Energy statistics, July 2020

Released: 2020-10-05

Canadian economic activity has continued to increase since COVID-19-related shutdowns imposed in spring have been gradually lifted. Demand for energy products has grown and energy prices have risen. However, overall energy production remained below levels of one year ago.

Total electricity generation rose in July, while all other energy sectors were down. Production of crude oil and equivalent products fell for the fourth consecutive month, while natural gas, coal and refinery production also remained below July 2019 levels.

Stay tuned on Wednesday, October 7, for the official launch of our Canadian Centre for Energy Information. This new website will house resources on all things energy-related—including production, consumption, international trade and much more.

Crude oil production and exports remain low

Production of crude oil and equivalent products continued its downward trend in July, falling 11.0% to 20.6 million cubic metres (129.5 million barrels)—the fourth consecutive year-over-year decline. Despite the sustained recovery in demand for crude oil due to increased economic activity, production of crude remained down.

Daily production of crude oil (excluding equivalent products) edged down 0.5% from June to 597.4 thousand cubic metres in July. Daily production of crude oil was down 13.7% in July compared with pre-pandemic levels (March 2020).

All sectors of crude oil production were lower in July. Maintenance work at some upgraders in northern Alberta, which was delayed this spring due to the pandemic, contributed to the production declines. Synthetic crude oil production was down by just over one-fifth (-21.2%) to 4.8 million cubic metres, while crude bitumen production declined 6.8% mainly due to lower levels of mined production.

Meanwhile, extraction of heavy (-16.6%) and light and medium (-6.7%) crude oils was down year over year, mostly because of reduced production in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Global demand for crude oil continued to rise in July, stimulated by increased economic activity around the world. According to the US Energy Information Administration estimates, global demand of petroleum has risen by 16.0% since April. As a result, the price of crude oil continued to rise in July (+6.4%), the third consecutive monthly increase, according to the Raw Materials Price Index. The price of crude oil has risen 144.8% since bottoming out this April.

Chart 1 
Production of crude oil and equivalents, by type of product

Exports of crude oil and equivalent products fell another 9.9% to 17.6 million cubic metres in July. This followed substantial year-over-year decreases in May (-10.5%) and June (-14.6%). Despite a slight increase in demand for Canadian crude oil in July, exports were 10.6% below pre-pandemic levels in March.

Exports by pipeline were down 5.7% year over year to 15.7 million cubic metres in July. Following a 69.3% drop in June, exports to the United States by other means (rail, truck and marine) fell another 47.8% in July, as demand for additional transport capacity, which is generally used to supplement pipelines, remained low. In contrast, exports of crude oil and equivalent products to other countries rose year over year, mostly due to increased volumes originating from Newfoundland and Labrador.

Imports of crude oil and equivalent products declined year over year, down 12.7% to 3.2 million cubic metres in July. Imports of crude oil by Canadian refineries were down 11.9%, while imports by entities other than refineries declined 14.5%.

Refineries continue to produce less fuel year over year

Although overall refining activity continued to increase from June to July, production was still affected by refinery closures and low demand for petroleum products. Input of crude oil to Canadian refineries fell for the fifth consecutive month, down 21.4% year over year to 7.8 million cubic metres.

Net production of motor gasoline (including blending components and ethanol fuel) decreased 11.9% year over year to 3.5 million cubic metres in July. Diesel fuel oil production decreased 10.4% and kerosene-type jet fuel production was down 58.5%.

Chart 2 
Net production of motor gasoline, diesel fuel and kerosene-type jet fuel

The demand for transportation fuels remained low in July. Domestic consumption of motor gasoline declined 13.4% year over year, while diesel fuel oil was down 9.3% and jet fuel fell 66.2%.

Prices for petroleum products continued trending upward in July, mostly due to the slow uptick in demand and higher crude oil prices. According to the Industrial Product Price Index, motor gasoline (+5.8%) prices increased for the third consecutive month, while the price of diesel fuel (+8.2%) and jet fuel (+11.2%) were also up from a month earlier.

Natural gas production down on decreased demand

Canadian marketable natural gas production was down 3.8% to 551.9 million gigajoules in July—the fifth consecutive year-over-year decline and the largest since September 2019 (-4.9%). The decrease was attributable to lower production in Alberta (-5.1%). Production in British Columbia edged up 0.1% year over year.

The demand for natural gas continued to decline in July. Total deliveries of natural gas to Canadian consumers fell 4.3% year over year to 284.6 million gigajoules—the lowest level for July since the series began in 2016. Despite a slow recovery in economic activity, deliveries of natural gas to industrial (-4.2%) and commercial and institutional (-11.0%) consumers were down in July. Meanwhile, deliveries to the residential sector increased 0.5%, mostly on higher consumer demand in Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

Chart 3 
Monthly marketable production and deliveries of natural gas to Canadian consumers, year-over-year change

Deliveries of natural gas in Alberta continued their downward trend in July (-5.7% to 182.0 million gigajoules), the third consecutive monthly year-over-year decline. The decline was mainly attributable to lower demand from the industrial sector (-5.9%), which accounted for 60.8% of all natural gas delivered in Canada in July. Scheduled maintenance at some oil sands facilities, which are major consumers of natural gas, contributed to the decline in deliveries to the Alberta industrial sector.

As economic activity and demand for natural gas remained soft in the United States, exports of natural gas by pipeline to the United States fell 9.6% year over year to 225.2 million gigajoules in July—the lowest level for the month of July since the series began in 2016.

Imports of natural gas from the United States by pipeline were up 3.0% to 90.6 million gigajoules, the first monthly year-over-year increase since January 2020. The increase in July was mainly due to higher demand for imported natural gas in Ontario (+4.8%).

Electricity generation up, consumption down

Electricity generation in Canada increased 2.2% to 52.8 million megawatt-hours (MWh) in July, the second increase of 2020.The rise was led by renewable generation (including hydro, wind, solar, tidal and other sources), up 9.7% year over year to 34.2 million MWh, and nuclear generation, up 2.4% to 9.1 million MWh. Partially offsetting the overall increase, electricity generated from combustible fuels was down 12.1% to 10.2 million MWh.

By generation type, hydro was the main contributor to Canada's electricity mix in July. Quebec accounted for almost half of the total hydro production (15.6 million MWh), with British Columbia and Ontario also major producers. Alberta (5.0 million MWh) and Ontario (2.2 million MWh) generated most of the electricity from combustible fuels. Ontario also produced the vast majority of nuclear electricity (94.6%).

Chart 4 
Electricity generation

Electricity consumption decreased 0.8% to 46.4 million MWh year over year in July. Alberta (-8.6%), British Columbia (-2.3%) and Quebec (-1.6%) led the decrease in demand as lockdown measures continued to affect industrial and commercial activity. Meanwhile, there was increased demand for electricity in Ontario (+4.2%), on higher residential demand for cooling due to unseasonably hot weather in July.

Electricity exports to the United States rose 14.1% year over year to 7.1 million MWh in July, the highest level since August 2017. Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia were the main exporting provinces. Imports of electricity from the United States continued to decline year over year, down 46.7% to 0.7 million MWh, with the majority of electricity imported to British Columbia.

Coal production falls by one-third

Coal production fell by one-third (-33.3%) year over year to 3.0 million tonnes in July—the lowest production level on record. Coal production remained at historically low levels over the last three months due to reduced demand for coal and mine closures during the pandemic. Coke production decreased 18.7% to 179.0 thousand tonnes.

Chart 5 
Coal production

Contact information

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