U.S. crude oil inventories are approaching record-high levels

Recent declines in demand for petroleum products have contributed to record increases in U.S. commercial crude oil inventories. Transportation fuel demand has decreased as a result of reduced economic activity and stay-at-home orders aimed at slowing the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Refiners have been able to reduce the amount of material they run through refineries (as measured by gross inputs, which includes crude oil, unfinished oils, and natural gas plant liquids) relatively quickly in response to falling demand, but crude oil production has not responded as quickly, leading to large crude oil inventory increases. More »

Natural gas markets remain regionalized compared with oil markets

Crude oil markets respond quickly and often dramatically to world events, but natural gas markets have tended to be driven by regional factors and have been less connected to the international market. More »

In 2019, U.S energy production exceeded consumption for the first time in 62 years

In 2019, for the first time since 1957, energy production exceeded energy consumption in the United States on an annual basis, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Monthly Energy Review. The United States produced 101.0 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) of energy and consumed 100.2 quads last year. After both energy production and consumption hit record highs in 2018, U.S. energy production in 2019 grew 5.7%, and energy consumption decreased by 0.9%. More »

Low liquidity and limited available storage pushed WTI crude oil futures prices below zero

On Monday, April 20, 2020, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil front-month futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) were priced in negative dollars per barrel (b) for the first time since trading began in 1983. At about 2:30 p.m. ET, WTI traded as low as -$40.32/b; prices remained below zero for part of the following trading day. More »

Withdrawals from natural gas storage this winter were lowest since 2015-16

Working natural gas in storage in the Lower 48 states as of March 31, 2020, totaled 2,008 billion cubic feet (Bcf), 19% more than the previous five-year (2015-19) average for the end of the heating season, according to EIA's Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report. The 2019-20 heating season, which ran from November 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, ended with the most working natural gas in storage since the 2016-17 winter, with 1,718 Bcf in net withdrawals, the least in four winters. Continued growth in natural gas production and relatively mild winter temperatures accounted for relatively higher inventory levels. More »

COVID-19 mitigation efforts result in the lowest U.S. petroleum consumption in decades

U.S. consumption of petroleum products has fallen to its lowest level in decades because of measures that limit travel and because of the general economic slowdown induced by mitigation efforts for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates the decline in petroleum product demand by examining the changes in total product supplied, EIA’s proxy for consumption. As outlined in EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report, published yesterday, total petroleum demand averaged 14.1 million barrels per day (b/d) in the week ending April 17, up slightly from 13.8 million b/d in the previous week—the lowest level in EIA’s weekly data series, which dates back to the early 1990s. The most recent value is 31% lower than the 2020 average from January through March 13, or before many of the travel restrictions began. More »