In the last ten days of December, the U.S. Energy Information Administration published another Monthly Energy Review, which presented statistical data for the nine months of the last year on the production and consumption of major types of energy products in the United States.
In the last decade, the country has made a giant breakthrough in natural gas production and has become one of the world leaders and net exporters of this type of product. For oil, this is true to a lesser extent, as US dependence on crude oil imports remains substantial. Although not by much, coal production volumes exceed the declining volumes of local consumption.
The table below shows the annual data from said review converted to quarterly figures (Q). The table also includes data for the third quarter of the previous year for an adequate comparison.
Production of energy products in the US, 3Q 2021- 3Q 2022
| Energy Indicator/Q | 3Q 2021 | 4Q 2021 | 1Q 2022 | 2Q 2022 | 3Q 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crude Oil, Field Production (Average, Thousand Barrels per Day) | 11181 | 11664 | 11462 | 11698 | 12030 |
| Crude Oil, Refinery and Blender Net Inputs (Average, Thousand Barrels per Day) | 16742 | 17921 | 17534 | 18836 | 18917 |
| Dry Natural Gas Production (Billion Cubic Feet) | 8783 | 8969 | 8558 | 8880 | 9127 |
| Natural Gas Exports, Total (Billion Cubic Feet) | 1666 | 1723 | 1794 | 1751 | 1637 |
| Coal Production (Thousand Short Tons) | 148272 | 146355 | 148992 | 145659 | 154270 |
| Electricity Net Generation (Billion Kilowatthours) | 1167 | 970 | 1029 | 1026 | 1188 |
Source: Based on U.S. Energy Information Administration
As follows from the statistical data presented in the table, in the third quarter of 2022, impressive growth results were achieved in almost all positions, both in comparison with the previous quarter, and in comparison with the same quarter of 2021. Thus, for example, dry natural gas production in 3Q 2022 was almost 4% higher than in 3Q 2021, crude oil production grew by more than 7.5%, and electricity generation by almost 1.8%. Growth in oil supplies to refineries was particularly noticeable (13%). It should be noted that the peak values for oil did not decrease during October - November 2022. The only downtrend item in this table is natural gas exports. However, it is obvious that this is purely related to technical problems, namely, the June accident at Freeport LNG, which used to provide up to 20% of the production of liquefied natural gas in the United States.
This may be the reason for the significant rise in consumption of natural gas for electricity generation in 3Q 2022, as shown in the figure below. At the same time, generation of electricity by nuclear and hydropower plants looks relatively stable. Also, in 3Q 2022, compared to the previous quarter, there is a traditional decrease in wind power generation and, conversely, an increase in solar power generation. Despite quarterly fluctuations, there is a general decrease in the production of electricity by coal-fired power plants.
Electric power generation in the US by source type in 3Q 2021 - 3Q 2022
Source: Based on U.S. Energy Information Administration
Thus, in 3Q 2022, the share of natural gas in electricity generation increased by more than 4%, and for solar collectors – by 0.7%, compared to the same quarter the previous year. At the same time, the share of coal-fired generation decreased by 4.5%.
Percentage of electric power generation by source type in 3Q 2021 and 3Q 2022
Source: Based on U.S. Energy Information Administration
The provided data demonstrate reasonable optimism in the opposition between two polar opinions assuming a long-term recession on the one hand, and gradual overcoming of its signs on the other, at least for the USA and only in terms of the energy sector data. However, it should be borne in mind that the share of the United States in world production is very significant, and energy is a good indicator of the state of industrial production.
