Fires near Fort McMurray are reducing Canada's oil sands production

While evacuees from the ongoing fires in Fort McMurray have begun to return to the city, a state of emergency remains in place throughout Alberta, Canada, and the temporary shutdown of the area's oil sands production sites continues. EIA estimates that disruptions to oil production averaged about 0.8 million barrels per day (b/d) in May, with a daily peak of more than 1.1 million b/d. Although projects are slowly restarting as fires subside, it may take weeks for production to return to previous levels. EIA expects disruptions to average 400,000 b/d in June. More »

Most natural gas production growth is expected to come from shale gas and tight oil play

The growth in total U.S. dry natural gas production projected in the Annual Energy Outlook 2016 (AEO2016) Reference case results mostly from increased development of shale gas and tight oil plays. Natural gas resources in tight sandstone and carbonate formations (often referred to as tight gas) also contribute to the growth, to a lesser extent, while production from other sources of natural gas such as offshore, Alaska, and coalbed methane remains relatively steady or declines. More »

EIA publishes construction cost information for electric power generators

Many factors influence the economic competitiveness of electricity generation technologies; however, two fundamental factors are the cost of constructing generators and the cost of operating them. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently began collecting construction costs for new electric generators at utility-scale power plants. The publication released today covers generators installed in 2013 and includes average costs by technology type or region. EIA expects to publish 2014 construction cost information in August 2016 and 2015 information in October 2016. More »

Recent data show divergent trends for rail shipments of crude oil, ethanol, and biodiesel

Although pipelines, tankers, and barges are widely used to transport liquid fuels to, from, and within the United States, several types of liquid fuels, including crude oil, ethanol, and biodiesel, are transported by rail in large volumes. EIA recently expanded its rail data for crude oil, ethanol, and biodiesel to provide monthly data going back to January 2010. The data cover rail movements within each Petroleum Administration for Defense District (intra-PADD) and between PADDs (inter-PADD), as well as rail movements to and from Canada. More »

Higher renewable capacity additions in AEO2016 reflect policy changes and cost reductions

Projections for renewable electricity capacity in the U.S. Energy Information Administration's most recent Annual Energy Outlook (AEO) are significantly higher than the projections in AEO2015. The December 2015 enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, which extended certain tax credits for renewable generation technologies, and the August 2015 promulgation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's final Clean Power Plan (CPP) are policies that have a significant effect on projected renewables deployment. Reductions in technology costs and some changes in state policies on renewables also affect the new AEO projections. More »

U.S uranium production remains near historic low as imports continue to fuel U.S. reactors

Most of the uranium loaded into U.S. nuclear power reactors is imported. During 2015, owners and operators of U.S. nuclear power reactors purchased 57 million pounds of uranium. Nearly half of these purchases originated from two countries, Canada and Kazakhstan, providing 17 million pounds and 11 million pounds of uranium, respectively. More »