Crude oil and natural gas: Supply and disposition, October 2018
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Released: 2019-01-11
Canada produced 23.1 million cubic metres (145.6 million barrels) of crude oil and equivalent products in October, up 13.2% from the same month a year earlier.
Crude oil production increases
Non-upgraded crude bitumen (+15.7%) and synthetic crude (+23.2%) were the primary contributors to the overall rise in production, while light and medium crude (+5.4%) and equivalent products (+16.9%) also increased from October 2017. Production in October 2018 was augmented by the completion of maintenance at an Alberta facility.
Meanwhile, heavy crude oil was down 7.1% in October. Year over year, production of heavy crude has decreased in 9 out of 10 months so far in 2018.
Chart 1
Production of crude oil and equivalent products
Oil sands extraction and oil extraction
Crude oil production (excluding equivalent products) totalled 21.2 million cubic metres in October, up 12.8% from the same month a year earlier. Oil sands extraction, which consists of non-upgraded crude bitumen and synthetic crude oil, increased 18.3% year over year to 15.1 million cubic metres. Over the same period, extraction of light, medium and heavy crude oils rose 1.3% to 6.1 million cubic metres.
Chart 2
Crude oil and oil sands extraction
Provincial production
Alberta produced 19.3 million cubic metres of crude oil and equivalent products in October, an increase of 17.3% from the same month a year earlier. Alberta (83.2%), Saskatchewan (10.0%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (4.2%) accounted for the majority of Canadian production of crude oil and equivalent products.
Exports and imports
Exports of crude oil and equivalent products increased 10.7% from the same month a year earlier to 17.9 million cubic metres in October. Exports via pipelines to the United States rose 3.0% and accounted for 83.8% of total exports. Over the same period, exports to the United States by other means (including rail, truck, and marine) continued to increase, and accounted for 13.1% of total exports. The remaining 3.1% of exports went to countries other than the United States.
Meanwhile, imports of crude oil to Canadian refineries, which tend to be volatile, were down 12.5% to 2.3 million cubic metres.
Chart 3
Exports and imports of crude oil and equivalent products
Closing inventories
Closing inventories of crude oil and equivalent products totalled 19.1 million cubic metres in October, up 11.9% from the same month a year earlier. Closing inventories consisted of crude oil and equivalent products held by transporters (+7.4%), fields and plants (+22.2%) and refineries (+21.8%).
Natural gas production
The production of marketable natural gas in Canada rose 0.9% from the same month a year earlier to 14.3 billion cubic metres in October. Production was concentrated in Alberta (70.2%) and British Columbia (27.6%).
Additional information on natural gas is available in "Natural gas transmission, storage and distribution," published in The Daily on December 21, 2018.
Note to readers
In early 2019, this Daily article will be part of a new consolidated monthly energy release where data from multiple monthly energy surveys will be released on the same day.
Data on crude oil and equivalent products, previously found in table 25-10-0014, are now published in table 25-10-0063. While table 25-10-0014 will remain available for reference, users should exercise caution when comparing these data with those in the new table.
Information on the disposition of crude oil and equivalent products to refineries by province and on exports to the United States by district were discontinued. New data on imports, exports, input to Canadian refineries and inventories were added to table 25-10-0063.
As of the January 2018 reference month, in accordance with the North American Industry Classification System 2017 update, conventional crude oil production will be referred to as crude oil extraction, while non-conventional crude oil production will be referred to as oil sands extraction.
Data from September 2018 have been revised.
Crude oil and equivalent products include heavy, light and medium crude oil, synthetic crude oil, crude bitumen, condensate, and pentanes plus.
Export data are a combination of National Energy Board data and survey respondents' data.
Import data include imports of crude oil by refineries and by others.
Total marketable gas includes receipts from fields, gas gathering systems and/or gas plants.
The crude oil and natural gas supply and disposition program uses respondent data as well as administrative data provided by federal, provincial and territorial authorities with regulatory responsibilities within their respective jurisdictions.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).
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