August 18, 2014 China relies heavily on domestic coal (and to a lesser extent oil) to meet rising energy consumption. To reduce air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions, the Chinese government is attempting to replace some of the country's coal and oil use with natural gas. Natural gas accounted for only 4.9% of China's total energy consumption in 2012, but large investments in domestic natural gas production and infrastructure, along with growing imports, are likely to underpin a significantly larger role in the future. The Chinese government anticipates increasing its natural gas share of total energy consumption to around 8% by the end of 2015 and 10% by 2020. China more than tripled natural gas production since 2003, producing 3.8 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2012, and the government is targeting production to reach about 5.5 Tcf of natural gas per year by the end of 2015. Most of the anticipated...

EIA projects that natural gas-fired electric power sector generation in the contiguous United States will increase to 1,600 million megawatthours (MWh) by 2040, a 1.3% average annual increase. This growth is spread throughout the Lower 48 states, and the reasons for the growth vary by region. For the United States, increasing natural gas supply results in unexpected future growth in natural gas-fired electric generation, particularly after 2020. Total U.S. natural gas production increases 56% from 2012 to 2040, largely because of the development of shale gas, tight gas, and offshore natural gas resources. The three regions with the highest growth in natural gas-fired generation, SERC , RFC , and WECC , also have the highest overall amounts of coal-fired generation. Coal-fired generation still grows significantly in SERC Reliability Corporation (SERC) and ReliabilityFirst Corporation (RFC), despite significant retirements of coal-fired capacity, and the increased cost of building new coal-fired facilities. In the...

August 14, 2014 India's dependence on imported fossil fuels rose to 38% in 2012, despite the country having significant domestic fossil fuel resources. India ranked as the fourth-largest energy consumer in the world in 2011, following China, the United States, and Russia. The country's energy demand continues to climb as a result of its dynamic economic growth and modernization. India is the third-largest economy on a purchasing power parity basis and has the world's second-largest population, according to World Bank data. As India modernizes and the population moves to urban areas, the country has shifted from using traditional biomass and waste to relying on other energy sources, including fossil fuels. India's newly elected government, with the Bharatiya Janat Party as the majority party, faces challenges to meet the country's growing energy demand, to secure affordable energy supplies, and to attract investment for domestic hydrocarbon production and infrastructure development. Petroleum and other...

August 13, 2014 Steam coal imports at electric power plants have fallen significantly from their peak level of more than 30 million tons in 2007 to less than 7 million in 2013. The number of plants using imported coal similarly fell from a peak of 48 in 2006 to 13 in 2013. Preliminary data for the first five months of 2014 indicate an increase in both imports and the number of plants taking imports, but both are still well below 2007 levels. Coal imports, mainly from Colombia but also from countries including Venezuela, Indonesia, and Canada, remain a small component of overall U.S. coal consumption—only 3% during the peak year of 2007 and less than 1% in 2013. Although the United States has abundant supplies of domestic coal, some power plants along the East Coast and the Gulf Coast receive imported coal. Imported coal accounted for between 25% and 50% of...

August 12, 2014 The Utica Region in eastern Ohio, one of the fastest growing natural gas production areas in the United States, has been added to the Drilling Productivity Report (DPR). Total natural gas production in the Utica Region, which includes production from the Utica and Point Pleasant formations as well as legacy production from conventional reservoirs, has increased from 155 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) in January 2012 to an estimated 1.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in September 2014. Utica formation drilling activity has been primarily focused in eastern Ohio since mid-2012, although the geologic formation extends into Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Some producers are successfully targeting the Utica formation in northern West Virginia, but these wells fall within the existing DPR Marcellus Region. The DPR analyzes all drilling and production within geographic areas in order to capture total production volumes supplied to the...

August 11, 2014 Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, with data from Bloomberg and SNL Energy Note: Lines represent best-fit fourth-order polynomial equations based on a scatter plot of temperatures observed at major airports in each city, and prices at nearby market hubs. Best-fit lines do not extend to cover the entire range of all temperature and price observations. Spot prices are by delivery date. Natural gas spot prices fluctuate throughout the year in response to several factors, including weather, production levels, supply interruptions, pipeline constraints, inventory levels, and the availability of other energy sources. Temperature changes, more than any other factor, most frequently correlate with natural gas spot price movements. Natural gas demand and, in turn, natural gas prices in the spot market, will generally rise as temperatures move further away from 60 degrees Fahrenheit, as more natural gas is needed for space heating as temperatures cool and for...

This week the White House is hosting the first-ever U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit , a gathering that includes 51 African leaders.  The Summit offers the opportunity to strengthen U.S.-African ties, and is focusing on a number of important issues like trade, investment, African security and democratic development. Energy development is an area of importance to both the U.S. and African countries. And that’s especially true when it comes to helping Africa sustainably develop its energy potential. That’s why last year President Obama announced the Power Africa initiative – a $7 billion commitment to double access to power in sub-Saharan Africa. As part of this new engagement with Africa, the Department of Energy (DOE) has been working with African leaders to pursue ways to sustainably develop African energy resources.  In June, Secretary Ernest Moniz and the Office of Fossil Energy’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS) Christopher Smith attended a U.S.-Africa energy ministerial meeting...

The National Sequestration Education Center (NSEC) kicked off a global workshop on carbon capture and storage (CCS) today in Decatur, Illinois. The two-day “International Workshop on Public Education, Training and Community Outreach for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage,” which is sponsored in part by the Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), will feature cutting edge tools and techniques for public education, training and outreach on CCS.  CCS is the process of capturing and storing or re-using carbon dioxide (CO2) from coal-fired power plants and industrial sources.  It’s an important part of the president’s plan to address climate change and secure America’s energy future. Over the next two days, attendees will learn more about CCS through presentations by experts from NETL and other U.S. and international organizations; examine effective methods for public education and outreach; and get a first-hand look at a nearby CCS project.  By the end of...