A heavy hauler truck drives through a mine above the Athabasca oil sands near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada
OTTAWA, Jan 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Canada’s oil sands producers were able to export a record amount of crude to overseas markets thanks to a new link to the US Gulf Coast.
The recent reversal of Marathon Pipe Line Inc.’s Capline pipeline is sending oil sands crude produced in landlocked Alberta to export terminals on Gulf Coast where it can be shipped to other countries. Exports to Asia were at their highest ever, with India the leading destination by far, followed by China and then South Korea.
The development marks a sea change for Canada’s oil industry. The country holds the third highest crude reserves in the world, but exports to markets beyond the US have been limited due to a lack of infrastructure. Canada has faced severe opposition from activists for building pipelines from the oil sands region to British Columbia’s Pacific Coast. Additionally, the Biden Administration last year blocked the Keystone XL pipeline, effectively shutting Canada’s crude out of the global market.
Shipments of heavy crude jumped to more than 266,000 barrels a day in December after averaging over 180,000 through the year. Canadian crude exports from the US Gulf Coast averaged just 25,000 barrels a day in 2018, before rising to average around 70,000 in both 2019 and 2020.
In October, overall Canadian shipments of oil to the US jumped to more than 4 million barrels a day, highest volume since the start of the year thanks in part to the startup of a long-delayed Canadian pipeline. — NNN-AGENCIES
