Rising crude oil prices and increased gasoline demand contributed to the average U.S. retail price for regular grade gasoline increasing to $3.01 per gallon (gal) in 2021, the highest average nominal price since 2014. The average price for retail gasoline increased by more than $1.00/gal between the start and the end of 2021. […]
Category: Today in Energy
Crude oil prices increased in 2021 as global crude oil demand outpaced supply
Crude oil prices increased in 2021 as increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates, loosening pandemic-related restrictions, and a growing economy resulted in global petroleum demand rising faster than petroleum supply. The spot price of Brent crude oil, a global benchmark, started the year at $50 per barrel (b) and increased to a high of $86/b in late […]
Energy prices rose more than other commodities in 2021
Energy prices used in the S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI) ended 2021 59% higher than the first trading day of the year. Price increases were largely driven by increased demand from the initial phase of global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. By comparison, most other commodity indexes included in the GSCI increased by […]
U.S. electric power sector’s use of water continued its downward trend in 2020
The U.S. electric power sector’s cooling water withdrawals fell 10.5% from 53.1 trillion gallons in 2019 to 47.5 trillion gallons in 2020, continuing the downward trend in withdrawals. The decline has been driven by the increased use of renewable and natural gas-fired generation in place of coal-fired generation, as well as less use of once-through […]
EIA forecasts U.S. natural gas production will establish a new monthly record high in 2022
In our December Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast that U.S. dry natural gas production will increase from 95.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in October 2021 to 97.5 Bcf/d by December 2022, a new record. The previous monthly record of 97.2 Bcf/d was set in November 2019. […]
Of the operating U.S. coal-fired power plants, 28% plan to retire by 2035
Although coal-fired power plants have no mandatory retirement age, power plant owners and operators have reported to EIA that they plan to retire 28%, or 59 gigawatts (GW), of the coal-fired capacity currently operating in the United States by 2035. As of September 2021, 212 GW of utility-scale coal-fired electric-generating capacity was operating in the […]
Higher wages in China increase consumer demand but have a limited effect on energy use
In the International Energy Outlook 2021 (IEO2021), Issues in Focus: Changes in Composition of Economic Growth in China, we compared the IEO2021 Reference case with the Higher China Wages case—a case in which we assumed that a smaller working-age population will result in a faster increase in wages through 2050. We compared these cases to […]
Less production and more demand have reduced U.S. jet fuel inventories
On November 26, U.S. jet fuel inventories were at their lowest level since late 2014, according to data in our Weekly Petroleum Status Report. Refineries produced less jet fuel in October compared with this summer, and since August, jet fuel demand has increased to near pre-pandemic levels. This increased demand, along with reduced production, has […]
The Brent crude oil price decline on November 26 was among the largest in years
The front-month futures price for Brent crude oil decreased by $9.50 per barrel, or nearly 12%, on November 26 after the World Health Organization designated the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant as a variant of concern. Daily Brent crude oil prices have fallen by at least 10% on only 8 days since 2000. […]
U.S. liquefied natural gas export capacity will be world’s largest by end of 2022
U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity has grown rapidly since the Lower 48 states first began exporting LNG in February 2016. In 2020, the United States became the world’s third-largest LNG exporter, behind Australia and Qatar. Once the new LNG liquefaction units, called trains, at Sabine Pass and Calcasieu Pass in Louisiana are placed […]
