Market Snapshot: Canadian exports of crude oil to destinations other than the United States are mainly from Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore

Release date: 2020-04-08

The vast majority of Canada’s crude oil exports go to the United States (U.S.). In 2019, crude oil exports to the U.S., mainly from Alberta, reached 3.66 million barrels per day (MMb/d), or 98% of all exports. The other 2% totaled 91 024 barrels per day (b/d). These non-U.S. exports of crude oil mainly come from Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2019, Newfoundland and Labrador exported 153 445 b/d to the U.S. and 83 940 b/d to other international locations.

Figure 1. Origin and destination of Canadian crude oil exports from 2010 to 2020 YTD

Newfoundland and Labrador’s crude oil production, which is all offshore, has been increasing since 2018, when the Hebron oil platform came online. Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore projects have a price advantage over western Canadian production. The offshore projects load crude oil directly onto tankers and can reach many more markets that western Canadian crude oil.

Once crude oil is loaded onto a tanker, it can reach whichever destination offers the highest price at that time. As such, exports to a country can be high in one year and low in the next (for example, Italy from 2014 to 2015). In 2019, Canadian crude oil was exported from Newfoundland and Labrador and Alberta to international locations, such as the United Kingdom (27 113 b/d), the Netherlands (26 839 b/d), Italy (15 611 b/d), China (9 660 b/d), and four other international locations.

Canadian crude oil is also exported to non-U.S. destinations through Trans Mountain’s Westridge Dock in Burnaby, BC, which is connected to the Trans Mountain Pipeline and can more easily access Asian markets.

Date modified:

2021-02-26