Advances in technology led to record new well productivity in the Permian Basin in 2021

The Permian Basin in western Texas and eastern New Mexico is one of the world's most prolific unconventional oil- and natural gas-producing regions. The Permian Basin has become more productive because of the technological advancements in drilling and completion techniques, which allow operators to economically extract hydrocarbons from the low permeability reservoirs. More »

U.S. commercial buildings continued to increase their energy efficiency as of 2018

According to our recently released 2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS), the total floorspace in commercial buildings has increased but energy consumption has not, compared with our last survey (2012 CBECS). This difference indicates that the consumption per square foot (energy intensity) has decreased, which means that that efficiency has likely increased. More »

California consumers respond to appeals for electricity conservation during heat wave

During an extreme heat wave in early September, California's power grid had trouble meeting record-breaking electricity demand as consumers turned up their air conditioning to keep cool. To avoid rolling blackouts, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), which manages the grid for most of the state, and state officials issued appeals to consumers throughout the heat wave asking them to conserve electricity to lower demand, activated demand response programs, and relied heavily on natural gas and imported electricity. More »

U.S. LNG imports reached 15-year lows first-half 2022, displaced by natural gas production

In the first six months of 2022, U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports were the lowest in at least 15 years, averaging 0.08 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), compared with the five-year (2017–21) average of 0.2 Bcf/d for the same period. LNG imports usually peak in the winter months (October–March), and most natural gas imported into the United States comes by pipeline from Canada. More »

The United States exported record amounts of petroleum products in the first half of 2022

In the first half of 2022 (January—June), U.S. exports of petroleum products averaged nearly 6 million barrels per day (b/d), the most first-half-of-year exports in Petroleum Supply Monthly data, going back to 1973. U.S. petroleum product exports increased in the first half of 2022 by 11% (596,000 b/d) compared with the first half of 2021—the fastest growth rate for that time period since 2017. Nearly all petroleum products contributed to increased exports, and the largest volumes came from distillate fuel oil and hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGLs), which include propane. More »

State gasoline taxes varied widely across the United States in July

In the most recent update of our table of federal and state motor fuel taxes, state gasoline taxes ranged from as low as 8.95 cents per gallon (/gal) in Alaska to as high as 65.1 cents/gal in California on July 1, 2022. Compared with January 2022, 13 states changed some part of their gasoline taxes. More »

China increased electricity generation annually from 2000 to 2020

China has steadily increased its electricity generation over the past 20 years, reaching 7,600 terawatthours (TWh) in 2020 from 1,280 TWh in 2000, according to our recently updated Country Analysis Brief: China. Despite COVID-19 mitigation efforts in 2020, China still expanded its electricity generation by 5% in 2020. More »

California fuel mix changes in response to September heat wave

An extreme heat wave affected California the week of September 4, 2022, driving record-breaking demand for electricity to meet increased air-conditioning use. On September 6, a new record was set in the California Independent System Operator's (CAISO) territory. More »

The Waha Hub natural gas price continues to fall below the Henry Hub price

Since late 2021, the difference has been widening between the natural gas price at the Waha Hub in West Texas and the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub in Louisiana. The price of natural gas traded at the Waha Hub, which is near production from the Permian Basin, averaged $1.43 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) less than the Henry Hub price during the first half of September. In comparison, in the first half of September 2021, natural gas at the Waha Hub traded at an average of 24 cents/MMBtu less than the Henry Hub price. More »

Nuclear power provided about 10% of California’s total electricity supply in 2021

In 2021, three nuclear power plants supplied about 10% of California’s electricity. Diablo Canyon, located in San Luis Obispo County, is California’s last operating nuclear power plant, and it supplied over 8% of California’s electricity in 2021. The remaining nuclear electricity supply was imported from the Palo Verde Generating Station in Arizona and the Columbia Generating Station in Washington. More »

EIA forecasts East Coast gasoline inventories will build by the end of 2022

In our September 2022 Short-Term Energy Outlook, we forecast that monthly East Coast gasoline inventories will generally increase from July's multiyear lows. We forecast gasoline inventories will build by the end of 2022 and remain higher than July's low throughout 2023. More »

More natural gas rigs are now operating in the United States than before the pandemic

