U.S. propane inventories are well stocked heading into the winter heating season
The United States is well stocked with propane heading into the winter heating season, which runs from November through March, with U.S. propane inventories at the top of the five-year range spanning the winter of 2019–20 to the winter of 2023–24.
Read More ›Tags: propane, inventories/stocks, weather, storage
What’s driving decreasing gasoline consumption in China?
Note: We define apparent demand as refinery production plus imports minus exports.
Gasoline consumption in China has begun to fall in recent months amid increased sales of electric vehicles, slow economic growth, and population decline.
Read More ›Tags: China, consumption/demand, gasoline, liquid fuels
Northwest U.S. and western Canadian natural gas prices trade at historic lows in 2024
Note: Prices are adjusted for inflation based on September 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index data.
Monthly average natural gas spot prices at northwestern U.S. and western Canada border pricing hubs reached historic lows in 2024 through October, according to data from Natural Gas Intelligence. Robust natural gas production in western Canada, where output has generally increased over the last two years, and high natural gas inventories in the region contributed to the low prices.
Read More ›Tags: natural gas, prices, United States, Northwest, Canada
Grid infrastructure investments drive increase in utility spending over last two decades
Note: O&M=operation and maintenance
Annual spending by major utilities to produce and deliver electricity increased 12% from $287 billion in 2003 to $320 billion in 2023 as measured in real 2023 dollars, according to financial reports to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Capital investment in electric infrastructure mostly drove the increase, more than doubling over the period as:
Read More ›Most U.S. petroleum coke is exported
Note: This chart includes marketable petroleum coke, except for exports not assigned to ports (less than 1% of exports). It excludes catalyst petroleum coke.
Annual production of U.S. petroleum coke (petcoke) has remained relatively unchanged over the past 10 years (2014–23), averaging 46 million tons according to our analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. Most U.S. petroleum coke is exported. The United States exported approximately 41 million tons in 2023, slightly more than the 10-year average for total petcoke exports of 40 million tons.
Read More ›U.S. associated natural gas production increased nearly 8% in 2023
Note: For consistency, the various state pressure bases used to measure natural gas volumes have been converted to the federal pressure base of 14.73 pounds per square inch absolute (psia) and 60°F.
U.S. production of associated-dissolved natural gas, or associated natural gas, increased 7.9% in 2023 compared with 2022, averaging 17.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) last year, according to data from Enverus Drillinginfo. Associated natural gas production, which is natural gas produced by wells that predominantly produce oil, comes mainly from five major oil-producing regions in the United States—the Permian, Bakken, Eagle Ford, Anadarko, and Niobrara.
Read More ›Tags: natural gas, production/supply
U.S. electricity exports to Canada have increased since September 2023
For the better part of two decades, Canada has exported significantly more electricity to the United States than it imported. However, in the fall of 2023, electricity trade between the two countries became more balanced. The shift was due partly to Canada’s reduced hydropower generation, the country’s primary source of electricity generation, as drought conditions reduced inflow to reservoirs in western Canada. In addition, lower natural gas prices in the United States reduced power prices, making U.S. electricity more competitive.
Read More ›Tags: Canada, exports/imports, international, electricity, map
Drought conditions reduce hydropower generation, particularly in the Pacific Northwest
In our latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast that electricity generation from U.S. hydropower plants in 2024 will be 13% less than the 10-year average, the least amount of electricity generated from hydropower since 2001. Extreme and exceptional drought conditions have been affecting different parts of the United States, especially the Pacific Northwest, which is home to most U.S. hydropower capacity.
Read More ›Tags: hydroelectric, electricity, generation, Northwest, weather, map
U.S. fuel ethanol exports rise on strong international demand and low U.S. prices
Note: The 2024 annual average is the year-to-date average through August.
U.S. fuel ethanol exporters are on track to export a record amount of the fuel in 2024. The increase in exports this year has largely been driven by demand in countries with biofuel blending mandates and cheaper-than-usual U.S. fuel ethanol prices.
Read More ›Tags: international, prices, United Kingdom, exports/imports, liquid fuels, Colombia, ethanol, India, biofuels
U.S. summer nuclear outages declined in 2024, returning to 2022 levels
Average U.S. nuclear capacity outages during the summer of 2024 (June 1 through August 31) decreased to about 2.6 gigawatts (GW) per day from 3.1 GW in 2023, similar to average summer daily outages in 2022. Outages this past summer were highest in mid-July and early August, averaging 3.1 GW per day and peaking at 5.7 GW on the last day of August. More recently, nuclear outages have exceeded the five-year average because of weather-related disruptions and refueling outages.
Read More ›U.S. exports of ethane and ethane-based petrochemicals rose 135% from 2014 to 2023
Note: Ethylene derivatives include high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), ethylene vinyl acetate, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and other polymers of ethylene not elsewhere specified or included.
U.S. exports of ethane and ethane-based petrochemicals reached an all-time high of 21.6 million metric tons (MMmt) in 2023, up 135% since the United States began exporting ethane in 2014 and 17% more than in 2022, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The rapid expansion of U.S. ethane and ethane-based petrochemical exports has been fueled by the growth in domestic ethane production, which has increased with the country’s natural gas production and the buildout of export and production infrastructure.
Read More ›Share of natural gas production in U.S. tight oil plays increased over the last decade
Note: 2024 represents year-to-date data through September. To calculate the barrel of oil equivalent, we use a conversion factor of 6,000 cubic feet of gross natural gas production per 1 barrel of oil.
Natural gas produced from the three largest tight oil-producing plays in the United States has increased in the last decade. Natural gas comprised 40% of total production from the Bakken, the Eagle Ford, and the Permian compared with 29% in 2014.
Read More ›Crude oil imports from Canada reached a record after pipeline expansion
U.S. imports of crude oil from Canada reached a record of 4.3 million barrels per day (b/d) in July 2024 following the expansion of Canada’s Trans Mountain pipeline. July is the most recent month for which data are available in our Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM).
Read More ›U.S. energy production has increased faster than energy consumption over the past 50 years
Note: Positive net imports mean the United States imported more energy than it exported, while negative net imports mean the United States exported more energy than it imported. Data are for the first seven months of 1974 and 2024. Total energy includes coal, natural gas, petroleum, nuclear, and renewables. See primary energy consumption in the EIA Glossary.
In October 1974, in the wake of the 1973 Oil Embargo, the Federal Energy Administration—the predecessor of the U.S. Department of Energy—published the first issue of the Monthly Energy Review (MER), an overview of the energy produced and consumed in the United States. In the 50 years since that first publication, the U.S. energy sector has transformed.
Read More ›U.S. ethane production reached a record 3.0 million barrels per day in May 2024
U.S. ethane production increased steadily over the last decade and reached a record of 3.0 million barrels per day (b/d) in May 2024. Ethane production in the first half of 2024 (1H24) averaged a record 2.8 million b/d, according to data from our Petroleum Supply Monthly. The increase was driven by more natural gas and ethane production in the Permian Basin, which spans Texas and New Mexico.
Read More ›Tags: ethane, production/supply