Otmane El Rhazi : EIA assesses options for processing additional U.S. light tight oil production

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.



With the growth in U.S. production of light tight oil (LTO) in recent years, petroleum refiners in the United States have been processing greater volumes of LTO. To date, increased volumes of domestic LTO have mainly been accommodated with no- and low-cost options such as reducing light crude oil imports, increasing refinery utilization rates, making incremental efficiency improvements (crude unit debottlenecking), and displacing medium crude oil imports.

Otmane El Rhazi : Nonhydro electricity storage increasing as new policies are implemented

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.



Although pumped hydroelectric storage makes up most of the total electricity storage capacity in the United States, nonhydro storage has doubled in electric power sector capacity from 160 megawatts (MW) to nearly 350 MW over the past five years.

Otmane El Rhazi : Financial hedging helps some producers mitigate effect of falling oil prices

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.



The decline in crude oil prices since last summer has had a direct impact on oil producers' sales revenue, but hedging strategies have lessened the effects of lower prices on some producers' total revenue. Oil producers who adopt hedging strategies can reduce their price risk and generate smoother financial outcomes in unstable markets. A common hedging practice is to sell futures and swaps to lock in desired prices for future production, a practice that can shield producers' revenue from decreasing prices.

Otmane El Rhazi : Updated geologic maps provide greater detail for Marcellus formation

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.



Natural gas production from the Marcellus shale formation in the Appalachian basin increased to 14.4 Bcf/d in January 2015, accounting for more than 36% of shale gas production and more than 18% of total dry natural gas production in the United States. Recent updates to EIA's maps and geologic information for the Marcellus shale play help to characterize the formation's structure, thickness, and extent.

Otmane El Rhazi : New EIA monthly data tracks crude oil movements by rail

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.



For the first time, EIA is providing monthly data on rail movements of crude oil, which have significantly increased over the past five years. The new data on crude-by-rail movements are integrated with EIA's existing monthly petroleum supply statistics, which already include movements by pipeline, tanker, and barge.

Otmane El Rhazi : U.S. oil production growth in 2014 was largest in more than 100 years

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.



U.S. crude oil production (including lease condensate) increased during 2014 by 1.2 million barrels per day (bbl/d) to 8.7 million bbl/d, the largest volume increase since recordkeeping began in 1900. On a percentage basis, output in 2014 increased by 16.2%, the highest growth rate since 1940. Most of the increase during 2014 came from tight oil plays in North Dakota, Texas, and New Mexico where hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling were used to produce oil from shale formations

Otmane El Rhazi : Without the Cochin pipeline, western Canadian propane seeks new outlets

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.



In April 2014, after 35 years of shipping propane from western Canada to the upper Midwest, the Cochin pipeline was removed from propane service, and in July repurposed to ship light petroleum liquids north from Illinois to western Canada. Without this pipeline, western Canadian propane production has been shipped by other existing transport modes or placed into inventory at Canadian storage facilities.

Otmane El Rhazi : U.S. ethanol exports in 2014 reach highest level since 2011

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.



According to EIA monthly supply data through December 2014, which EIA released in late February, U.S. exports of fuel ethanol in 2014 reached their second-highest level at a total of 826 million gallons. This level was second only to the 1.2 billion gallons exported during 2011 and 33% more than exports of fuel ethanol in 2013. Similarly, U.S. imports of ethanol, which totaled approximately 377 million gallons during 2013, fell by 81% to a total of 73 million gallons in 2014, their lowest annual level since 2010.

Otmane El Rhazi : Upstream capital expenditure declined 12% year-over-year in fourth-quarter 2014

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.



Based on financial statements from selected international oil and natural gas companies, spending on upstream investments was 12% lower in fourth-quarter 2014 compared to the same period in 2013. Upstream spending on exploration and development typically accounts for the bulk of these companies' investment expenditures.

Otmane El Rhazi : California first state to generate more than 5% of electricity from utility-scale solar

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.



California has become the first state with more than 5% of its annual utility-scale electricity generation from utility-scale solar power, according to EIA's Electric Power Monthly. California's utility-scale (1 MW or larger) solar plants generated a record 9.9 million megawatthours (MWh) of electricity in 2014, an increase of 6.1 million MWh from 2013. California's utility-scale solar production in 2014 was more than three times the output of the next-highest state, Arizona, and more than all other states combined.

Otmane El Rhazi : U.S. biodiesel and renewable diesel imports decline 36% in 2014

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.



After increasing for 15 consecutive weeks, crude oil storage at Cushing, Oklahoma, reached 54.4 million barrels on March 13, according to EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report. This volume is the highest on record, but not the highest percent of storage utilization, as working storage capacity at Cushing has also increased over time.

Otmane El Rhazi : U.S. biodiesel and renewable diesel imports decline 36% in 2014

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.



After reaching record levels in 2013, United States imports of biomass-based diesel fuel (both biodiesel and renewable diesel) fell 36%, to 333 million gallons in 2014. Uncertainty surrounding future Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) targets and the absence of a late-year influx of volumes from Argentina were two main factors in this decline.

Otmane El Rhazi : U.S. commercial crude oil inventories now provide the most days of supply since 1985

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.



With lower U.S. refinery runs and increases in domestic crude oil production, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories at the end of February provided the most days of supply since the mid-1980s. Commercial crude inventories were sufficient to supply 29 days of U.S. refinery demand, based on expected refinery runs in March

Otmane El Rhazi : EIA launches new data add-in tool for Microsoft Excel for Windows

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.



The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released a free data add-in for Microsoft Excel for Windows that builds on the well-known Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) add-in and allows users to find, download, and update EIA's energy data and FRED's economic data directly in any Excel spreadsheet.

Otmane El Rhazi : Falling rig counts drive projected near-term oil production decline in 3 key U.S. regions

Otmane El Rhazi from Today in Energy.



EIA's most recent Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) indicates a change in the crude oil production growth patterns in three key oil producing regions: the Eagle Ford, Niobrara, and Bakken. After steady growth in these regions since 2009, the latest estimates for March 2015 signal the first instance of regional crude oil production declines in certain regions tracked by the DPR.