Wood pellet exports from the United
States nearly doubled last year, from 1.6
million short tons (approximately 22
trillion Btu) in 2012 to 3.2 million short
tons in 2013. More than 98% of these
exports were delivered to Europe, and
99% originated from ports in the south-
eastern and lower Mid-Atlantic regions
of the country.
Wood pellets are traditionally manu-
factured from wood waste (including
sawdust, shavings and wood chips) that
results from wood processing activi-
ties, but they can also be produced from
unprocessed harvested wood (generally
at a higher cost). Wood pellets are pri-
marily used as a residential heating fuel
in the United States, but wood pellets
can also be used for commercial heating
and power generation applications. As
recently as 2008, the U.S. Forest Service
estimated that approximately 80% of
U.S. wood pellet production was con-
sumed domestically. However, because
of strong demand growth in Europe,
wood pellet exports have been the driv-
ing factor in the growth of domestic
wood pellet production in recent years.
Growth of U.S. wood pellet exports
has been concentrated in southeast-
ern states, which have advantages in
Fuels
eIA N e w s
12 July 2014 | FuEl OIl NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com
• Natural gas working inventories
on May 30 totaled 1.50 trillion cubic
feet, 0.74 Tcf (33%) below the level at
the same time a year ago and 0.90 Tcf
(37%) below the previous five-year
average (2009-13). EIA expects that
the Henry Hub natural gas spot price,
which averaged $3.73/MMBtu in 2013,
will average $4.74/MMBtu in 2014 and
$4.49/MMBtu in 2015.
• Based on the outlook from the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration for near- to below-nor-
mal tropical weather activity this year,
EIA's mean estimates of shut-in pro-
duction in the federal Gulf of Mexico
during the current hurricane season
(June-November) total 12 million bbl
of crude oil and 30 billion cubic feet of
natural gas. Actual shut-ins are likely to
differ significantly from this estimate
depending on the number, track and
strength of hurricanes as the season pro-
gresses.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on U.S. International Trade Commission data.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, based on Eurostat data.
u.s. Wood Pellet exports Double in 2013
in Response to Growing european Demand
Principal contributors: Peter Wong, Gwen Bredehoeft
European countries, particu-
larly the United Kingdom, are
using wood pellets to replace
coal for electricity generation
and space heating.
