10 Things You Need to Know About the Energy Sector in the United States

The United States is a leader in the production, supply, and consumption of energy. U.S. energy companies produce oil, natural gas, coal, renewable fuels, as well as electricity from clean energy sources, including wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, and nuclear power. Here are 10 things you may have not realized about the energy industry in the U.S.

1. U.S. energy companies transmit, distribute, and store energy through complex infrastructure networks that are supported by emerging products and services such as smart grid technologies.
2. The United State is widely considered a global leader in “smart” energy technology investment. To support this ecosystem, the United States is an international leader in the development of smart grid technologies and services.
3. According to analysis from the International Trade Administration’s 2018 Smart Grid Top Market Report, the United States accounts for 36 percent of the total global capacity for electrochemical (battery) energy storage, a fast-growing subsector that can help address intermittency from renewable energy sources like solar and wind.
4. Growing consumer demand and world-class innovation – combined with a competitive workforce and supply chain capable of building, installing, and servicing all energy technologies – make the United States one of the world’s most attractive markets.
5. According to the International Energy Agency, total investment in the U.S. energy sector was valued at $350 billion in 2018 (the second-largest in the world).
6. The United States is the world’s top producer of petroleum and natural gas. Oil and natural gas accounted for nearly 60 percent of all U.S. energy production in 2018.
7. In 2017, the United States became a net natural gas exporter for the first time since 1957. These companies have developed advanced and cost-competitive techniques for extracting hydrocarbons from shale and hard-to-reach offshore oil and gas deposits, altering the U.S. oil and gas sector and the domestic energy landscape.
8. In 2017, the amount of energy produced in the United States was equal to about 87.5 quadrillion Btu, and this was equal to about 89.6% of U.S. energy consumption.
9. The three major fossil fuels—petroleum, natural gas, and coal—accounted for about 77.6% of the U.S. primary energy production in 2017.
10. Crude oil production generally decreased each year between 1970 and 2008. In 2009, the trend reversed, and production began to rise. Production in 2015 and in 2017 was the second- and third-highest on record, respectively. More cost-effective drilling and production technologies helped to boost production, especially in Texas and North Dakota.

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