EIA says natural gas will remain most consumed fuel in industrial sector

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Thursday that it expects natural gas to remain the most consumed fuel in the U.S. industrial sector with a 40 percent increase in consumption from 2017 to 2050, based on data from its Annual Energy Outlook 2018 (AEO2018) Reference case.

EIA data forecast that natural gas consumption in the U.S. industrial sector will grow from 9.8 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) in 2017 to 13.7 quadrillion Btu in 2050. By 2020, it is expected to surpass the previous record set in the early 1970s.

The industrial sector in the United States consumes more natural gas than any other U.S. sector. In 2017, it surpassed electric power and, in 2010, the combined residential and commercial sectors.

Approximately two-thirds of total industrial natural gas consumption in 2017 was used for heat or power applications such as industrial processes and onsite electricity generation.

Industries including bulk chemicals, food, glass, and metal-based durables used natural gas for 40 percent or more of their heat or power applications in 2017. EIA expects that these industries will continue this pattern through 2050 because of the cost associated with fuel switching.

The bulk chemicals industry was the largest natural gas consumer in the industrial sector in 2017, consuming 3.1 quadrillion Btu, the equivalent of about 3.0 trillion cubic feet.

In the AEO2018 Reference case, the bulk chemicals industry’s consumption of natural gas increase by 51 percent through 2050. The average increase among all industrial sector is 40 percent.

EIA predicts that the bulk chemicals industry will use natural gas mostly for heat or power applications but that approximately 25 percent of bulk chemical natural gas consumption will be used for feedstocks in agricultural chemicals and methanol production.