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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook Summary


  • Lowers 2011 world oil demand growth by 10K bpd, to +1.43M bpd y/y; sees US 2011 natural gas production +2%. 
  • Expects the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil to average about $84 per barrel this winter (October 1 to March 31), more than $6 higher than the average price last winter. Projected WTI prices rise to $89 per barrel by the end of 2011, a $2 per barrel increase from last month's Outlook, as U.S. and global economic conditions improve. EIA's forecast assumes U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) grows 2.7 percent in 2010 and 2.1 percent in 2011, while world real GDP (weighted by oil consumption) grows by 4.0 percent and 3.2 percent, in 2010 and 2011, respectively. 
  • Expects regular-grade motor gasoline retail prices to average $2.88 per gallon this winter, 22 cents per gallon higher than last winter. Projected retail diesel fuel prices average $3.14 per gallon this winter, an increase of 35 cents per gallon over last winter, while residential heating oil prices average $3.17 per gallon this winter. In 2011, higher crude oil prices combined with higher refiner margins push annual average prices for motor gasoline and diesel fuel to $3.00 and $3.23 per gallon, respectively. 
  • Natural gas working inventories end November 2010 at 3.8 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), slightly less than last year's record-setting end-of-November level. The projected Henry Hub natural gas spot price averages $4.37 per million Btu (MMBtu) for 2010, a $0.42-per-MMBtu increase over the 2009 average. EIA expects the Henry Hub spot price to average $4.33 per MMBtu in 2011. 
  • OPEC crude oil production will increase by 0.3 and 0.4 million bbl/d in 2010 and 2011, respectively, similar to last month's Outlook, to accommodate increasing world oil consumption. Projected non-crude liquids increase by 0.7 million bbl/d in both 2010 and 2011. OPEC surplus capacity should remain close to 5 million bbl/d, compared with 4.3 million in 2009 and 1.5 million in 2008. 
  • Non-OPEC Supply will grow by just over 1.0 million bbl/d to an average 51.5 million bbl/d in 2010 - the largest year-over-year increase since 2002. The increase in total non-OPEC supply for the year is the result of higher production in the United States, Brazil, China, and Russia. However, non-OPEC supply falls by 280,000 bbl/d in 2011. The decline in non-OPEC supply in 2011 would be only the third time in the last 15 years that non-OPEC supplies fall year-over-year. 
  • Projected total U.S. liquid fuels consumption increases by 320,000 bbl/d (1.7 percent) to 19.09 million bbl/d in 2010, which is about 60,000 bbl/d higher than forecast in last month's Outlook. A year-over-year decline in total liquid fuels consumption averaging 40,000 bbl/d in the first quarter of 2010 was followed by a year-over-year rise averaging 610,000 bbl/d in the second and third quarters, led by increases in motor gasoline and distillate fuel oil consumption.
  • Domestic crude oil production, which increased by 410,000 bbl/d in 2009, increases by 140,000 bbl/d in 2010 and then falls by 30,000 bbl/d to 5.47 million bbl/d in 2011. The 2011 forecast includes declines of 50,000 bbl/d and 180,000 bbl/d in Alaska and the Federal Gulf of Mexico (GOM), respectively, and a 190,000-bbl/d increase in lower-48 non-GOM production. Ethanol production, which averaged 710,000 bbl/d in 2009, increases to an average of 860,000 bbl/d in 2010 and 890,000 bbl/d in 2011.  
  • This month's Outlook, for the first time, reflects recent changes in the Form EIA-857 monthly natural gas survey methodology in the forecasts for residential and commercial natural gas consumption. The new survey methodology should not significantly change reported total annual consumption volumes. However, EIA expects significant changes in the seasonality of reported residential and commercial sector natural gas consumption from historical reporting norms as the improved reporting on the EIA-857 leads to more accurate monthly reports. For example, first quarter 2011 forecast residential plus commercial consumption is 1.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) lower in this forecast compared with last month's Outlook, while fourth quarter 2011 consumption is 3.8 Bcf/d higher.

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