Mild winter weather may lead to persistently high natural gas inventories through 2025
U.S. working natural gas inventories ended the winter heating season (November 1b—March 31) at 2,290 billion cubic feet (Bcf), 39% more than the previous five-year (2019b—23) average. Relatively high natural gas inventories all winter have contributed to record-low Henry Hub natural gas spot prices. The surplus to the five-year average grew over winter 2023—24 because […]
China imported record amounts of crude oil in 2023
China, the world’s largest importer of crude oil, imported 11.3 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil in 2023, 10% more than in 2022, according to China customs data. Refiners in China imported record volumes of crude oil in 2023 to supply the country’s increasing refining capacity in order to support the country’s transportation […]
The United States exported a record volume of natural gas in 2023
The United States exported 10% more natural gas in 2023 than in 2022, a record of 20.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), according to our Natural Gas Monthly. U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports accounted for more than half of all U.S. natural gas exports, and natural gas exports by pipeline to Canada and […]
Natural gas filled in most of the drop in solar generation in Texas during April 8 eclipse
On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse briefly but fully obscured sunlight to utility-scale solar electric generation facilities along the eclipse’s path, from Texas through Maine. Texas was especially affected because of how much solar capacity was in the path of totality.
Introducing the Wholesale Electricity Market Portal
Yesterday, we publicly released the new Wholesale Electricity Market Portal to help users examine and access electricity markets data in the seven Regional Transmission Organizations and Independent System Operators.
How accurate were EIA’s Winter Fuels Outlook forecasts?
Every October, in our Winter Fuels Outlook, we publish forecasts for residential energy consumption, prices, and expenditures for the upcoming winter months. Generally, these forecasts have performed well. Our October forecasts for energy expenditures during the five-month period from November 2023 through March 2024 were within 3% of our final estimates for homes primarily heated […]
Solar capacity additions are changing the shape of daily electricity supply in Texas
The maximum hourly average solar generation during the winter of 2022–23 was 2.1 gigawatthours (GWh) and increased to 3.8 GWh in the winter of 2023–24. The maximum hourly average wind generation slightly increased during the same period from 15.1 GWh to 15.7 GWh. The maximum hourly average for all other fuels was 78.0 GWh in […]
U.S. refiners and chemical manufacturers lead hydrogen production and consumption
U.S. manufacturers specializing in chemicals and petroleum refining have traditionally accounted for the largest shares of both hydrogen consumption and production, and they pay the least for it. With new legislation, we expect changes to how hydrogen is consumed and distributed in the country.
April 8 solar eclipse will briefly limit solar electricity generation across the country �
On April 8, 2024, a full solar eclipse will briefly but fully obscure sunlight to utility-scale solar generation facilities from Texas through Maine with a combined 6.5 gigawatts (GW) of capacity. In addition, the eclipse will partially block sunlight to facilities with a combined 84.8 GW of capacity in an even larger swath of the […]
EIA now publishes interregional renewable diesel rail shipment data
In our March Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM), we introduced data on the interregional movement of renewable diesel. These new data add to our existing tanker and barge movement coverage for renewable diesel. With the new data, we now capture most of the renewable diesel movements to the U.S. West Coast, the region where most of […]