U.S. natural gas producers are operating more drilling rigs now than at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Before the pandemic, the number of operating rigs in the United States had generally been declining. On January 31, 2020—when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services first declared a public health emergency related to COVID-19—the Baker Hughes Company reported that 112 natural gas rigs were operating in the United States. The number of natural gas-directed rigs continued to fall in the first half of 2020, reaching a low of 68 rigs on July 24, 2020, the fewest in Baker Hughes's historical data, dating back to 1987. Since then, the natural gas rig count has generally been increasing, returning to pre-pandemic levels in January 2022. On September 9, Baker Hughes reported that 166 natural gas rigs were operating in the United States, 54 more than at the outset of the pandemic in the United States. More »

EIA forecasts record U.S. natural gas consumption in 2022

In our September Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we expect natural gas consumption to increase by 3.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in the United States during 2022 to average 86.6 Bcf/d for the year, the most annual U.S. natural gas consumption on record. We forecast that U.S. natural gas consumption will increase in all end-use sectors this year. We expect the U.S. electric power sector to grow by 4% in 2022 to 32.1 Bcf/d, exceeding the 2020 record by 1%, which is the highest growth rate among all sectors. More »

Carbon intensity of U.S. power generation continues to fall but varies widely by state

From 2016 to 2020, the carbon intensity of U.S. power generation fell 18%, driven by a shift in the U.S. electricity generation mix away from coal and toward natural gas and renewables. The carbon intensity of power generation measures the amount of CO2 emitted to produce a unit of electricity. All but seven U.S. states decreased their carbon intensity over that five-year period, although the amount of the decrease varied widely. More »

Distillate stocks in U.S. New England and Central Atlantic states fall to low levels

Distillate fuel oil stocks at refineries, bulk terminals, and natural gas plants in New England states were the lowest in several years as of June 2022, according to our latest Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM). Among the six states in New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont), distillate stocks ranged from 90% less than the five-year (2017–21) average in Vermont to 32% below average in New Hampshire at the end of June 2022. More »

In the first half of 2022, 24% of U.S. electricity generation came from renewable sources

In the first six months of 2022, 24% of U.S. utility-scale electricity generation came from renewable sources, based on data from our Electric Power Monthly. The renewables' share increased from 21% for the same time period last year. Renewables are the fastest-growing electricity generation source in the United States. More »

RGGI carbon dioxide emissions price reached new quarterly record in June 2022

The 56th Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) quarterly auction, held June 1, 2022, resulted in a record-high clearing price of $13.90 per ton for CO2 emissions allowances, surpassing the previous quarter's clearing price ($13.50 per ton) by 3% and the June 2021 clearing price ($7.97 per ton) by 74%. Allowance prices set in the RGGI auctions have been increasing since the June 2017 auction, which cleared at $2.53 per ton. More »

OPEC oil export revenues forecast to increase in 2022 but decline in 2023

We forecast that members of OPEC will collectively earn $842 billion in revenues from oil exports in 2022, the most (adjusted for inflation) for the group since 2014. Based on our forecasts of both OPEC liquid fuels production and of crude oil prices in our Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), OPEC revenues will be nearly 50% higher in 2022 than in 2021. In 2021, OPEC's export revenues increased by nearly 70%, after the group collectively had its lowest export revenues in 2020 since 2002. The revenue increase this year would be due to both more production and higher crude oil prices. More »

U.S. LNG export capacity to grow as three additional projects begin construction

The United States began exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the U.S. Lower 48 states in February 2016. As of July 2022, the United States has more LNG export capacity than any other country and has exported more LNG than any other country. U.S. LNG exports averaged 11.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) during the first half of 2022. The seventh, and most recent, U.S. LNG export project—Calcasieu Pass LNG—placed all of its liquefaction trains in service by August, ahead of schedule. In addition to Golden Pass LNG, which started construction in 2019, two more projects on the U.S. Gulf Coast have recently begun construction. More »

Record numbers of solar panels were shipped in the United States during 2021

U.S. shipments of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules (solar panels) rose to a record electricity-generating capacity of 28.8 million peak kilowatts (kW) in 2021, from 21.8 million peak kW in 2020, based on data from our Annual Photovoltaic Module Shipments Report. Continued demand for U.S. solar capacity drove this increase in solar panel shipments in 2021. More »