US energy security reaches highest level in a quarter century

The United States produced enough energy to satisfy 84 percent of its needs in 2013, a rapid climb from its historic low in 2005, according to a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The nation produced 81.7 quadrillion British thermal units of energy last year and consumed 97.5 quadrillion, the highest ratio since 1987. The nation’s energy output rose rose 18 percent from 2005 to 2013, as a surge in oil and gas production offset declines in coal. Meanwhile , total energy Americans used fell 2.7 percent during that period.

The nation’s ability to meet its own energy needs hit an all-time low in 2005, when the amount of energy produced domestically met just 69 percent of demand. The last time the United States’ energy production exceeded its energy use was in the 1950s, according to the Energy Information Administration, an agency of the Energy Department.

It attributed the nation’s rising energy security largely to the increased production of oil and natural gas, which has been fueled by the domestic shale boom. The rise of new drilling and production technology, namely hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, has allowed companies to tap more reservoirs deeply buried in dense rock formations.

“At the same time, reduced road travel, improved vehicle efficiency, and competition among fuels for electric power generation have limited consumption of petroleum and coal,” the agency wrote in the report.

More than three-quarters of energy produced in the United States in 2013 was fossil fuel, with natural gas leading the pack for the third consecutive year. About 11 percent of production was renewable energy and 10 percent was nuclear power.

While the shale boom caused oil and gas production to soar, renewable energy has grown even faster. Measured by energy content, domestically produced oil and natural gas grew 38 percent from 2005 to 2013. Renewable energy — though a much smaller portion of the nation’s energy portfolio — jumped 49 percent during that period, led by a surge in new wind power and a more modest jump in solar.

The portfolio of energy consumed in the United States was slightly less diverse. Fossil fuels fed 82 percent of U.S. energy needs last year, followed by renewables (10 percent) and nuclear (8 percent). The nation is only slightly less dependent on fossil fuels than it was in 2005, when they represented 85 percent of the energy consumed.

But the nation’s focus on cleaning up its energy portfolio is evident. Since 2005, coal consumption has fallen 21 percent while use of the cleaner-burning fossil fuel natural gas rose 18 percent. Renewable energy use climbed 49 percent during that time.

Remember, they are talking total energy, not just oil/petroleum.

Domestic production satisfies 84% of total U.S. energy demand in 2013
http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=16511,/a>

Total U.S. energy production reached 81.7 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) in 2013, enough to satisfy 84% of total U.S. energy demand, which totaled 97.5 quads. Natural gas was the largest domestically produced energy resource for the third year in a row and, together with the other fossil fuels (coal, crude oil, and hydrocarbon gas liquids), accounted for more than three quarters of U.S. energy production. In total, the United States consumed 97.5 quads of energy, 82% of which was fossil fuels. Renewable and nuclear energy made up 10% and 8%, respectively, of U.S. energy consumption.

The portion of U.S. energy consumption supplied by domestic production has been increasing since 2005, when it was at its historical low point (69%). Since 2005, production of domestic resources, particularly natural gas and crude oil, has been increasing as a result of the application of technologies that can develop harder-to-produce resources. At the same time, reduced road travel, improved vehicle efficiency, and competition among fuels for electric power generation have limited consumption of petroleum and coal.

The last significant rise in the ratio of domestic production to consumption occurred from 1978 to 1982. During that period, oil consumption declined in response to higher prices and changing policies, and production rose as oil started to flow from Alaska's North Slope. At the same time, domestic coal production was increasing.

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