In the 1970s, the United States and other OECD countries established strategic oil stocks aimed at mitigating the impact of supply disruptions. In March 2026, the United States, along with other members of the International Energy Agency, agreed to a coordinated emergency release of strategic oil stocks following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

In our latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast that U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports will continue to increase as five LNG export projects start operations and ramp up production by the end of 2027. We also forecast increased natural gas pipeline exports, mainly to Mexico. In our forecast, net exports of U.S. natural gas (exports minus imports) grow 18% to 18.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2026. In 2027, net exports increase another 10% to 20.5 Bcf/d.

Motor gasoline in the United States is a blend of hydrocarbons and chemicals, with specific formulas varying by region and season. To meet federal air quality standards, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state regulators require different formulations, depending on air quality and location, which affect performance, cost, and emissions. In addition, warmer summer months require a different gasoline formulation than cooler winter months. Key differences between formulations include octane rating, volatility-commonly measured as Reid vapor pressure (RVP)-and emissions. This year, the EPA will relax federal enforcement of summer RVP standards to help reduce gasoline prices.

In our April Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we expect U.S. hydropower generation will increase by 5% in 2026 but remain 1.8% below the 10-year average following snow drought conditions in some states. Hydropower generation in 2025 increased to 245 billion kilowatthours (BkWh), about 4 BkWh more than the record-low generation year 2024. In 2026, we expect generation will be 259 BkWh, which would represent 6% of U.S. electricity generation.

During 2025, the U.S. electric power sector retired 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired generating capacity at four power plants, the least since 2010. At the beginning of 2025, coal plant operators had planned to retire 8.5 GW of capacity; however, 4.8 GW of planned retirements were delayed to a future year, and the operators of two coal plants (1.1 GW) cancelled plans to retire. In addition, the operators of 1.2 GW of capacity planned for retirement in 2027 cancelled their closure plans, and a facility slated to retire in 2026 has delayed its closure until 2029.

Annual motor gasoline consumption in the United States decreased in 2025 even as vehicle miles traveled (VMT) increased because of increasing fuel efficiency, a trend we forecast will continue in 2026 and 2027. U.S. motor gasoline consumption averaged 8.9 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2025, 1% less than 2024 and 4% less than pre-pandemic demand in 2019. In our April Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we estimate that motor gasoline consumption will continue to decline as forecast fuel efficiency increases and VMT growth slows.

In our Annual Energy Outlook 2026 (AEO2026), we project U.S. dry natural gas production, which accounted for 38% of total U.S. energy production in 2025, will increase significantly over the next several decades, meeting growing domestic and international natural gas demand.

Crude oil and petroleum product prices increased significantly in the first quarter of 2026 (1Q26), particularly following military action in the Middle East on February 28 and the subsequent de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz. In this quarterly update, we review petroleum markets price developments in 1Q26, covering crude oil prices, petroleum product prices, and refinery inputs.

In 2025, the United States imported an average of 490,000 barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil from the Middle East Gulf region—Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Crude oil imports from the region are primarily medium sour grades of crude oil and flow mainly into the West Coast and Gulf Coast of the United States.

Rooftop solar generating capacity in Puerto Rico totaled 1,456 megawatts (MW) at the end of 2025, 20% of the overall capacity mix. Rooftop solar capacity has increased faster than other sources over the past decade. Between 2016 and 2025 rooftop solar installations accounted for 81% of the new generating capacity in Puerto Rico, according to data from our Electric Power Monthly and Puerto Rico Energy Bureau's (PREB) Quarterly Report on System Data. In 2025, rooftop solar became the second-largest capacity source, after petroleum liquids capacity (3,671 MW), and surpassed natural gas capacity (1,391 MW).

After four years of growth, U.S. coal exports decreased by 16 million short tons (MMst) in 2025, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Exports totaled 93 MMst in 2025, compared with 108 MMst in 2024. Thermal coal exports fell by 18%, and metallurgical coal exports fell by 11%.

U.S. crude oil production grew by 3%, or 350,000 barrels per day (b/d), in 2025, setting a new annual production record of 13.6 million b/d, according to our latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). Production from the Lower 48 states excluding the Gulf of America (L48) accounted for 11.3 million b/d, or 83% of the total U.S. crude oil production in 2025. The rest of the production came from Federal Gulf of America (GOA) and Alaska.

Natural gas liquids (NGL) exports reached 3.1 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2025, growing 7% from the previous year. These fuels are primarily extracted from the natural gas stream. NGL plant production has increased every year since 2005, driven by higher production of NGLs and more global demand for NGLs, especially as petrochemical feedstocks.

In March 2026, tanker rates for Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) leaving the Middle East to Asia were the highest since at least November 2005, when data were first recorded. The price increase followed Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz on March 2.

The United States produced 10 million short tons (MMst) of coke used in steel manufacturing in 2025, a drop of 78% from 1980 when it produced 46 MMst, according to EIA's most recent Annual Coal Report and Quarterly Coal Report. Similarly, we estimate the United States consumed 9.3 MMst of coke in 2025 compared with 41 MMst in 1980, a decline of 77%, by annualizing the first three quarters of data from the most recent Quarterly Coal Report.

We have released a new international dataset containing end-use consumption data for most countries of the world, with annual data through 2023. The new data set disaggregates the existing total international consumption values into up to 34 end-use sub-sectors, such as construction, mining, refining, residential, and commercial. Our end-use data set categorizes end-use consumption by region, country, fuel, sector, and sub-sector in which the energy is consumed. In the example above, we break down the fuels used in Europe to produce chemicals.

Although homes can have a mix of bulbs for indoor lighting, 90% of U.S. households reported using light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs, according to the most recent results of the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS). Over one-third of households (37%) used LED bulbs for all indoor lighting. In contrast, 5% of households reported using incandescent or halogen bulbs and 2% used compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs for all indoor lighting.

Over the past 20 years, electricity from wind power and utility-scale solar power has increased to 17% of generation in the United States compared to less than 1% in 2005. In 2025, net generation of wind and solar together accounted for 760,000 gigawatthours (GWh) of electricity, 88,000 GWh more than in 2024, according to data from our Electric Power Monthly. We classify a power plant as utility-scale if it has at least 1 megawatt of generating capacity.

The United States exported approximately 0.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to destinations in the Caribbean in 2025, the second-highest volume since the first LNG cargo departed Sabine Pass in 2016, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's LNG Exports and Re-Exports Details.

U.S. natural gas consumption averaged a record 92.0 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2025 and set a new winter monthly record of 126.6 Bcf/d in January 2025, according to data in our Natural Gas Monthly. Overall, U.S. natural gas consumption last year increased 2% (1.7 Bcf/d) from 2024. In January 2025, natural gas consumption was up 5% (6.3 Bcf/d) compared with January 2024.