EIA projects U.S. energy-related CO2 emissions will remain near current level through 2050
Carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. energy consumption will remain near current levels through 2050, according to projections in EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook 2019. The AEO2019 Reference case, which reflects no changes to current laws and regulations and extends current trends in technology, projects that U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will be 5,019 million metric tons in 2050, or 4% below their 2018 value, as emissions associated with coal and petroleum consumption fall and emissions from natural gas consumption rise.
U.S. renewable electricity generation has doubled since 2008
Renewable generation provided a new record of 742 million megawatthours (MWh) of electricity in 2018, nearly double the 382 million MWh produced in 2008. Renewables provided 17.6% of electricity generation in the United States in 2018.
Tags: generation, electricity, renewables
The U.S. Gulf Coast became a net exporter of crude oil in late 2018
In the last two months of 2018, the U.S. Gulf Coast exported more crude oil than it imported. Monthly net trade of crude oil in the Gulf Coast region (the difference between gross exports and gross imports) fell from a high in early 2007 of 6.6 million barrels per day (b/d) of net imports to 0.4 million b/d of net exports in December 2018. As gross exports of crude oil from the Gulf Coast hit a record 2.3 million b/d, gross imports of crude oil to the Gulf Coast in December—at slightly less than 2.0 million b/d—were the lowest level since March 1986.
U.S. Gulf Coast refinery demand for hydrogen increasingly met by merchant suppliers
Petroleum refineries in the U.S. Gulf Coast increasingly rely on merchant suppliers, rather than their own production, to provide the hydrogen used to reduce the sulfur content of fuel. As global demand for distillate fuel oil has increased and sulfur content regulations have become more stringent, refineries have needed to use more hydrogen. Hydrogen demand is expected to continue to rise as International Maritime Organization regulations that limit the sulfur content in marine fuels take effect on January 1, 2020.
U.S. natural gas production hit a new record high in 2018
U.S. natural gas production grew by 10.0 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2018, an 11% increase from 2017. The growth was the largest annual increase in production on record, reaching a record high for the second consecutive year. U.S. natural gas production measured as gross withdrawals averaged 101.3 Bcf/d in 2018, the highest volume on record, according to EIA’s Monthly Crude Oil, Lease Condensate, and Natural Gas Production Report. U.S. natural gas production measured as marketed production and dry natural gas production also reached record highs at 89.6 Bcf/d and 83.4 Bcf/d, respectively.
The United States imports and exports substantial volumes of petroleum
U.S. net trade of petroleum, which includes crude oil, petroleum products, and natural gas plant liquids, has fallen in recent years, reaching 2.3 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2018. This level is the lowest level of net petroleum trade (imports minus exports) since 1967. At the same time, total U.S. gross petroleum trade (imports plus exports) have reached an all-time high of 17.5 million b/d in 2018. The result has been a growing role for the United States in world petroleum trade.
Tags: exports/imports, liquid fuels, oil/petroleum
Increases in natural gas production from Appalachia affect natural gas flows
The 2019 Annual Energy Outlook (AEO2019) Reference case shows continued growth of natural gas production in the Mid-Atlantic and Ohio region from the Marcellus and Utica formations, resulting in increases of natural gas being transported to the Eastern Midwest and, ultimately, into the South Central region, which includes the Gulf Coast and Texas.
More than 60% of electric generating capacity installed in 2018 was fueled by natural gas
Based on EIA’s December 2018 monthly electric generator inventory of utility-scale generation, 31.3 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity were added in the United States in 2018 and 18.7 GW of capacity were retired. The 2018 annual capacity additions were the largest since 48.8 GW were added in 2003. Most of the additions happened in the second half of the year, while the retirements occurred mostly in the first half.
Tags: coal, electricity, natural gas, renewables, retirements, wind, hydroelectric, solar, capacity
New U.S. power plants expected to be mostly natural gas combined-cycle and solar PV
EIA’s long-term projections show that most of the electricity generating capacity additions installed in the United States through 2050 will be natural gas combined-cycle and solar photovoltaic (PV). Onshore wind looks to be competitive in only a few regions before the legislated phase-out of the production tax credit (PTC), but it becomes competitive later in the projection period as demand increases and the cost for installing wind turbines continues to decline.
Tags: generation, electricity, natural gas, power plants, solar
U.S. natural gas processing plant capacity and throughput have increased in recent years
EIA estimates that between 2014 and 2017 natural gas processing capacity and processing throughput increased by about 5% on a net basis in the Lower 48 states, even as the number of individual plants declined. Natural gas processing plant utilization rates stayed constant at 66% from 2014 to 2017, but several states experienced significant changes, largely reflecting changes in natural gas production across regions.
Tags: natural gas, capacity, map