Low U.S. gasoline demand is making gasoline less profitable, reducing crack spreads
Low gasoline demand in combination with the seasonal switch to winter-grade gasoline has made gasoline less profitable to produce, reducing the difference between gasoline blendstock and crude oil prices to multiyear lows in October 2023.
Drought at the Panama Canal delays energy shipments, increasing shipping costs
A drought is limiting ship traffic through the Panama Canal. The resulting delays caused shipping rates through the Panama Canal for Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs) to reach record highs, which increased the cost of shipping liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the United States.
Solar and wind power curtailments are rising in California
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the grid operator for most of the state, is increasingly curtailing solar- and wind-powered electricity generation as it faces the rapid growth of wind and solar power in California.
EIA forecasts winter U.S. household expenditures higher on fuel oil and lower on propane
We forecast that U.S. households that heat primarily with heating oil will spend more this winter on heating compared with last winter, but households heating primarily with propane will spend less than last winter, according to our 2023 Winter Fuels Outlook (WFO) supplement to our October Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO).
Market prices for Renewable Fuel Standard credits are falling
The prices of ethanol (D6) and biomass-based diesel (D4) renewable identification number (RIN) credits�the compliance mechanism used for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)�each fell by more than one third between September 1 and October 16, our data shows. As of October 16, biomass-based diesel RINs (D4 […]
The number of operating U.S. natural gas rigs has declined 24% since start of 2023
On October 20, the Baker Hughes Company reported 118 natural gas-directed rigs were active in the United States, a decrease of 38 rigs since the start of 2023. The decline in active drilling rigs coincides with lower natural gas prices for most of 2023, compared with relatively high natural gas prices for most of 2022.
Venezuela’s heavy crude oil output increases are limited following U.S. sanctions relief
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) effectively lifted most U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s energy sector on October 18 for six months, paving the way for additional exports of the heavy, sour crude oil the country produces. That type of crude oil has been in short supply and has had […]
Average U.S. natural gas bills expected to decrease this winter
We forecast lower average natural gas bills for U.S. consumers that heat their homes primarily with natural gas this winter heating season (November 1 to March 31) compared with last winter. The lower residential winter natural gas expenditures we forecast in the 2023 Winter Fuels Outlook supplement to our October Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) are […]
High Permian well productivity, crude oil prices drive U.S. natural gas production growth
We estimate that U.S. marketed natural gas production in the Lower 48 states (L48) will grow by 5% (5.0 billion cubic feet per day [Bcf/d]) in 2023 and 2% (1.8 Bcf/d) in 2024 in our latest Short-Term Energy Outlook. Most of the forecast growth comes from the Permian region, where we expect that improved well-level […]
U.S. summer nuclear outages rose in 2023, returning to 2021 levels
Outages of U.S. nuclear generating capacity averaged 3.1 gigawatts (GW) per day during the summer of 2023 (June 1 through August 31), a return to 2021 levels. Capacity outages this past summer exceeded those in summer 2022 by more than 25%. Nuclear capacity outages peaked in June because some reactors were still offline at the […]