Developers plan to add 6 gigawatts of U.S. offshore wind capacity through 2029

Power plant developers and operators have reported plans to install more than 6 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity at sites mostly along the U.S. eastern seaboard over the next seven years, according to our latest Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory report. These additions include projects off the coasts of New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia, as well as on Lake Erie, near Cleveland, Ohio. More »

U.S. refinery capacity decreased during 2021 for second consecutive year

Operable atmospheric crude oil distillation capacity, our primary measure of refinery capacity in the United States, totaled 17.9 million barrels per calendar day as of January 1, 2022, down 1% from the beginning of 2021. According to our annual Refinery Capacity Report, 2021 was the second consecutive year of decreasing refinery capacity. More »

Significant volumes of gasoline and distillate move from the Gulf Coast to the East Coast

The U.S. Gulf Coast is a key supplier of motor gasoline and distillate fuel to the U.S. East Coast. During March 2022, the East Coast received an average of 1.9 million barrels per day (b/d) of gasoline and 0.9 million b/d of distillate by pipeline, tanker, and barge from the Gulf Coast. More »

In Colombia, natural gas consumption has been exceeding production

In 2020, when drought resulted in decreased hydroelectric power, Colombia imported 14.2 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas, which helped the country meet natural gas demand for electricity, according to our recently updated Colombia Country Analysis Brief. More »

EIA estimates show a decrease in global surplus crude oil production capacity in 2022

Our new report, titled Global Surplus Crude Oil Production Capacity, provides estimates of global surplus crude oil production capacity in both OPEC countries and non-OPEC countries. Preliminary estimates for these data show that, as of May 2022, surplus capacity in non-OPEC countries decreased by 80% compared with 2021. The data show that, in 2021, 1.4 million barrels per day (b/d) of surplus production capacity was available in non-OPEC countries, about 60% of which was in Russia. As of May 2022, we estimate that all surplus production capacity in Russia was eliminated due to the sanctions implemented after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. We determined that excess oil production capacity declined in other non-OPEC producing countries as well. We estimate that, as of May 2022, producers in non-OPEC countries had about 280,000 b/d of surplus production capacity. More »

Fire causes shutdown of Freeport liquefied natural gas export terminal

On June 8, 2022, a fire at Freeport LNG's natural gas liquefaction plant on the Gulf Coast in South Texas led to the full shutdown of the facility. The shutdown of Freeport LNG will reduce total U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity by approximately 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), or 17% of total U.S. LNG export capacity. More »

Two new U.S. crude oil pipeline projects have been completed this year

As of June 3, 2022, pipeline companies completed two crude oil pipeline projects in the United States, according to our recently updated Liquids Pipeline Projects Database. No new hydrocarbon gas liquids or petroleum product pipeline projects were completed in the first five months of 2022. More »

EIA expects nine new Gulf of Mexico natural gas and crude oil fields to start in 2022

In our June 2022 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast that new fields coming online in 2022 will account for 5% of natural gas production and 14% of crude oil production in the U.S. Federal Offshore Gulf of Mexico (GOM) by the end of 2023. We expect that GOM natural gas production will average 2.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2023, down 0.1 Bcf/d from 2022. We expect that GOM crude oil production will average 1.8 million barrels per day (MMb/d) in 2023, about the same as in 2022. Currently, no GOM fields are scheduled to start up in 2023. More »

EIA forecasts growing liquid fuels production in Brazil, Canada, and China through 2023

In our June 2022 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast that liquid fuels production in Brazil, Canada, and China will increase this year and next, contributing to growth in overall non-OPEC petroleum production. We forecast that petroleum production in the combined non-OPEC countries, excluding the Unites States and Russia, will increase by 3% (0.9 million barrels per day [b/d]) in 2022 and by 2% (0.8 million b/d) in 2023, compared with an increase of less than 1% (0.2 million b/d) in 2021. More »

EIA expects significant increases in wholesale electricity prices this summer

In our latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we expect prices this summer in wholesale electricity markets will significantly increase over last summer's prices. We forecast that electricity prices in the Northeast regions (ISO New England, New York ISO, and PJM markets) will exceed $100 per megawatthour (MWh) between June and August 2022, up from an average of about $50/MWh last summer. We forecast summer electricity prices will average $98/MWh in California's CAISO market and $90/MWh in the ERCOT market in Texas. More »

Most combined-cycle power plants have duct burners to combust turbine exhaust gases

