Friday, May 31, 2013

Canada Sharply Ramps up Imports of U.S. Crude

File under "Headlines I did not expect to see".
From the EIA via the CME:
Canadian refineries, like those in the United States, are working to increase their use of growing production of crude oil from Texas and North Dakota.

Monthly exports of crude oil from the United States to Canada have historically averaged 24,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) and were principally delivered to refineries in central Canada. However, U.S. exports to Canada averaged nearly 100,000 bbl/d over the first 3 months of 2013.

While the Midwest (PADD 2) has been the traditional delivery source for U.S. crude oil exports to Canada, the recent increase in exports is being led by deliveries from the Gulf Coast (PADD 3) and the East Coast (PADD 1).

Nearly all of the PADD 3 crude exports to Canada were light crude oil. Trade press reports indicate that Suncor Energy, Irving Oil, Trafigura and Valero are among the companies that have already shipped, or will soon ship, crude oil from the U.S. Gulf Coast to refineries in eastern Canada.
PADD 1 exports were barrels that moved east from North Dakota's Bakken region by rail and then were exported through New York state.

According to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Canadian refineries in 2011 processed 878,000 bbl/d of western Canadian crude, 110,000 bbl/d of eastern Canadian crude, and 680,000 bbl/d of imports.

The imports primarily supply refineries in eastern Canada that have limited access to western Canadian production or are configured to run light crude oil....MORE