U.S. gasoline prices are on the rise heading into Labor Day

On the Monday before the Labor Day weekend, August 28, 2023, the retail price of regular gasoline averaged $3.81 per gallon (gal) across the United States. Over the past five weeks, oil production cuts by Saudi Arabia, low U.S. gasoline inventories, and announced refinery maintenance in the Northeast have increased the regular gasoline retail price by 6%, or 22 cents/gal. More »

Three countries began importing liquefied natural gas this year, and more will follow

Global liquefied natural gas (LNG) import capacity is set to expand by 16%, or 23 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), by the end of 2024 compared with 2022. Our estimate is based on trade press and data by the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers (GIIGNL). In the first seven months of 2023, three countries—Germany, the Philippines, and Vietnam—began importing LNG for the first time. By the end of next year, we expect Antigua, Australia, Cyprus, and Nicaragua to start importing LNG. Several more countries are in advanced stages of developing LNG import capacity. More »

Solar panel shipments set a new record high in 2022 as capacity continued to grow

In 2022, solar photovoltaic panel shipments in the United States increased 10% from 2021, setting another annual record (31.7 million peak kilowatts [kWp]), based on our latest published data. U.S. solar panel shipments have been growing as solar capacity continues to rise. More »

Food service buildings nearly four times more energy intensive than commercial buildings

Food service buildings including restaurants are nearly four times more energy-intensive than commercial buildings are on average in the United States. Food service buildings were the smallest commercial building type, averaging 4,800 square feet per building, or less than one-third the size of the average commercial building (16,300 square feet), according to our recently-published 2018 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS). Despite the small footprint, they used 263 thousand British thermal units per square foot (MBtu/sf) on average, compared to (70 MBtu/sf) for the average commercial building. We calculate energy intensity for each building type by dividing the total consumption of major fuels (electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and district heat) by the total floorspace. More »

Florida’s electricity generation mix is changing

Florida's generation mix has become less diverse over the past 20 years as natural gas-fired generation has increasingly accounted for most of the electricity generation in the state and as coal-fired generation and oil-fired generation have declined. More »

Prices and higher well productivity drive up U.S. crude oil production forecast

In our August Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we increased our forecast for U.S. crude oil production in the Lower 48 states (L48) in 2023 and 2024 because of higher well productivity and higher forecast crude oil prices than we had previously expected. More »

Commercial energy use increased in eight states in 2021 over pre-pandemic levels

More energy was consumed in the commercial sectors of eight U.S. states in 2021 than in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. The increases in commercial sector end-use energy consumption in those states bucked the national trend, in which total commercial energy use decreased by 3% in 2021 compared with 2019, according to our State Energy Data System. More »

Difference in natural gas prices between Texas and Henry Hub narrowed in first half 2023

In the first half of 2023 (1H23), natural gas spot prices at Texas hubs traded closer to the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub than in the second half of 2022 (2H22). The price difference narrowed in 1H23 because both Freeport LNG and the El Paso Natural Gas Company's Line 2000 returned to service in February 2023 and because natural gas production increased at a slower pace than in 2022. The Houston Ship Channel—a key regional trading hub for natural gas in East Texas—averaged $0.27 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) below the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub price in 1H23. Similarly, the Waha Hub in West Texas, in the Permian Basin production region, averaged $0.85/MMBtu below Henry Hub. More »

U.S. uranium production up in 2022 after reaching record lows in 2021

Uranium concentrate (U₃O₈) production in the United States was nearly 10 times higher than the previous year in 2022, partly as a result of higher uranium prices. U.S. U₃O₈ production remained near historic lows despite operations resuming at the White Mesa Mill, the United States’ only operating conventional uranium mill. More »

Summer Midwest distillate inventories rise amid high production and transit constraints

Midwest distillate inventories increased rapidly in June and early July due to increased regional refinery production and limitations on moving distillate and other products outside the region. Distillate fuel oil includes products such as diesel fuel and heating oil. In the five weeks between June 9 and July 14, regional distillate inventories increased 18% (4.7 million barrels). Prior to June, Midwest regional inventories had been trending near or below the bottom of the previous five-year (2018–22) range. More »

Higher energy prices push United States energy trade with Canada to record-high value

In 2022, the value of energy trade between the United States and Canada surpassed the previous 2008 record high on the back of high commodity prices, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. By volume, 2022 energy trade between the two countries remained nearly unchanged from 2021. However, in 2022, because energy prices were high, energy trade between the United States and Canada totaled $190 billion when adjusted for inflation, compared with $134 billion in 2021 and $178 billion in 2008. Energy trade value is the combined value of energy imports and exports between two countries. Trade value is driven by both commodity prices and the commodity volumes imported and exported. More »

First-quarter capital spending by public U.S. oil companies up, cash from operations down

Financial results for 40 publicly traded U.S. oil exploration and production (E&P) companies show capital expenditure in the first quarter of 2023 increased from the fourth quarter of 2022, even though cash from operations declined. Previously, rising crude oil prices in the first half of 2022 had driven increased production and had helped companies post multiyear highs for cash from operations. Capital expenditure growth had been much slower over the past two years. More »

New pumped-storage capacity in China is helping to integrate growing wind and solar power

China is building pumped-storage hydropower facilities to increase the flexibility of the power grid and accommodate growing wind and solar power. As of May 2023, China had 50 gigawatts (GW) of operational pumped-storage capacity, 30% of global capacity and more than any other country. More »

Developers added 16.8 GW of U.S. utility-scale generating capacity in first-half 2023

In the first half of 2023, developers added 16.8 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale electric generating capacity to the U.S. power grid, according to our latest inventory of electric generators. Developers plan to bring an additional 35.2 GW of capacity online in the second half of the year. More »

Midwest homes, notably older homes, consume more natural gas than most other U.S. homes

Homes in the Midwest consumed 34% more natural gas than the national average—76.1 million British thermal units (MMBtu) per household compared with 56.6 MMBtu nationally—according to our 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS). The newest midwestern homes, those built since 2010, consumed an average of 48.9 MMBtu of natural gas for space heating, and homes built before 1950 consumed an average of 74.8 MMBtu. More »

Inflation-adjusted U.S. energy spending increased by 25% in 2021

In 2021, the amount U.S. consumers spent on energy (energy expenditures) grew to over $1.3 trillion when adjusted for inflation, a 25% increase from 2020, according to our State Energy Data System (SEDS). Rising petroleum consumption in 2021 following 2020 lows induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and higher average energy prices contributed to the increase in expenditures. More »

Qatar natural gas production and exports stable as country eyes expansion

In 2021, Qatar was the world’s sixth-largest dry natural gas producer, the second-largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter, and the third-largest holder of natural gas reserves, according to the data in our recently updated Country Analysis Brief: Qatar. More »

First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in operation

A new reactor at Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear power plant is now in commercial operation, according to an announcement from Georgia Power, one of the plant’s owners. It is the first new nuclear reactor to start up in the United States since the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Watts Bar 2 was commissioned in 2016. More »