity and expanded tanker fleet

U.S. ethane exports reached an all-time high in March 2021 after a new export facility started operations and the tanker fleet that carries liquefied ethane overseas expanded. More »

Most U.S. wind capacity built since 2011 is located in the center of the country

Wind capacity in the United States has increased significantly over the past decade, from 40.1 gigawatts (GW) in January 2011 to 118.3 GW at the end of 2020. This wind capacity growth was mostly concentrated in the middle of the country. More »

U.S. natural gas exports and non-power sector demand to drive higher prices through 2022

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February’s increase in coal-fired electric generation reduced U.S. coal stockpiles

Coal stockpiles at U.S. power plants decreased significantly from December 2020 to February 2021, including a draw of nearly 16 million tons in February 2021. February’s draw was the largest monthly coal inventory decrease since July 2011, when stocks were drawn down by 18 million tons. More »

U.S. dry natural gas production and rig count continue to grow from pandemic lows

Our June Short–Term Energy Outlook (STEO) estimated that production of dry natural gas in the United States averaged 92.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) during May 2021, compared with 87.8 Bcf/d in May 2020. The record high for U.S. natural gas production was set in December 2019, when dry production averaged 97.0 Bcf/d. Aside from February 2021, when weather–related well freeze–offs contributed to natural gas production shut ins, May 2020 marked the low point for U.S. natural gas production so far during the pandemic. As a result of COVID–19 mitigation efforts and warmer weather, natural gas demand diminished, which lowered prices. We expect dry natural gas production to continue to grow in the United States through the end of 2022, averaging about 94.8 Bcf/d for November and December 2022. More »

The United States consumed a record amount of renewable energy in 2020

In 2020, consumption of renewable energy in the United States grew for the fifth year in a row, reaching a record high of 11.6 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu), or 12% of total U.S. energy consumption. Renewable energy was the only source of U.S. energy consumption that increased in 2020 from 2019; fossil fuel and nuclear consumption declined. Our U.S. renewable energy consumption by source and sector chart shows how much renewable energy by source each sector consumes. More »

Growing global production limits crude oil price increases in the most recent forecast

In the June Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast that rising global production of petroleum and other liquid fuels (driven by OPEC, Russia, and the United States) will limit price increases for global crude oil benchmarks Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI). We forecast production will increase more rapidly than consumption, ending the large global stock draws seen in the first two quarters of 2021 and limiting upward crude oil price movement. More »

Production of crude oil and natural gas in New Mexico reached new record in March 2021

New Mexico had record-high production of crude oil and natural gas in March 2021, averaging 1.16 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil and 6.19 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas. The March 2021 increases in crude oil and natural gas production were the largest monthly increases on record for New Mexico. The increased production occurred after a month when production fell in response to the extreme winter weather in the U.S. South Central region. New Mexico's increased production in March was a result of both new wells coming online for the first time and existing wells coming back online after being shut in during the cold snap. More »

EIA Product Highlight: Status of U.S. Nuclear Outages

Every morning, each nuclear electricity generator in the United States reports its operating status to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The NRC compiles this information in its Power Reactor Status Report, and we present that information in interactive visualizations on our Status of Nuclear Outages page. Our analysis tool combines the NRC daily status with data gathered from our Annual Electric Generator Report and Monthly Update to the Annual Electric Generator Report. The page includes two maps showing the capacity and outage status of U.S. nuclear plants. More »

Supply disruptions and rising demand boosted East Coast petroleum product imports in March

Imports of petroleum products–gasoline, distillate, and other products–into the East Coast region of the United States increased in March 2021. Rising imports resulted from lower domestic supply, higher demand, and higher domestic petroleum product prices compared with prices in Europe. In March, East Coast petroleum product imports averaged 1.4 million barrels per day (b/d). In addition, East Coast gasoline imports averaged 737,000 b/d, the highest March level since 2009, and East Coast distillate imports averaged 421,000 b/d, the highest March level since 2003. More »

Electric power sector CO2 emissions drop as generation mix shifts from coal to natural gas

Over the past 15 years, the U.S. electricity generation mix has shifted away from coal and toward natural gas and renewables, resulting in lower CO2 emissions from electricity generation. In 2019, the U.S. electric power sector produced 1,724 million metric tons (MMmt) of CO2, 32% less than the 2,544 MMmt produced in 2005. More »

New infrastructure connects West Texas natural gas-producing areas to demand markets

Recently completed pipeline projects in Texas and Mexico have increased natural gas transportation capacity from the Waha Hub—located near Permian Basin production activities in West Texas—to the U.S. Gulf Coast and Mexico. Since October 2020, two completed projects in Texas and two completed projects in Mexico have increased the Waha Hub's connectivity to demand markets and, in turn, reduced the price difference between natural gas at the Waha Hub and the Henry Hub. More »

In 2020, natural gas exports and natural gas for electricity reached record highs

In 2020, both natural gas consumption by the U.S. electric power sector and natural gas exports reached record highs, despite a 2% annual decline in domestic dry natural gas production. Dry natural gas production doesn't include natural gas plant liquids (NGPL), such as ethane and propane. In 2020, NGPL production grew to a record-high 2.7 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), up 7% from 2019. Our U.S. natural gas flow diagram shows the volume of U.S. natural gas supply (production, imports, and withdrawals from storage) and disposition (consumption, exports, and additions to storage) in 2020. More »

U.S. energy consumption in 2020 increased for renewables, fell for all other fuels

We recently updated our U.S. energy consumption by source and sector chart with 2020 data. All sources for U.S. energy consumption totaled 92.9 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) in 2020, a record 7% decrease from 2019. Consumption decreased for all fuels compared with 2019 except renewable energy, which increased by 2%. Petroleum consumption decreased 13%, natural gas decreased 2%, coal decreased 19%, and nuclear electric power decreased 2%. More »

U.S. natural gas storage capacity has remained flat over the past eight years

Underground natural gas working storage capacity in the Lower 48 states has remained relatively flat since 2012. We measure natural gas working storage capacity in two ways: design capacity and demonstrated peak capacity. Both measures of capacity were relatively unchanged in 2020 compared with 2019: design capacity increased 0.1% and demonstrated peak capacity decreased 0.2%. The largest regional year-over-year change was a decrease in demonstrated peak capacity in the Pacific region. More »

Agricultural feedstock costs drive RIN prices to all-time highs

The prices of renewable identification number (RIN) credits—the compliance mechanism used for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—sharply increased through April of this year, and they are now higher than at any time during the 13-year history of the RFS program. Rising global demand for the agricultural feedstocks used to make corn fuel ethanol and biomass-based diesel fuels has driven fuel ethanol and biomass-based diesel prices higher in 2021, pushing their corresponding RIN prices to new highs. More »

Vietnam's latest power development plan focuses on expanding renewable sources

In February 2021, the government of Vietnam released a draft of the country's latest national power development plan, Power Development Plan 8 (PDP 8), for 2021 to 2030. The draft PDP 8 expands wind and solar capacity and increases their shares of the country's generation mix. The draft PDP 8 also prioritizes enhancing grid infrastructure to ensure stable operation with a higher share of renewables. More »