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United States' legislation on oil security
…means for verification of energy data, and to conserve water by improving water efficiency of certain plumbing products and appliances (EPCA section 2).In addition to the SPR, the US Congress amended EPCA in 2000 to establish a separate Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve (NEHHOR), in an effort to ensure the uninterrupted supply of home heating oil to several US States (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey) in the country’s Northeast (EPCA section 181).Federal and State government activities and responses to all hazards impacting the energy sector are largely consistent…
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Capturing the energy beneath our feet
Today in the Lab – Tomorrow in Energy? shines a spotlight on research projects under development in the Technology Collaboration Programmes (TCPs). Learn more about the initiative, read the launch commentary, or explore the TCPs. Developing, testing and accelerating breakthroughs in enhanced geothermal systems technologies What is the aim of this project?The Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) is a dedicated underground field laboratory in Utah, United States, that is developing, testing and accelerating breakthroughs in enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) technologies to advance the uptake of geothermal resources around the world.FORGE’s mission is to enable cutting…
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Green stimulus after the 2008 crisis
…policy support were applied too early, and hopes for a manufacturing value chain did not materialise.Energy efficiency policies were and should remain one of the focus areas of green stimulus programmes. The most successful examples combined ambitious policy funding with standardisation, “plug and play” efficiency options and an appropriate consideration of the availability of skilled labour and industrial capability. The overall policy design needs to pay attention to broad impacts on energy security and social inequality. Introduction The 2008-09 global financial crisis led to a global squeeze on credit and fragile financial markets, which brought about a deep…
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The Potential of Behavioural Interventions for Optimising Energy Use at Home
…behaviour and encourage investments in structural improvements. This article focuses on the potential for enhancing energy efficiency with policies and programmes designed to educate consumers and encourage them to alter their daily habits – without resorting to large-scale structural improvements. This focus is motivated by the observation that interventions aimed at promoting behavioural change are often cheaper to implement relative to policies that seek to encourage investment. Such measures also tend to be relatively quick to design and implement. What are behavioural interventions and how can behavioural insights enhance the impact of energy efficiency policy? Behavioural interventions are policies and…
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Fuel economy in the United States
Market profile and analysis of fuel consumption trends In 2019, slightly more than 16 million light-duty vehicles (LDVs) were sold in the United States. With an average fuel consumption of 8.6 litres of gasoline equivalent (Lge/ 100 km) for new LDVs in 2019, the United States is 20% above the global average. While fuel consumption of LDVs decreased on average by 2.1% per year from 2005 to 2017, improvements have slipped backwards with fuel consumption increasing by 0.6% between 2018 and 2019. The lapse in fuel consumption reductions is reflected in slowing improvements in fuel economy…
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Oil Market Report - October 2024
…bbl. Oil security in focus Benchmark oil prices bounced sharply higher in early October, as potential oil supply risks once again took centre stage. Escalating tensions between Israel and Iran are fuelling fears of a broader Middle East conflict and disruptions to Iranian exports. Nevertheless, the resolution of a political dispute in Libya that briefly cut its oil exports in half, relatively modest production losses due to major hurricanes sweeping the US Gulf Coast and weak end-user demand have helped to steady markets. At the time of writing, Brent crude oil futures were trading at around $78/bbl, up…
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Oil Market Report - June 2023
…exports, while shipments to Africa, the Middle East and Latin America made up another 12%. Estimated export revenues fell by $1.4 bn to $13.3 bn, down 36% on a year ago, with average crude prices easing from $60/bbl in April to $55/bbl in May.Global refinery throughputs are forecast to increase by 1.8 mb/d in 2023 and 1 mb/d next year when it averages 83.4 mb/d. A further decline in OECD crude runs next year is more than offset by the 1.3 mb/d increase in non-OECD activity. New…
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Oil Market Report - August 2019
…in July and is set to grow by 1.9 mb/d in 2019 and 2.2 mb/d next year.After a year-on-year fall in 1H19, global refining throughput is expected to pick up in the second half of the year, increasing by 0.7 mb/d. This follows the pattern of refined product demand growth, which was subdued in 1H19, but is forecast to rebound in 2H19. In 2019, China and the Middle East are alone in seeing growth in refining activity. Highlights Global demand fell 160 kb/d y-o-y in May, the second annual fall seen in 2019…
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Oil Market Report - December 2018
…in the US, Middle East and China. Lower crude prices helped margins, although the gasoline-focused US Gulf Coast lagged behind.OECD commercial stocks rose in October for the fourth consecutive month, by 5.7 mb, to 2 872 mb. They were above the five-year average for the first time since March. NGL and feedstock inventories hit a historic high whereas fuel oil stocks fell to a record low.Having fallen by 30% since early October, oil prices stabilised with ICE Brent close to $60/bbl and NYMEX WTI at $52/bbl. Weak demand weighed on gasoline and naphtha markets. Freight rates…
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Oil Market Report - April 2018
…and in recent days have risen above $70/bbl to levels not seen since December 2014. Tension in the Middle East is a key factor alongside tighter compliance with the OPEC/non OPEC output deal.After 1Q18's peak refinery maintenance in Europe and the US, global throughput will see a seasonal ramp-up in 2Q18. From March to July, runs will increase by 3.1 mb/d, but supply of refined products will lag behind demand growth. Highlights Our forecast for global oil demand growth for 2018 is unchanged from last month's report at 1.5 mb/d. OECD demand in…