It’s been just over 50 years since the 1973 Oil Embargo disrupted the nation’s energy supplies, sending energy prices soaring and creating long lines at gas pumps as drivers sought increasingly scarce gasoline.
In the aftermath of that embargo, the Federal Energy Administration, predecessor to the Department of Energy, began publishing monthly overview of energy produced and consumed in the U.S.
The most recent publication from the DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), provides a snapshot of just how much has changed over the last 50 years.
In 1974, the country consumed more energy than it produced and was a net importer of energy from other states. Today, the U.S. is the world’s largest crude oil and natural gas producer. The U.S. also became a net energy exporter starting in 2019. In 1974, U.S. net energy imports in the first seven months were about 6.8 quadrillion British thermal units. During the first seven months of 2024, the U.S. exported a net total of about 5 quads.
This has been driven by crude oil and petroleum products and liquefied natural gas over the last 15 years.
Thanks to technological improvements, including horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, total U.S. energy production in the first seven months of 2024 was 68 percent or 24 quads more than the same timeframe in 1974.
The EIA also noted U.S. energy consumption has steadily increased since 1974, though at a lower rate than production growth. Between January and July 2024, U.S. energy consumption was 32 percent, or 13.2 quads, more than the same period in 1974.
Consumption growth is due to several factors including population growth and increased economic activity.
However, primary energy consumption has generally decreased on both a per capita basis and in terms of energy consumed per dollar of Gross Domestic Product since the 1970s. Increased energy efficiency has contributed to these decreases.