Most combined-cycle power plants in the United States have duct burners that help them make additional use of combustion turbine exhaust gases. Combined-cycle power plants are the most prevalent technology used to generate electricity in the United States, and of the 278 gigawatts (GW) of combined-cycle power plants, about 75% (208 GW) have duct burners located between the combustion and steam turbine components. More »

Europe imported record amounts of liquefied natural gas in 2022

Europe's (the European Union and the United Kingdom) liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports set an all-time historical record high in April 2022, averaging 16.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) monthly and exceeding 19.0 Bcf/d on some days in April. Europe's LNG imports increased in 2022 because natural gas storage inventories were at historically low levels from fall 2021 through spring 2022. Traditional sources of natural gas (and some substitute fuels) delivered by pipeline have not been meeting Europe's energy needs, and spot natural gas prices at major European hubs have generally been higher than spot prices in other markets. The higher spot prices in Europe have resulted in more imports from suppliers with destination flexibility in their contracts, particularly from the United States. More »

119 publicly traded global oil and natural gas companies added proved reserves in 2021

Annual financial reports by 119 publicly traded exploration and production companies show aggregate proved reserves of crude oil and natural gas increased by 19.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) in 2021. A number of factors affect proved reserve levels, some of which depend on the price of crude oil or natural gas. Other factors are based on company actions, such as sales, acquisitions, and spending on exploration and development. More »

EIA expects high refinery margins to contribute to increasing fuel production this summer

In our June 2022 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast that U.S. refinery utilization will be relatively high this summer in response to strong wholesale prices for petroleum products, such as diesel and gasoline, which have increased more than the price of the crude oil used to make them. More »

EIA expects U.S. natural gas prices to remain high through 2022

In our June 2022 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast that U.S. natural gas spot prices will increase again this month and then remain high through the rest of 2022. Natural gas spot prices at the U.S. Henry Hub benchmark in Louisiana averaged $8.14 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in May 2022, and we expect the Henry Hub price to average $8.71/MMBtu this summer (June through August). More »

EIA explores effects of weather projections on energy consumption in buildings

Nearly half of the energy consumed in U.S. buildings in 2021 was used for heating and cooling, according to modeled estimates in our Annual Energy Outlook 2022 (AEO2022) Reference case. An Issues in Focus analysis on alternative weather assumptions highlights how different long-term weather projections affect space heating and space cooling demand in the U.S. residential and commercial sectors. More »

U.S. liquefied natural gas exports to Europe increased during the first 4 months of 2022

During the first four months of 2022, the United States exported 74% of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe, compared with an annual average of 34% last year, according to our recently released Natural Gas Monthly and EIA estimates for April 2022. In 2020 and 2021, Asia had been the main destination for U.S. LNG exports, accounting for almost half of the total exports. More »

Record U.S. natural gas demand this winter led to largest storage withdrawal in four years

Net withdrawals of natural gas from U.S. storage totaled 2,264 billion cubic feet (Bcf) this winter (November through March). This amount is the most natural gas withdrawn from storage since the winter of 2017–18 and 10% more than the previous five-year (2016–17 to 2021–22) average, according our recently released Natural Gas Monthly, which includes data through March 2022. Typically more natural gas is withdrawn from storage in the United States than is injected during the winter heating season as demand (including consumption and exports) exceeds supply (including production and imports). During the heating season, natural gas must be drawn from storage to meet this excess of demand over supply. Working U.S. natural gas storage levels at the end of March 2022 were 1,401 Bcf, which is 11 Bcf higher than March 2018. More »

NERC assessment highlights potential electricity reliability concern for central U.S.

Higher electricity demand forecasts and potential supply reductions are raising concerns about tight reserve margins in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) balancing authority this summer. Working in conjunction with regional utility service providers, balancing authorities are responsible for ensuring that wholesale electric power markets provide sufficient electric generation capacity to meet consumer demand, both in real time and over several years. More »

Natural gas production in the Permian Basin reached an annual high in 2021

Marketed natural gas production from the Permian Basin in western Texas and eastern New Mexico reached a new annual high of 16.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2021. Annual marketed natural gas production in the Permian Basin has been rising steadily since 2012. More »

California drought could reduce hydroelectric generation to half of normal levels

As part of a supplement to our Short-Term Energy Outlook, we analyzed how drought conditions could affect hydroelectric generation in California this summer. California hydroelectric generation would be 48% less this summer in an alternative case that assumes drought conditions compared with a case that assumes relatively normal water conditions. This shortfall would need to be made up from other sources of electric power supply. More »