Short-Term Energy Outlook Notice

Released: February 8, 2022

Beginning with the February STEO, we will publish new forecasts for biodiesel, renewable diesel, and other biofuels. Other biofuels include fuels such as renewable jet fuel and renewable naphtha. For each of these fuels, we will provide data on production, consumption, and net imports. We added these series in Table 10.4 of the Monthly Energy Review (MER) in mid-2021.

A summary of the variable changes is available on the STEO variable change page. You can access the series by using the STEO custom table builder and choosing the Customize Table menu on the right side of the page. Next, select U.S. Petroleum and Other Liquids, and then select Biofuels.

In previous versions of STEO, we reported data for biomass-based diesel, which for net imports included both biodiesel and renewable diesel volumes, and domestic production included only biodiesel. We then calculated consumption of biomass-based diesel based on production and net imports, which resulted in biomass-based diesel consumption that represented domestically produced and imported volumes of biodiesel and only imported volumes of renewable diesel (not domestically produced renewable diesel). The old biomass-based diesel series used the series IDs (BDxxxx). Those series IDs will now be used for the new biodiesel-only series, and the new renewable diesel series will be using a new series ID (RDxxxx).

Related to this change, we added a line for consumption (product supplied) of other hydrocarbons and oxygenates in Table 4a of STEO. Consumption of other hydrocarbons and oxygenates had previously been included with other oils in the consumption section of Table 4a.

Product supplied of other hydrocarbons and oxygenates is a category that includes biodiesel, renewable diesel, and other biofuels, which in the Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM) are collectively called renewable fuels excluding fuel ethanol. In the PSM, product supplied of renewable fuels (excluding fuel ethanol) plus refinery and blender net inputs of renewable fuels (excluding fuel ethanol) is equal to the consumption of biodiesel, renewable diesel, and other biofuels as reported in MER.

Please email us if you have questions about these changes.