Oil Products Accounted For 57% Of 2021 U.S. Energy Expenditure

Petroleum products accounted for the largest share, 57%, of the amount U.S. consumers spent on energy in 2021, as overall energy spending jumped by inflation-adjusted 25% from 2020, due to higher consumption and prices, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said this week. 

In 2021, the amount U.S. consumers spent on energy grew to over $1.3 trillion when adjusted for inflation, according to EIA’s SEDS.

Petroleum products including motor gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel accounted for $757 billion of end-use energy expenditures in 2021, a 44% surge from 2020, due to higher consumption after the 2020 Covid lockdowns and to higher crude oil and petroleum product prices. 

Spending on electricity by U.S. consumers accounted for $419 billion of end-use energy expenditures in 2021, up by 3% compared to 2020. 

Natural gas used for purposes other than generating electricity, such as heating and cooling homes and buildings, accounted for around 10%, or a total of $133 billion, of the nation’s total energy expenditures, according to EIA’s estimates. 

Inflation-adjusted per capita U.S. energy expenditures jumped by 25% in 2021 from 2020 to $3,967, on par with 2019 per capita expenditures. Inflation-adjusted per capita expenditures rose in every U.S. state in 2021. Per capita expenditures in Connecticut increased the least, by 13%, while they jumped by the most in Louisiana, up by 43% in 2021 compared to 2020, according to the EIA. 

Years 2022 and 2023 will see increases in energy expenditures due to the higher energy prices and high gasoline prices for most of 2022. 

This summer, gasoline prices are also rising, amid heatwave-related outages at some domestic refineries. 

By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com

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