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Europe's Energy Security: Options and Challenges to Natural Gas Supply Diversification [Updated November 5, 2015]
From the Summary: "This report focuses on potential approaches that Europe might employ to diversify its sources of natural gas supply, Russia's role in Europe's natural gas policies, and key factors that could hinder efforts to develop alternative suppliers of natural gas. The report assesses the potential suppliers of natural gas to Europe and the short-to medium-term obstacles to those suppliers becoming credible, long-term providers. The report looks at North Africa, potentially the most realistic supply alternative in the near term, but notes that the region faces political, economic, and security instability and problems in the internal structure of the natural gas industry. Central Asia, which may have the greatest amounts of natural gas of any of the alternatives to Russia, would need to construct lengthy pipelines through multiple countries to move its natural gas to Europe."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Ratner, Michael; Belkin, Paul; Nelson, Gabriel M. . . .
2015-11-05
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Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR): An Overview [January 9, 2018]
"This report discusses the Refuge's legislative history (including Native claims and congressional actions from the 109th to the 115th Congresses), energy resources (including relevant market forces and potential oil and gas resources), Native interests and subsistence uses, and biological resources, as well as issues for Congress related to development under P.L. 115-97."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Comay, Laura B.; Ratner, Michael; Crafton, Eliot R.
2018-01-09
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U.S. Crude Oil Export Policy: Background and Considerations [March 26, 2014]
"During an era of oil price controls and following the 1973 Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries oil embargo, Congress passed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA), which directs the President 'to promulgate a rule prohibiting the export of crude oil' produced in the United States. Crude oil export restrictions are codified in the Export Administration Regulations administered by the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)--a Commerce Department agency. The President has some powers to allow certain crude oil exports if an exemption is determined to be in the national interest. In 2009, a decades-long U.S. oil production decline was reversed due to the application of advanced drilling and extraction technologies to produce tight oil. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2014 reference case projects that total U.S. crude production will be 9.6 million barrels per day by 2019--up from 7.7 million in 2013. Nearly all of this growth is expected to come from tight oil production. This anticipated growth is resulting in calls to lift or otherwise ease U.S. crude oil export restrictions. However, crude oil imports are projected to range from 6 million to nearly 8 million barrels per day for the period out to 2040. This apparent disconnect between import needs and the desire to export can be explained when considering the following: (1) geographic location of tight oil, (2) tight oil quality characteristics, (3) refinery configurations, (4) oil transportation network, and (5) price discounts in different regions."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Brown, Phillip (Specialist in Energy Policy); Pirog, Robert L.; Vann, Adam . . .
2014-03-26
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China's Natural Gas: Uncertainty for Markets [May 2, 2016]
"China could potentially be a much larger producer and consumer of natural gas than it is now. Despite China's pollution problems and international environmental commitments, the role of natural gas in China's energy mix remains relatively low, particularly compared to the United States. China has announced big plans for its natural gas development and use, but the changes will require significant investment in exploration, production, infrastructure, and consumption. With a slowing economy, China may not be in a position in the short-term to undertake these investments. China's natural gas plans have implications for a number of issues in which Congress has expressed a strong interest. Those issues include the prospects for U.S. hydrocarbon exports to China, prospects for U.S. energy companies' investments in China, Chinese investment in the U.S. energy sector, China's ability to meet its global commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to combat climate change, and China's plans for disputed waters in the South China Sea, which may contain hydrocarbon resources, among other topics."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Nelson, Gabriel M.; Lawrence, Susan V.; Ratner, Michael
2016-05-02
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LNG as a Maritime Fuel: Prospects and Policy [Updated February 5, 2019]
From the Document: "The combination of growing supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and new requirements for less polluting fuels in the international maritime shipping industry has heightened interest in LNG as a maritime fuel. For decades, LNG tanker ships have been capable of burning boil-off gas from their LNG cargoes as a secondary fuel. However, using LNG as a primary fuel is a relatively new endeavor; the first LNG-powered vessel--a Norwegian ferry--began service in 2000. [...] This report discusses impending International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards limiting the maximum sulfur content in shipping fuels, the market conditions in which LNG may compete to become a common bunker fuel for vessel operators, and the current status of LNG bunkering globally and in the United States. A broader discussion of oil market implications is outside the scope of this report."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Parfomak, Paul W.; Frittelli, John; Lattannzio, Richard K. . . .
2019-02-05
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Oil, Natural Gas, and Coal: CRS Experts [August 16, 2012]
"Fossil fuels play a dominant role in U.S. energy. The United States is a major producer and consumer of oil (and petroleum products), natural gas, and coal. U.S. fossil fuel reserves, production, processing and refining, distribution, markets, and use are of perennial interest among policy makers and the public. Ongoing concerns include retail gasoline prices, oil and other commodity markets, potential for expanded domestic supply, environmental effects of continued fossil combustion, and the benefits and drawbacks of trade in these commodities. The following tables provide access to names and contact information for CRS [Congressional Research Service] experts on policy concerns relating to fossil fuels in the United States. The three tables are divided by primary energy (i.e., oil, natural gas, or coal), and then organized by sub-topic."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Yacobucci, Brent D.; Ratner, Michael
2012-08-16
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Crude Oil Futures Prices Turn Negative [April 22, 2020]
From the Document: "On April 20, 2020, the futures contract price for the immediate month (May) of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the U.S. benchmark crude, went negative (see Figure 1). The May futures contract price fell $55.90 during the day, to close at negative $37.62 per barrel. The futures price is a contract, usually monthly, for delivery of a certain amount of crude oil, on a specified date in the future, and at a particular location (Cushing, OK for WTI). WTI crude oil futures contracts are traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), this is the first time in history that WTI prices became negative. However, other commodity prices, including natural gas and propane, have previously traded negatively."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Ratner, Michael; Greenley, Heather L.
