Energy Facts by State

Because of many local laws and guidelines, energy production and use is highly dictated by each state government. Below is a state-by-state assessment of energy production and use in the South Central US (from http://www.eia.gov/state/).

Arkansas

  • Marketed natural gas production in Arkansas more than doubled from 2008 to 2012; in 2012 it accounted for 4.1% of US marketed production.
  • Arkansas, the top rice-producing state as of 2013, typically experiences an increase in natural gas consumption in the industrial sector (including agriculture) in the fall when natural gas is used to dry rice after harvest.
  • Coal-fired electric power plants in Arkansas supplied 53% of the state’s electricity in 2013 and relied on coal deliveries via railcar from Wyoming.
  • Independent power producers provided over 21% of net electricity generation in Arkansas in 2013.
  • Biomass supplied all of Arkansas’ non-hydroelectric renewable energy resources for electricity generation in 2013.

Kansas

  • The Hugoton Gas Area, which contains one of the top-producing natural gas fields in the US, is found in southwestern Kansas, as well as in parts of the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles.
  • The Mid-Continent Center, located in south central Kansas, is a key natural gas supply hub that takes production from several states in the region and pipes it east toward major consumption markets.
  • In 2013, Kansas ranked tenth in crude oil production among the 50 states, excluding federal offshore areas.
  • Electric utilities in Kansas provided 82% of the state’s net electricity generation in 2013; 61% of net electricity generation came from coal-fired electric power plants.
  • In 2013, 19% of net electricity generation in Kansas came from wind energy.

Louisiana

  • The Henry Hub in Erath, Louisiana is the interconnect for nine interstate and four intrastate pipelines that provide access to major markets throughout the country. Henry Hub is used as the pricing point for natural gas futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
  • The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) is the only port in the United States capable of offloading deep-draft tankers.
  • The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s two Louisiana facilities consist of 29 salt caverns capable of holding almost 300 million barrels of crude oil.
  • In 2012, Louisiana ranked third among all states in total energy consumption per capita, primarily because of heavy use in the industrial sector, which includes many refineries and petrochemical plants.
  • With 19 operating refineries, Louisiana was second only to Texas as of January 2014 in both total and operating refinery capacity.

Missouri

  • Missouri was the first state west of the Mississippi River to produce coal in commercial quantities.
  • The Rockies Express (REX) is a 107-centimeter, 2702-kilometer (42-inch, 1679-mile) natural gas pipeline stretching from Colorado to Ohio. The REX West portion of the system passes near Kansas City before terminating in northeast Missouri.
  • Nine out of ten Missouri households use a central air conditioning system.
  • In 2013, coal supplied 83% of Missouri’s net electricity generation.
  • Missouri has one nuclear power plant, Callaway Nuclear Generating Station, which contributed 9% of the state’s net electricity generation in 2013.
  • Renewable energy resources accounted for nearly 3% of Missouri’s net electricity generation in 2013; most of that generation came from conventional hydroelectric power and wind.

Oklahoma

  • Cushing, Oklahoma is where prices are settled for the New York Mercantile Exchange’s benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures. WTI is a grade of crude oil produced in Texas and southern Oklahoma.
  • Excluding Federal offshore areas, Oklahoma ranked fifth in crude oil production in the nation in 2013.
  • Oklahoma is one of the top natural gas-producing states in the nation, accounting for 7.1% of US gross production and 8.4% of marketed production in 2013.
  • Oklahoma had five operating petroleum refineries with a combined daily capacity of over 500,000 barrels per day (3% of the total US operating distillation capacity) as of January 2014.
  • In 2013, Oklahoma ranked fourth in net electricity generation from wind, which provided almost 15% of the state’s net generation.

Texas

  • Texas was the leading crude oil-producing state in the nation in 2013, and it exceeded production levels even from the federal offshore areas.
  • Texas accounted for 29% of US marketed natural gas production in 2013, making it the leading natural gas producer among the states.
  • As of January 2014, Texas’s 27 petroleum refineries had a capacity of over 5.1 million barrels of crude oil per day, accounting for 29% of total US refining capacity.
  • Texas leads the nation in wind-powered generation capacity with over 12,000 megawatts. In 2013, Texas generated almost 36 million megawatt hours of electricity from wind energy.
  • West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a grade of crude oil produced in Texas and southern Oklahoma, is traded in the domestic spot market at Cushing, Oklahoma, where it serves as a benchmark for oil pricing.
  • The average annual electricity cost per Texas household is $1801, among the highest in the nation; the cost is similar to other warm weather states like Florida, according to EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey.