RSS feed source: US Energy Information Administration

In-depth analysis

March 13, 2025

U.S. propane exports averaged a record 1.8 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2024, the most since we began collecting this data in 1973. U.S. propane exports increased for each of the last 17 years, with growth driven by higher demand in East Asia, mainly China, and a widening propane price differential between U.S. and global benchmarks.

Propane is consumed globally in the residential and commercial sectors for uses such as space heating. It’s also used as a petrochemical feedstock to produce propylene and ethylene, key feedstocks in plastic production.

Record U.S. propane production has supported the rise in propane exports. Propane production, which is a byproduct of natural gas processing and crude oil refining, has increased rapidly over the past 10 years as U.S. natural gas output has grown. Higher

Click this link to continue reading the article on the source website.

RSS feed source: US Energy Information Administration

In-brief analysis

March 12, 2025

In the United States, cumulative utility-scale battery storage capacity exceeded 26 gigawatts (GW) in 2024, according to our January 2025 Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. Generators added 10.4 GW of new battery storage capacity in 2024, the second-largest generating capacity addition after solar. Even though battery storage capacity is growing fast, in 2024 it was only 2% of the 1,230 GW of utility-scale electricity generating capacity in the United States.

In 2025, capacity growth from battery storage could set a record as operators report plans to add 19.6 GW of utility-scale battery storage to the grid, according to our January 2025 preliminary electric generator inventory data.

Battery storage systems are not a primary electricity source, meaning the technology does not create electricity from a fuel or natural resource. Instead, batteries store

Click this link to continue reading the article on the source website.

RSS feed source: US Energy Information Administration

In-brief analysis

March 11, 2025

Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Liquefaction Capacity File; trade press
Note: Commissioning refers to the stage in LNG export facility development from the start of LNG exports to full production capacity. Bcf/d=billion cubic feet per day; LNG=liquefied natural gas

In February 2025, Corpus Christi Stage 3, an expansion of the existing Corpus Christi liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility, produced its first LNG cargo, according to the developer Cheniere Energy. Corpus Christ Stage 3 started producing LNG in December 2024. The start of LNG exports from Corpus Christi Stage 3 follows shortly after the start of exports from another U.S. LNG export facility—Plaquemines LNG Phase 1—also in December.

The Corpus Christi Stage 3 expansion facility, located next to the existing Corpus Christi LNG terminal in San Patricio County, Texas, consists

Click this link to continue reading the article on the source website.

RSS feed source: US Energy Information Administration

In-brief analysis

March 6, 2025

The United States is exporting record volumes of normal butane as global demand for liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) surges. U.S. normal butane exports averaged nearly 500,000 barrels per day (b/d) in 2024, a 12% increase from the previous year, and have increased every year since 2006.

Butane is used residentially and commercially as a fuel, primarily for cooking. It’s also used as a gasoline blendstock during the winter and as a base chemical to make rubbers and plastics. Butane can also be converted to isobutane through isomerization, a key process for producing high octane gasoline components.

Butane is similar to propane; both are considered LPGs. LPGs are byproducts of natural gas processing and crude oil refining. U.S. LPG production has grown rapidly with the increase in natural gas production, especially in

Click this link to continue reading the article on the source website.