Quadrillion Btu

Highlights:

Annual Energy Review 1994

At the halfway mark of this century, coal was the leading source

of energy produced in the United States. Now, as we approach

the end of the 20th century, coal is still the leading source of

energy produced in this country (Figure 1). Between those

points of time, however, dramatic changes occurred in the

composition of our Nation’s energy production. For example,

crude oil and natural gas plant liquids production overtook coal

production in the early 1950s. That source was matched by

natural gas for a few years in the mid-1970s, and then, in the

early 1980s, coal regained its prominence. After 1985, crude

oil production suffered a nearly steady annual decline. 

While the fossil fuels moved up and down in their individual contributions to the Nation’s energy production

total, hydroelectric power was a smaller but steady and

dependable contributor, and a new source of energy—nuclear electric power—grew from making a minuscule contribution in the 1960s to playing a significant role in the

Nation’s energy capacity.

These and many other observations about the history of

energy can be drawn from the data available in the Energy

Information Administration’s Annual Energy Review

1994 (AER). The AER, a companion report to the

Monthly Energy Review (MER), is useful in analyzing trends and milestones in energy production, consumption, trade, storage, and pricing from a long-term

perspective.

1

Includes lease condensate.

Source: Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 1994, DOE/EIA–0384(94) (Washington, DC, July 1995), Table 1.2.

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

0

5

10

15

20

25

Coal

Natural 

Gas

Hydroelectric Power

Nuclear 

Electric Power

Crude Oil and 

Natural Gas 

Plant Liquids

1

Figure 1. Major Sources of U.S. Energy Production, 1949-1994

Energy Information Administration/Monthly Energy Review November 1995 iv
Energy consumption data by end-use sector, parallel to those

in MER Section 2, are presented in the AER as annual

data series from 1949 through 1994. Analysis of extended

time series reveals changing patterns in sector usage of

energy (Figure 2). For example, the industrial sector’s use

of energy showed the greatest fluctuation among the major

economic sectors, occasionally experiencing sharp changes

in direction. The residential and commercial sector and the

transportation sector, on the other hand, displayed much

smoother courses, with only mild temporary downturns in

their overall upward patterns.

Within the sectors, the use of energy sources changed dramatically over time. For example, in the residential and commercial sector, electricity use grew in every year except two (1974

and 1992) over the 45-year period, and the energy losses

associated with producing and delivering electricity soared.

Natural gas consumption in the same sector surpassed petroleum consumption in 1956 and led thereafter. Meanwhile,

petroleum’s usage began tapering off in the late 1970s, and

consumption of coal—once the leading fuel in the sector—

fell to virtually nothing.

While electricity and its associated losses grew steadily

in the industrial sector also, the use of coal shrank. Natural gas and petroleum use in the industrial sector rose

steadily and in tandem until the oil embargo in 1973, after

which the use of both fuels moderated. The transportation

sector’s reliance on petroleum was nearly total for the

entire period reported.

a

Electrical system energy losses associated with the generation, transmission, and distribution of energy in the form of electricity. 

Note: Because vertical scales differ, graphs should not be compared.

Source: Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 1994, DOE/EIA–0384(94) (Washington, DC, July 1995), Table 2.1.

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

0

3

6

9

12

15

Natural Gas

Electricity

Coal

Petroleum

Losses a

Quadrillion BtuQuadrillion Btu

Residential and Commercial Sector

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

0

10

20

30

40

Industrial

Transportation

Residential and 

Commercial

By End-Use Sector

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Natural Gas Petroleum

Coal

Electricity

Lossesa

Quadrillion BtuQuadrillion Btu

Industrial Sector

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

0

6

12

18

24

Petroleum

Total

Transportation Sector

Figure 2. Energy Consumption by End-Use Sector, 1949-1994

v Energy Information Administration/Monthly Energy Review November 1995
Million Barrels per Day Million Barrels per Day

Million Barrels per Day Million Barrels per Day

AER data also reveal shifts in patterns within specific fuel

types. For example, consumption of the leading petroleum

products by sector is reported (Figure 3). In the residential

and commercial sector, the use of distillate fuel oil generally

expanded until the late 1970s, when a steep drop in its

consumption occurred.

