Fuel ethanol, a biofuel most commonly mixed with finished motor gasoline, is second only to coal as the most-transported fuel by rail. According to our Petroleum Supply Monthly, 95% of all U.S. fuel ethanol deliveries between regions in the first half of 2022 were by rail. The majority of the U.S. capacity to produce fuel […]
Category: Today in Energy
U.S. natural gas bills will increase in all regions this winter
In our latest Winter Fuels Outlook, we forecast that U.S. households that primarily use natural gas for space heating will spend an average of $931 on heating this winter (October–March), which is 28% (or $206) more than last year. […]
Daily U.S. summer nuclear capacity outages were 19% lower this summer than last summer
Daily U.S. nuclear capacity outages averaged 2.5 gigawatts (GW) during the summer of 2022 (June 1 through August 31), nearly 19% lower than the 3.1 GW average in summer 2021. Summer nuclear capacity outages were lowest in mid-August, averaging 1.0 GW, and highest in June, averaging 3.8 GW. […]
EIA expects most U.S. households will spend more on energy this winter
We expect that most U.S. households will spend more money on energy this winter than last winter, according to our latest Winter Fuels Outlook (released October 2022). We primarily forecast an increase in household energy expenditures this winter because we expect higher retail energy prices and a slightly colder winter. […]
U.S. natural gas production set a new record in 2021
U.S. dry natural gas production set an annual record in 2021, increasing by 3.5% from 2020, according to our recently released Natural Gas Annual. In 2020, production had dipped because of reduced economic activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, dry natural gas production exceeded the previous record set in 2019, and our Short-Term Energy […]
The United States produces lighter crude oil, imports heavier crude oil
In the first half of 2022, U.S. crude oil production averaged 11.1 million barrels per day (b/d), up from an annual average of 10.8 million b/d in 2021. Crude oil with a higher API gravity is lighter, or less dense. Production of light crude oil with an API value greater than 45.1 degrees increased the […]
Number of drilled but uncompleted U.S. wells continues to decline from record in 2020
Based on our latest Drilling Productivity Report (DPR), drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs) in all U.S. DPR regions totaled an estimated 4,283 wells in August 2022, the least in any month since we started estimating DUCs in October 2013. The decline in DUCs in most major U.S. onshore oil- and natural gas-producing regions indicates that […]
ERCOT electricity prices vary more with changes in wind power than with electricity demand
In the Short-Term Energy Outlook Supplement released on October 4, we analyzed how variability in electricity demand and wind generation affects hourly electricity prices in Texas’s wholesale power market under summer peak-day conditions, when summer electricity demand is highest. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)—which runs the wholesale power market in Texas—has had significant […]
China processed the least crude oil since early 2020 in second-quarter 2022
In the second quarter of 2022, China processed the least crude oil since the first quarter of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic had the strongest effect on China’s economic activity. The resurgence of COVID-19 cases since March 2022 and China’s policy of localized mobility restrictions explain China’s reduced demand for petroleum products, and as a […]
Residential and commercial natural gas prices reach multiyear highs in 2022
Residential and commercial U.S. natural gas prices were relatively high throughout 2021 and have exceeded the previous five-year (2017–21) range so far this year, according to our recently released Natural Gas Monthly. In real terms, the 2021 annual residential price was the highest since 2014, and the commercial price was the highest since 2015. For […]
