Rates to hire tankers for refined petroleum products reach multiyear highs during 2022

Rates for petroleum product tankers that carry low-sulfur petroleum products, including refined petroleum products such as motor gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, and naphtha, reached multiyear highs this summer. Rates for these tankers, known as clean tankers, remained elevated through November, driven largely by the effects of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. More »

Global allowance prices for CO2 emissions increased by over 40% in 2021

Average allowance prices for CO2 emissions increased by over 40% in four of the world's five largest carbon emissions trading systems between January 2021 and January 2022, according to data from the International Carbon Action Partnership. More »

Natural gas consumption in the industrial sector has grown slowly in recent years

In the industrial sector, natural gas consumption in the United States increased by 1.9% in 2021. In our November Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast that it will increase by 2.4% in 2022. We expect U.S. industrial consumption will reach record highs in 2022, which will reverse a multiyear downward trend caused by reduced economic activity that resulted from the pandemic. We expect a 3.4% decrease in natural gas consumption in the industrial sector in 2023, driven by a decline in the manufacturing production index as well as high natural gas prices. More »

U.S. dry natural gas production set monthly records in 2022; we forecast an annual record

U.S. dry natural gas production has increased during 2022, averaging more than 100 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in October and November and exceeding pre-pandemic monthly production records from 2019. We forecast that U.S. production of dry natural gas will average about 100.0 Bcf/d from December through March, down about 0.5 Bcf/d from November. This forecast production decrease is primarily due to weather, specifically the possibility of extreme winter weather events and freeze-offs. Mild weather in key producing regions could prevent those declines. More »

U.S. battery storage capacity will increase significantly by 2025

Developers and power plant owners plan to significantly increase utility-scale battery storage capacity in the United States over the next three years, reaching 30.0 gigawatts (GW) by the end of 2025, based on our latest Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. More »

Coal was the largest source of electricity generation for 15 states in 2021

In 15 U.S. states last year, coal was used to generate electricity more than any other energy source. Twenty years earlier, in 2001, coal was the largest source of electricity generation in 32 states. The United States has shifted away from coal-fired generation since it peaked in 2007 and toward natural gas and renewables. More »

Product Highlight: EIA's Hourly Electric Grid Monitor

Our Hourly Electric Grid Monitor provides up-to-the-hour information showing electricity demand across the U.S. electric grid. Large-scale events that affect normal routines, ranging from expected events such as major holidays to unexpected situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can change the pattern of electricity usage in the country. More »

Less U.S. jet fuel consumption on average in 2022 than in 2019

Average jet fuel consumption in the United States so far in 2022 has been consistently below 2019, although airline passenger counts in the United States have nearly returned to 2019 levels in recent months, based on Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reports. So far in 2022, jet fuel consumption has averaged 1.5 million barrels per day (b/d), according to weekly product supplied data reported in our Weekly Petroleum Status Report. By comparison, consumption of jet fuel in all of 2019 averaged 1.7 million b/d. More »

West Coast gasoline prices have been volatile this year

Regular retail gasoline prices on the West Coast had substantial price swings this year, especially in the fall. According to our Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, retail gasoline prices on the West Coast averaged $5.82 per gallon (gal) in June, then decreased to average $4.94/gal in August, before increasing to average $5.69/gal the week of October 3. By the week of November 28, 2022, West Coast gasoline prices had fallen to $4.59/gal. This year’s gasoline price volatility reflects how sensitive West Coast prices can be to relatively small changes in refinery output and import levels. More »

More ethanol was blended into U.S. gasoline last summer than ever before

Last summer, when the price of fuel ethanol was lower than the petroleum component of gasoline, record amounts of ethanol were blended into the gasoline sold in the United States (blend rates). The summer 2022 fuel ethanol blend rate from June through August reached 10.5%, the highest blend rate calculated, based on our data going back to 2007. More »