2024 was a year of notable accomplishments. Check out the highlights of EIA products and programs this year.
In 2024, U.S. retail gasoline prices averaged about 20 cents less than in 2023
Note: Retail price is for all formulations of regular grade gasoline.
The U.S. retail price for regular grade gasoline averaged $3.30 per gallon (gal) in 2024, $0.21/gal less than in 2023. Lower crude oil prices and narrower refinery margins in 2024 than in 2023 both contributed to the decrease in U.S. retail gasoline prices, according to data from our Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update. From the first week of 2024 through the last week, national average weekly gasoline prices decreased $0.08/gal.
Read More ›Brent crude oil prices traded in a narrow range in 2024
Note: A front-month contract is a futures contract that is the closest to expiration.
Benchmark Brent crude oil futures prices averaged $80 per barrel (b) in 2024, $2/b less than in 2023. Intraday prices stayed within a $24/b range, between $68/b and $93/b (after rounding), which was the narrowest trading range since 2019. Adjusting the trading range for inflation, last year was the narrowest since 2003. Strong global growth in production of oil and slower demand growth put downward pressure on prices, while heightened geopolitical risks and voluntary production restrictions among OPEC+ members supported them. These offsetting factors kept oil prices within a narrow range.
Read More ›Tags: Brent, crude oil, oil/petroleum, liquid fuels, prices
China imported record amounts of crude oil in 2023
From December 26 to January 3, Today in Energy will feature some of our favorite articles from 2024. Today’s article was originally published on April 16.
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 fuel needs and produce feedstocks for its growing petrochemical industry.
Read More ›Commercial electricity demand grew fastest in states with rapid computing facility growth
From December 26 to January 3, Today in Energy will feature some of our favorite articles from 2024. Today’s article was originally published on June 28.
Consumption of electricity in the U.S. commercial sector has recovered from pandemic levels, with annual U.S. sales of electricity to commercial customers in 2023 totaling 14 billion kilowatthours (BkWh), or 1%, more than in 2019. However, the growth in commercial demand for electricity is concentrated in a handful of states experiencing rapid development of large-scale computing facilities such as data centers. Electricity demand has grown the most in Virginia, which added 14 BkWh, and Texas, which added 13 BkWh. Based on our expectation that regional electricity demand will grow, we revised our forecasts upward for commercial electricity demand through 2025 in our June Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO).
Read More ›U.S. energy production exceeded consumption by record amount in 2023
From December 26 to January 3, Today in Energy will feature some of our favorite articles from 2024. Today’s article was originally published on June 26.
In 2023, energy production in the United States rose 4% to nearly 103 quadrillion British thermal units (quads), a record. Energy consumption in the United States fell 1% to 94 quads during the same period. Production exceeded consumption by 9 quads, more than at any other time in our records, which date to 1949.
Read More ›North America’s LNG export capacity is on track to more than double by 2028
From December 26 to January 3, Today in Energy will feature some of our favorite articles from 2024. Today’s article was originally published on September 3.
Note: Export capacity shown is project's baseload capacity. Online dates of LNG export projects under construction are estimates based on trade press. LNG=liquefied natural gas; FLNG=floating liquefied natural gas
North America’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity is on track to more than double between 2024 and 2028, from 11.4 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2023 to 24.4 Bcf/d in 2028, if projects currently under construction begin operations as planned. Between 2024 and 2028, we estimate LNG export capacity will grow by 0.8 Bcf/d in Mexico, 2.5 Bcf/d in Canada, and 9.7 Bcf/d in the United States from a total of 10 new projects that are currently under construction in the three countries.
Read More ›U.S. share of electric and hybrid vehicle sales increased in the second quarter of 2024
From December 26 to January 3, Today in Energy will feature some of our favorite articles from 2024. Today’s article was originally published on August 26.
Note: EV=electric vehicles, which include both battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles
The share of electric and hybrid vehicle sales in the United States increased in the second quarter of 2024 (2Q24) after a slight decline in 1Q24. Combined U.S. sales of hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) increased from 17.8% of total new light-duty vehicle (LDV) sales in 1Q24 to 18.7% in 2Q24, according to estimates from Wards Intelligence.
