Friday 29 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : Bulk chemical feedstock use a key part of increasing industrial energy demand

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

Industrial sector energy consumption is expected to grow faster than all other sectors, according to EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2015. A large portion of both consumption and anticipated growth is in the bulk chemical industry, which is able to take advantage of increased domestic supply of natural gas, hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL), and petrochemical feedstocks.

Thursday 28 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : Renewable share of U.S. energy consumption highest since 1930s

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

Renewable energy accounted for 9.8% of total domestic energy consumption in 2014. This marks the highest renewable energy share since the 1930s, when wood was a much larger contributor to domestic energy supply

Wednesday 27 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : Under the proposed Clean Power Plan, natural gas, then renewables, gain generation share

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

EIA's recently released analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed Clean Power Plan rule shows it would result in major changes in the fuel mix used to generate electricity in the United States.

Tuesday 26 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : Under Clean Power Plan, power sector CO2 emissions fall to lowest levels since 1980s

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

In June 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from existing power plants under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. EIA's newly released analysis of the proposed rule shows power sector CO2 emissions falling to about 1,500 million metric tons per year by 2025, a level not seen since the early 1980s, in the Base Policy case.

Friday 22 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : U.S. retail gasoline prices lowest since 2009 heading into Memorial Day weekend

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

On May 18, the U.S. average retail price for gasoline was $2.74 per gallon ($/gal), or 92¢ per gallon (¢/gal) lower than at the same time last year. This is the lowest average price heading into the Memorial Day weekend—the traditional start of the summer driving season—since 2009.

Thursday 21 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : Net imports of natural gas fall to lowest level since 1987

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

U.S. net imports of natural gas decreased 9% in 2014, continuing an eight-year decline. As U.S. dry natural gas production has reached record highs, lower domestic prices have helped to displace natural gas imports. Net natural gas imports totaled 1,171 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 2014, the lowest since 1987.

Wednesday 20 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : Low crude oil prices, increased gasoline demand lead to high refiner margins

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

Gasoline crack spreads in the United States, especially on the U.S. East Coast, have reached several-year highs in recent months. Crack spreads, which reflect the difference between wholesale product prices and crude oil prices, are a good indicator of refiner profitability.

Tuesday 19 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : EIA launches redesigned International Energy Portal

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

On May 18, EIA launched a beta version of a redesigned International Energy Portal designed to help users access international energy data and to provide new and expanded tools and capabilities to examine trends in global energy markets.

Monday 18 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : Nonpetroleum share of transportation energy at highest level since 1954

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

In the United States, petroleum is by far the most-consumed transportation fuel. But recently the share of fuels other than petroleum for U.S. transportation has increased to its highest level since 1954, a time when the use of coal-fired steam locomotives was declining and automobile use was growing rapidly.

Friday 15 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : U.S. power sector CO2 emissions expected to increase through 2040

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

Although U.S. carbon dioxide emissions associated with electricity generation have fallen from the 2005 level, they are projected to increase in the coming decades, based on analysis in EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2015 that reflects current laws and regulations, and therefore does not include proposed rules such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan.

Thursday 14 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : Power generation from coal and natural gas expected to temporarily converge this spring

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

EIA's most recent Short-Term Energy Outlook forecasts that the amount of electricity generation fueled by natural gas in April and May will total just 3% less than the projected amount of coal-fired generation. This convergence has occurred only once before, in April 2012, when natural gas fueled just 1.5% less generation than coal.

Wednesday 13 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : Corn ethanol yields continue to improve

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

In 2014, U.S. fuel ethanol production reached 14.3 billion gallons of ethanol fuel, the highest level ever. The growth in U.S. fuel ethanol production has outpaced growth in corn consumed as feedstock—as the industry has grown, it has become more efficient, using fewer bushels of corn to produce a gallon of ethanol.

Tuesday 12 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : New supply patterns and additional disruptions push California gasoline prices higher

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

Supply disruptions in the tightly balanced and relatively isolated California gasoline market have increased wholesale and retail gasoline prices over the past several weeks. This comes after markets had adjusted to compensate for lost production following the February explosion and fire at ExxonMobil's refinery in Torrance, California. Average retail prices for regular gasoline in California as a whole, and in Los Angeles specifically, have increased by 57¢/gal and 63¢/gal in the past three weeks.

Monday 11 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : Projected electric capacity additions are below recent historical levels

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

In the coming decades, additions to U.S. electricity generation capacity are expected to be lower than in the recent past. In EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2015 Reference case, which reflects current laws and policies and does not include EIA's proposed Clean Power Plan, total generating capacity (including end-use generators like rooftop solar panels) increases from 1,065 gigawatts (GW) in 2013 to 1,261 GW in 2040.

Friday 8 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : Average size of new commercial buildings in United States continues to grow

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

Increases in the size of commercial buildings have outpaced increases in the number of those buildings over the past decade, according to EIA's Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey. The survey is the only nationally representative data collection for building characteristics and energy use in commercial buildings.

Thursday 7 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : Implications of higher domestic crude production for U.S. refining

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

In response to multiple requests over the past years, EIA is developing a series of analyses that address the implications of current limitations on crude oil exports for prices, including both world and domestic crude oil and petroleum product prices, and for the level of domestic crude oil production and refining activity.

Otmane El Rhazi : EIA’s CBECS is the nation's only comprehensive survey of commercial buildings

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

EIA's Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey is the only nationally representative source of statistical information on energy-related characteristics, consumption, and expenditures for the nation's 5.6 million commercial buildings. Building characteristics information from the 2012 survey is being released in stages through the spring, and consumption and expenditures data will follow later in the year.

Tuesday 5 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : Crude by rail accounts for more than half of East Coast refinery supply in February

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

Monthly rail receipts of crude oil accounted for more than half (52%) of the crude oil supply to East Coast refineries in February. As U.S. and Canadian production of crude oil has increased, crude supply by rail to East Coast (PADD 1) refineries has grown, displacing waterborne imports of crude oil from countries other than Canada, such as Nigeria

Monday 4 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : Natural gas, renewables projected to provide larger shares of electricity generation

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2015 (AEO2015) Reference case projects that electricity consumption will increase at an average annual rate of 0.8% from 2013 to 2040, nearly in line with expected population growth. Continuing a recent trend toward lower levels of carbon-intensive generation, natural gas and renewable generation meet almost all of the increase.

Friday 1 May 2015

Otmane El Rhazi : Alaska residents are paid a unique yearly dividend from state's permanent fund

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.

The Alaska Permanent Fund, established using revenues paid to the state by oil and gas producers, provides Alaska residents with an annual cash dividend, which is unique among natural resource permanent funds in the United States. In 2014, the annual dividend was $1,884 per resident, more than double the 2013 dividend and the highest since 2008.