After staff cuts, US Energy Data Agency delays reports on uranium and international outlook

Energy Statistics, the U.S. Government's arm that collects and analyzes data about energy, has seen its staff reduced this year. On Thursday, it announced it would delay publishing important energy data, including international outlook, as well as key energy information on uranium.

An Energy Information Administration spokesperson said that the International Energy Outlook, which was originally scheduled to be released in January, may not be available until September. The annual uranium report, which had been due in June, will now be published in september.

The EIA has not responded to the question of whether staff reductions are the cause for the delays.

According to an announcement in the Federal Register the EIA also proposes to discontinue its solar energy report, which tracks photovoltaic modules shipments. It no longer believes that the value of this data "exceeds" the cost of gathering and publishing it.

EIA lost significant staff as a result of federal job cuts and buyouts. Early this year it was reported that EIA would lose more than 100 employees in this year. This is about 40% of their workforce.

Bloomberg was the first to report on the delay in reporting.

A spokesperson for the EIA said that although it is unlikely that the International Energy Outlook will be published by 2025, it "doesn’t necessarily mean that we are cancelling this iteration". It may simply publish it in January rather than October.

EIA releases weekly, monthly, and annual data about oil and gas production, crude and fuel inventory, and price predictions. These are used by energy companies and traders as indicators of demand and supply. These reports can have a significant impact on global oil prices.

Sources said earlier this year the EIA would change its publication schedule and evaluate which reports to continue publishing due to staffing losses. (Reporting and editing by David Gregorio; Valerie Volcovici)

(source: Reuters)