2020-04-22
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21st Century U.S. Energy Sources: A Primer [November 5, 2018]
"Since the start of the 21st century, the U.S. energy system has seen tremendous changes. Technological advances in energy production have driven changes in energy consumption, and the United States has moved from being a growing net importer of most forms of energy to a declining importer--and possibly a net exporter in the near future. The United States remains the second largest producer and consumer of energy in the world, behind China. The U.S. oil and natural gas industry has gone through a 'renaissance' of production. Technological improvements in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have unlocked enormous oil and natural gas resources from unconventional formations, such as shale. Oil has surpassed levels of production not seen since the 1970s. Natural gas has set new production records almost every year since 2000. In conjunction with the rise in oil and natural gas production, U.S. production of natural gas liquids has also increased. The rise in production of these fuel sources has also corresponded with increased consumption and exports of each."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Ratner, Michael; Bracmort, Kelsi; Brown, Phillip (Specialist in Energy Policy) . . .
2018-11-05
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Power of Siberia: A Natural Gas Pipeline Brings Russia and China Closer [April 21, 2020]
From the Overview: "The 'Power of Siberia,' the first natural gas pipeline to bring Russian gas into China, began operations in December 2019. The pipeline's initial capacity, 5 billion cubic meters (BCM), would meet 1.3% of China's 2018 natural gas consumption. As the pipeline reaches its full capacity of 38 BCM by 2025, natural gas likely will be able to displace coal in China's northwest region in the long term. The Power of Siberia pipeline runs just over 1,400 miles from Russia's Chayanda natural gas field and connects to China along the border of Heilongjiang province; the pipeline will eventually extend from the Kovykta field (another 400 miles) in Siberia. [...] Congress may consider how this long-term energy arrangement between Russia and China may affect U.S. foreign policy and security."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Ratner, Michael; Greenley, Heather L.
2020-04-21
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Low Oil Prices and U.S. Oil Producers: Policy Considerations [Updated March 20, 2020]
From the Document: "Global oil prices have declined nearly 60% since January 2020 (see Figure 1). Following a brief period of geopolitically-driven upward price pressure resulting from events in Iraq and Libya, world oil supply/demand balances were projected to be oversupplied by the second quarter of 2020. Reduced travel and other economic impacts related to the evolving COVID-19 outbreak are suppressing near-term oil demand. Oversupply expectations were amplified when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and a group of non-OPEC countries (OPEC+), including Russia, failed to agree on an OPEC recommendation to reduce oil production by 1.5 million barrels per day until the end of 2020. Oil prices immediately and significantly declined. Subsequently, Saudi Arabia announced regional price discounts and plans to increase oil supplies in April. Other countries have also indicated intent to increase oil production. This combination of demand suppression and supply expansion increases short-term oversupply expectations and exerts downward pressure on oil prices. Prolonged periods of depressed prices could affect U.S. oil production (approximately 12.2 million bpd in 2019, the world's largest), exports, employment, and industry consolidation. Due to recent developments, a plan to sell crude oil-- required in FY2020 by P.L. 116-94--from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) was suspended."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Brown, Phillip (Specialist in Energy Policy); Ratner, Michael
2020-03-20
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Russia's Nord Stream 2 Pipeline: A Push for the Finish Line [Updated May 28, 2020]
From the Document: "Recent reports suggest that the Russian government is trying to complete construction of Nord Stream 2, a controversial natural gas pipeline that will enable Russia to increase the amount of natural gas it exports directly to Germany and onward to other European Union (EU) member states (bypassing Ukraine and other transit countries). Pipeline construction was suspended in December 2019, after the United States imposed sanctions related to the project. The Trump Administration and Congress have expressed opposition to Nord Stream 2, reflecting concerns about European dependence on Russian energy and the threat Russia poses to Ukraine."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Welt, Cory; Ratner, Michael; Belkin, Paul
2020-05-28
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U.S. Energy Information Administration [September 9, 2020]
From the Introduction: "The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is the lead federal agency for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating energy information. According to one industry leader who has been critical of EIA, 'The EIA forecast is very important…. It moves markets, and it impacts our industry greatly…. Right or wrong, no other agency provides data with greater impact.' [...] EIA collects data and provides projections on most forms of commercially used energy, including oil and petroleum products, natural gas, natural gas liquids, coal, electricity, renewables, alternative fuels, nuclear, biofuels, and others. The level of detail of collected data and analysis, however, are not evenly distributed. This report provides an overview of the history and major functions of EIA, with an emphasis on how EIA information can be used by Members of Congress."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Lawson, Ashley J.; Holt, Mark; Ratner, Michael
2020-09-09
