The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts that in 2020, natural gas used to generate electricity will increase by 4 percent to 1.53 trillion kilowatt hours compared to 2019.  In contrast coal-generation will decrease 16 percent and will average 0.8 trillion kilowatt hours. Attempts to prop up the coal industry by subsidies and other artificial measures fly in the face of economic reality.  Abundant natural gas is less expensive than coal and has fewer environmental impacts.

The EIA predict that U.S. oil production will average 13.0 million barrels per day in 2020 falling to 12.7 million barrels in 2021.  On March 9th crude oil price fell below $35 per barrel but with an annual forecast of $43 per barrel for Brent reflecting higher supply by OPEC during 2020.  This has implications for lower fuel and transport costs benefiting the industry.