Oil, gas development helping American consumers save money – API

EIA projects 2016 to see lowest levels of energy-related carbon emissions in quarter century, thanks to low natural gas prices

WASHINGTON – US consumers have continued to take advantage of America’s energy revolution and affordable gas prices as we head into the fall season, said API Chief Economist Erica Bowman on a conference call with journalists.

“Throughout the summer, motorists have continued to benefit from America’s energy renaissance with relief at the pump and in their homes,” said Bowman. “World-leading US production has translated into lower energy costs for individual Americans and families. This is a winning scenario for American consumers.”

US production is a clear factor in lower global crude prices, which has translated into lower energy costs for individual Americans and families.

Year-over-year US gasoline prices have declined by almost 50 cents per gallon, due in large part to the decline in the price of crude oil, according to American Petroleum Institute.

AAA says lower prices at the pump allowed drivers to save an average of more than $550 in 2015.

“Additionally, increased use of natural gas has helped drive US carbon dioxide emissions to near 20-year lows while energy use and production have increased,” said Bowman.

The first half of 2016 has shown crude oil prices to be 25 per cent less than the first half of 2015.

“Looking ahead to November and before the debates this fall, no time is better to remind candidates about the importance of the American energy renaissance for US consumers, families, the nation’s economy and U.S. energy security,” said Bowman.

The United States’ energy-related emissions in 2015 were 12 per cent lower than they were in 2005, even though the US economy was 15 per cent larger last year than it was a decade earlier.

EIA also projects that 2016 will have seen the lowest levels of energy-related carbon emissions in nearly a quarter century, thanks to low natural gas prices, which have contributed to increased use of natural gas as the preferred fuel for electricity generation.