Read More ›Solar and battery storage to make up 81% of new U.S. electric-generating capacity in 2024
From December 26 to January 3, Today in Energy will feature some of our favorite articles from 2024. Today’s article was originally published on February 15.
Developers and power plant owners plan to add 62.8 gigawatts (GW) of new utility-scale electric-generating capacity in 2024, according to our latest Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. This addition would be 55% more added capacity than the 40.4 GW added in 2023 (the most since 2003) and points to a continued rise in industry activity. We expect solar to account for the largest share of new capacity in 2024, at 58%, followed by battery storage, at 23%.
Read More ›Tags: nuclear, natural gas, generation, electricity, storage, wind, solar, map, capacity
United States produces more crude oil than any country, ever
From December 26 to January 3, Today in Energy will feature some of our favorite articles from 2024. Today’s article was originally published on March 11.
The United States produced more crude oil than any nation at any time, according to our International Energy Statistics, for the past six years in a row. Crude oil production in the United States, including condensate, averaged 12.9 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2023, breaking the previous U.S. and global record of 12.3 million b/d, set in 2019. Average monthly U.S. crude oil production established a monthly record high in December 2023 at more than 13.3 million b/d.
Read More ›Improved efficiency is enabling record U.S. crude oil production from fewer rigs
Note: The production values do not include Alaska or offshore production.
Crude oil production in the U.S. Lower 48 (L48) states, which excludes Alaska and offshore production, reached a record 11.3 million barrels per day (b/d) in November 2024, according to our estimate in the latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) published on December 10. Crude oil production in the L48 states increased 3% year over year despite fewer active rigs in most major producing regions, demonstrating gains in operational efficiency.
Read More ›Virginia was the top net electricity recipient of any state in 2023
Electricity routinely flows among the Lower 48 states, with almost 10% of U.S. electricity generation traded across state lines. Generation of electricity exceeds its consumption in 25 states, and excess electricity is transmitted across state lines. In 2023, utilities in Virginia brought in the most electricity from other states, with 50.1 million megawatthours (MWh) in net electricity interstate receipts, or 36% of the state’s total electricity supply. Generators in Pennsylvania moved the most electricity outside state borders in 2023, with 83.4 million MWh of power shipped out, or 26% of generation in Pennsylvania.
Read More ›Tags: states, electricity, map, generation, consumption/demand, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Illinois, California
India to surpass China as the top source of global oil consumption growth in 2024 and 2025
India has emerged as the leading source of growth in global oil consumption in 2024 and 2025, overtaking China this year, according to our December Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). China’s oil consumption grew by more than India’s in almost every year from 1998 through 2023, with China’s oil consumption regularly growing more than any other country during those years.
Read More ›What are gasoline sulfur credits, and how do they work?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Gasoline Sulfur program sets limits on the sulfur content of gasoline sold in the United States, with the aim of reducing a variety of vehicle emissions. The program relies on tradable credits that allow U.S. refiners and gasoline importers to reach compliance with sulfur specifications. For the second year in a row, in 2023, gasoline suppliers obtained and retired more sulfur credits than they generated, a trend that could increase supplier compliance costs and the price of octane in gasoline if it continues.
Read More ›Above-average hurricane activity disrupted U.S. energy infrastructure in 2024
Note: Data include production from U.S. Gulf of Mexico fields in federal waters.
The 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which ran from June 1 through November 30, exhibited above-average activity with more named storms and hurricanes than usual, including several that disrupted U.S. energy infrastructure, primarily on the Gulf Coast and in the Southeast. Energy impacts from hurricanes this season were most notable in electricity markets, although Hurricanes Francine, Helene, and Rafael forced some oil and natural gas production from fields in the Gulf of Mexico to be shut in.
Read More ›Tags: natural gas, weather, liquid fuels, crude oil, oil/petroleum
What is the shoulder season in electricity markets?
Electricity consumption in the U.S. Lower 48 states is highly seasonal; the demand for electricity peaks in the summer and the winter in response to more extreme temperatures and decreases in the spring and fall, in the so-called shoulder seasons, when weather is generally milder. Electric utilities and owners of power-generating assets perform maintenance on power plants during shoulder seasons because of less electricity demand that means that the system generally doesn’t need to be operating at full capacity.
Read More ›Tags: generation, consumption/demand, electricity