US EIA News

EIA April STEO: Hormuz Closure Drives Oil Shut-Ins to 9.1M b/d, Brent to Peak $115/b

The EIA's April Short-Term Energy Outlook forecasts that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz will force collective shut-ins of 9.1 million barrels per day (b/d) in April 2026 across Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain, up from 7.5 million b/d in March. Brent crude oil spot prices averaged $103/b in March, with EIA projecting a peak of $115/b in Q2 2026 before easing below $90/b by Q4 2026 and averaging $76/b in 2027. Retail gasoline prices are forecast to peak at close to $4.30 per gallon in April, while diesel prices peak above $5.80/gal.

Annual Energy Outlook 2026 Explores U.S. Energy Futures Through 2050

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released the Annual Energy Outlook 2026 (AEO2026), projecting U.S. energy futures through 2050 across 11 alternative scenarios. Key findings show national electricity demand has risen 2.1% annually over the past five years and is projected to grow at an average annual rate of 0.9%–1.6% per year through 2050, driven primarily by data center load. Natural gas production is projected to grow from 107 Bcf/d in 2025 to between 133 Bcf/d and 151 Bcf/d by 2050, while U.S. crude oil production remains relatively stable at 12.4–12.7 million b/d by 2050 compared with 13.6 million b/d in 2025.

EIA Launches Voluntary Pilot Surveys on Data Center Energy Use

EIA has launched three voluntary pilot field studies to assess energy consumption in data centers across Texas, Washington state, and the Northern Virginia-DC region. The agency identified 196 companies operating data centers in these targeted areas and will ask each company to report on at least one data center's energy sources, electricity consumption, site characteristics, server metrics, and cooling systems. Participation in the web-based surveys and in-person interviews is voluntary, with Administrator Tristan Abbey noting the effort aims to modernize data collection toward faster cycles and finer detail.