2012 Brief: Retail gasoline prices vary significantly across the country

Retail prices for regular grade gasoline in 2012 moved over wide ranges in many parts of the country. Many factors contributed to retail gasoline price movements, including crude oil price changes, refinery outages, grade specification changes, and other changes in gasoline supply and demand. As seen in the chart above, both the levels and ranges of retail prices varied significantly across the nation.

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2012 Brief: Average 2012 crude oil prices remain near 2011 levels

Average crude oil prices in 2012 were at historically high levels for the second year in a row. Brent crude oil averaged $111.67 per barrel, slightly above the 2011 average of $111.26. West Texas Intermediate oil averaged $94.05 per barrel in 2012, down slightly from $94.88 in 2011.

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2012 Brief: Average wholesale electricity prices down compared to last year

Average, on-peak (weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.) day-ahead electricity prices were lower across the entire United States in 2012 compared to 2011. In wholesale electric regions where prices declined in both 2011 and 2012, the drops in 2012 were generally larger. Lower natural gas prices in 2012 and generally mild temperatures contributed to the 2012 declines in on-peak power prices. The large decline in average spot prices in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) region was principally because of a return to more typical pricing in 2012 compared to the significant price spike in the summer of 2011.

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2012 Brief: Average wholesale natural gas prices fell 31% in 2012

Average wholesale (spot) prices for natural gas fell significantly throughout the United States in 2012 compared to 2011. The average wholesale price for natural gas at Henry Hub in Erath, Louisiana, a key benchmark location for pricing throughout the United States, fell from an average $4.02 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) in 2011 to $2.77 per MMBtu in 2012. This was the lowest average annual price at Henry Hub since 1999.

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2012 Brief: Coal and mid-continent crude oil prices declined during 2012

Coal and mid-continent crude oil (WTI) led energy commodity price declines in 2012. Natural gas was the only key energy commodity with a significant price increase when comparing January 1 to December 31. Heating oil, Brent crude oil, and wholesale gasoline (RBOB) ended 2012 close to the level at which they started the year.

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Monthly coal- and natural gas-fired generation equal for first time in April 2012

Recently published (April 2012) electric power data show that, for the first time since EIA began collecting the data, generation from natural gas-fired plants is virtually equal to generation from coal-fired plants, with each fuel providing 32% of total generation. In April 2012, preliminary data show net electric generation from natural gas was 95.9 million megawatthours, only slightly below generation from coal, at 96.0 million megawatthours.

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Electric generator dispatch depends on system demand and the relative cost of operation

The variable operating cost of electric power generators is a key factor in determining which units a power system operates (or "dispatches") to meet the demand for electricity. Other things being equal, plants with the lowest variable operating costs are generally dispatched first, and plants with higher variable operating costs are brought on line sequentially as electricity demand increases. This sequence can be seen in an electricity supply curve—also referred to as a dispatch curve—that represents the order in which units are dispatched to meet the demand.

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Uprates can increase U.S. nuclear capacity substantially without building new reactors

Currently (as of July 2012), there are 104 commercial nuclear reactors in the United States. In 2011, these plants provided 786 billion kilowatthours of electricity, or nearly one-fifth of total generation. The electrical output of the nuclear power plant fleet can be increased either by constructing new plants or by 'uprating' operating plants. Uprating generally involves physically modifying the plant to increase its generating capacity. Since 1977, more than 6,500 megawatts-electric (MWe) of nuclear uprates have been approved, and most of these have already been implemented. Through July 10, 2012, these cumulative uprates are roughly the equivalent of constructing six new nuclear power plants.

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Horizontal drilling boosts Pennsylvania’s natural gas production

Between 2009 and 2011, Pennsylvania's natural gas production more than quadrupled due to expanded horizontal drilling combined with hydraulic fracturing. This drilling activity, which is concentrated in shale formations that cover a broad swath of the state, mirrors trends seen in the Barnett shale formation in Texas.

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Arctic oil and natural gas resources

Resource basins in the Arctic Circle region (click to enlarge)

The Arctic holds an estimated 13% (90 billion barrels) of the world's undiscovered conventional oil resources and 30% of its undiscovered conventional natural gas resources, according to an assessment conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Consideration of these resources as commercially viable is relatively recent despite the size of the Arctic's resources due to the difficulty and cost in developing Arctic oil and natural gas deposits.

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