Proved reserves of natural gas fell 4% in the United States during 2020
Because of lower natural gas prices in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. operators reported that proved natural gas reserves in 2020 declined by 4% to 473.3 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), according to our Proved Reserves of Crude Oil and Natural Gas in the United States, Year-End 2020 report.
Tags: reserves, natural gas, map
Stand-alone natural gas wells driving new growth in Saudi Arabia’s natural gas production
Saudi Arabia’s dry natural gas production reached an average of 11 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) for the first time in 2020, a 30% increase from 2010. Oil production cuts related to the December 2016 OPEC+ agreement have reduced Saudi Arabia’s associated natural gas production (natural gas produced as a by-product of oil production). However, the country’s total natural gas output has steadily grown over the past two decades because of the development of non-associated, or stand-alone, natural gas fields.
CO2 emissions allowance prices increased in latest RGGI auction
The most recent Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) quarterly auction (held on December 1, 2021) resulted in a clearing price of $13.00 per allowance, surpassing the previous auction’s record price of $9.30 per allowance. Each allowance represents a limited authorization for power plants to emit one short ton of CO2.
Tags: emissions, CO2 (carbon dioxide)
EIA expects U.S. fossil fuel production to reach new highs in 2023
After declining in 2020, the combined production of U.S. fossil fuels (including natural gas, crude oil, and coal) increased by 2% in 2021 to 77.14 quadrillion British thermal units. Based on forecasts in our latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we expect U.S. fossil fuel production to continue rising in both 2022 and 2023, surpassing production in 2019, to reach a new record in 2023.
EIA expects U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to increase in 2022 and 2023
In our latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, we forecast that U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will increase in both 2022 and 2023 but remain below 2019 levels. In 2020, U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions decreased by 11% as energy use declined during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the U.S. economy began to return to pre-COVID activity, CO2 emissions increased by an estimated 6% in 2021. We expect increasing economic activity, along with other factors, will result in those emissions increasing by another 2% in 2022 and remaining virtually flat in 2023.
In 2021, 14 petroleum liquids pipeline projects were completed in the United States
In 2021, pipeline companies completed 14 petroleum liquids pipelines projects in the United States, according to our recently updated Liquids Pipeline Projects Database. This total includes seven crude oil pipeline projects and seven hydrocarbon gas liquids pipeline projects; no petroleum product pipeline projects were completed last year.
New renewable power plants are reducing U.S. electricity generation from natural gas
In our January Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast that rising electricity generation from renewable energy resources such as solar and wind will reduce generation from fossil fuel-fired power plants over the next two years. The forecast share of generation for U.S. non-hydropower renewable sources, including solar and wind, grows from 13% in 2021 to 17% in 2023. We forecast that the share of generation from natural gas will fall from 37% in 2021 to 34% by 2023 and the coal share will decline from 23% to 22%.
EIA forecasts natural gas prices to remain near $4/MMBtu in 2022, slightly lower in 2023
In our January Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast that the natural gas spot price at the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub will average $3.79 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2022, slightly less than its 2021 average of $3.91/MMBtu. Natural gas prices increased between March and early October 2021, but they declined in the last three months of the year. We expect natural gas prices to decline slightly in 2023, averaging $3.63/MMBtu, as growth in dry natural gas production outpaces growth in domestic demand and exports.
EIA expects gasoline and diesel prices to fall in 2022 and 2023 as demand growth slows
In our latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, we expect regular gasoline retail prices to average $3.06/gal in 2022, up from $3.00/gal in 2021, and then down to $2.80/gal in 2023. We expect on-highway diesel prices to increase to average $3.33/gal in 2022 before decreasing to $3.27/gal in 2023. In our forecast, annual average diesel demand reaches 2019 levels in the United States in 2022.
EIA forecasts crude oil prices will fall in 2022 and 2023
In our January 2022 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast that crude oil prices will fall from 2021 levels. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the price of Brent crude oil, the international pricing benchmark, averaged $79 per barrel (b). We forecast that the price of Brent will average $75/b in 2022 and $68/b in 2023.