In the industrial sector, the use of liquefied petroleum gases

(LPG) recorded a smooth, steady growth pattern through the

mid-1970s; from that point on, the general overall upward

growth continued but, within that larger pattern, notable

year-to-year ups and downs occurred. In 1968, LPG usage

surpassed that of any other product in the sector and, by the

early 1990s, far exceeded the others.

In the transportation sector, motor gasoline was overwhelmingly the fuel of choice. Its usage pattern is one of remarkably steady expansion, with only two temporary setbacks

after the price shocks of the 1970s. In the electric utility

sector, there was the unusual occurrence of a fuel’s usage—

heavy oil’s—growing suddenly and then falling precipitously, all within a 20-year span.

Note: Because vertical scales differ, graphs should not be compared.

Source: Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 1994, DOE/EIA–0384(94) (Washington, DC, July 1995), Table 5.12b.

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

0

0.5

1

1.5

Distillate 

Fuel Oil

Liquefied 

Petroleum Gases

Asphalt and 

Road Oil

1.0

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

0

0.5

1

1.5

Distillate Fuel Oil

Residual 

Fuel Oil

Liquefied 

Petroleum Gases

Kerosene

1.0

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

0

2

4

6

8 Motor Gasoline

Distillate Fuel Oil

Jet Fuel

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

Light Oil

Heavy Oil

1.0

2.0

Residential and Commercial Sector, Selected Products Industrial Sector, Selected Products

Transportation Sector, Selected Products Electric Utilities, Selected Products

Figure 3. Petroleum Products Supplied by Product by Sector, 1949-1994

Energy Information Administration/Monthly Energy Review November 1995 vi
The Annual Energy Review 1994 may be obtained by using the order form in the back of

this publication. Most of the data that are published in the report are also available on

personal computer diskettes. For more information about the 2-diskette set, call the Office

of Scientific and Technical Information at 615–576–8401 or the National Technical Information Service at 703–487–4650.

EIA Contact: Samuel E. Brown

Telephone: 202–586–5103

Internet E–Mail: sbrown@eia.doe.gov

Fax: 202–586–0018

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

0

25

50

75

100

125 Coal

Natural Gas

Petroleum

Percent

Million Short TonsMillion Short Tons

Each of the three major fossil fuels in the United States

recorded distinctly different production-to-consumption

ratios over the period covered in the AER (Figure 4). For

example, after 1949, U.S. coal production always exceeded

the Nation’s consumption needs, and large quantities of coal

were exported to other countries. The pattern for natural gas

reversed in the 1960s, changing from production levels in

excess of consumption to just the opposite. Petroleum, the third

and most compelling case, moved from near balance of

domestic production and consumption around 1950, to

levels of consumption well in excess of domestic production by the mid-1970s and thereafter.

Underlying patterns within energy production are revealed

in the long historical time series published in the AER. For

example, the transition from underground to surface-mined

coal (Figure 5) and the sharp increase in western coal production (Figure 6) are examples of the changing pictures that

emerge from one decade to another.

In addition to extending most of the MER historical time

series, the AER provides other data that are useful to energy

analysts, such as a wide range of international data series,

financial and environmental indicators, renewable energy

data, and selected series of non-electric utility data.

Figure 4. Production as Share of Consumption

by Type of Fossil Fuel, 1949-1994

Source: Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 1994,

DOE/EIA–0384(94) (Washington, DC, July 1995), Table 7.1.

Source: Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 1994,

DOE/EIA–0384(94) (Washington, DC, July 1995), Table 7.2.

Figure 5. Coal Production by Mining Method,

1949-1994

Figure 6. Coal Production by Location, 1949-1994

Source: Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Review 1994,

DOE/EIA–0384(94) (Washington, DC, July 1995), Table 7.2.

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

East of Mississippi

West of Mississippi

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

Surface

Underground

vii Energy Information Administration/Monthly Energy Review November 1995