Energy statistics, November 2021

Released: 2022-02-07

Primary energy production remained high in November, at 1.9 million terajoules, up 2.4% year over year. Natural gas (+8.0%) accounted for most of the growth in primary energy production. Secondary energy production increased 4.3% year over year, mostly because of higher refinery production.

Total energy exports increased 7.3% year over year in November despite flooding in British Columbia, which caused disruptions to the transportation of goods at several ports along the west coast. A combination of increased volumes and high prices for energy products contributed to the growth in exports. Higher volumes of natural gas (+16.2%), crude oil (+5.1%) and refined petroleum products (+20.6%) primarily exported to the United States were the main drivers. Total energy imports rose 7.9% year over year, with crude oil and natural gas accounting for the majority of imported energy products.

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Crude oil production continues to rise

Production of crude oil and equivalent products totalled 23.7 million cubic metres in November. Although down from the previous month, which saw the highest production levels since December 2019 (before the COVID-19 pandemic), production was still strong relative to November 2020 (+3.8%). The overall gain was driven by higher oil sands extraction, up 4.9% to 15.8 million cubic metres. This was the ninth consecutive monthly year-over-year increase, as the demand for energy remained robust. The increase in oil sands extraction was primarily attributable to crude bitumen production, up 6.4% to 9.6 million cubic metres, with synthetic crude production up 2.7% year over year to 6.2 million cubic metres.

Oil extraction also saw a modest increase, up 1.5% to 5.7 million cubic metres, mainly because of higher demand for heavy crude oil by the United States (up 5.0% to 1.9 million cubic metres). Conversely, light and medium crude production edged down 0.2% to 3.8 million cubic metres.

Chart 1 
Production of crude oil, by type of product

Following two consecutive monthly gains, the crude oil and bitumen price index fell 3.1% in November as news of the Omicron variant broke and contributed to uncertainty in global demand. Despite the decrease, prices remained elevated compared with 2020. Global demand continued to outweigh supply, as production limits by countries of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Plus (OPEC+) remained in place. According to the US Energy Information Administration, consumption of crude oil in Canada rose 2.1% in November.

Exports of crude oil and equivalent products dropped 5.0% to 18.6 million cubic metres in November. Flooding and landslides in British Columbia in mid-November resulted in the temporary shutdown of some pipelines. However, capacity availability in other export pipelines kept products moving. Exports to the United States by pipeline were up 8.5% in November. Meanwhile, exports to other countries decreased 84.9% to 0.1 million cubic metres. Exports to countries other than the United States tend to rely on marine terminals along the west coast, where the flooding and landslides interrupted the transportation of goods.

Imports of crude oil and equivalent products dropped 9.0% to 3.3 million cubic metres, the third consecutive decline.

Production of and demand for finished petroleum products

Production of finished petroleum products rose 5.7% in November, as maintenance at refineries that reduced capacity utilization over the previous few months wrapped up. Higher production of motor gasoline (+10.0%) and jet fuel (+39.3%) were the main contributors to increased production, while distillate fuel oil (-2.9%) and renewable fuel (-2.4%) production partially offset this increase.

Demand for finished petroleum products continued to grow in November, up 6.0% to 8.7 million cubic metres. Demand for motor gasoline (+7.1%) and jet fuel (+57.9%) were the main drivers.

Prices of refined petroleum products were down 1.6% in November. Prices for all fuel types declined in that month, with the exception of jet fuel prices, which continued to increase (+1.6%). Similar to crude oil prices, prices of refined petroleum products in November were still relatively high, following very strong prices in October (+8.5%).

Exports of finished petroleum products jumped 34.7% compared with November 2020, to 1.5 million cubic metres. Imports were also up (+49.2%), as increased volumes of jet fuel, finished motor gasoline and distillate fuel oil were brought into the country.

Natural gas production up on increased demand

Production of marketable natural gas continued to rise, up 8.0% to 613.1 million gigajoules in November, the fifth consecutive monthly year-over-year increase. The production of natural gas was concentrated in Alberta (66.7%) and British Columbia (32.0%).

Chart 2 
Marketable production of natural gas and deliveries to Canadian consumers

Total deliveries of natural gas to Canadian consumers rose 3.0% year over year to 404.4 million gigajoules in November, driven primarily by higher demand from industrial sectors in Alberta (+69.5%) and Ontario (+15.3%). In contrast, deliveries to the industrial sector in British Columbia decreased 6.7% as flooding in that province resulted in the temporary closure of some pipelines. National deliveries to the residential (-6.6%) and commercial and institutional (-5.6%) sectors also fell, partially offsetting the overall increase in deliveries.

Demand for Canadian natural gas in the United States rose steadily over the previous year. Following a 14.8% increase in October, exports of natural gas to the United States rose again in November, up 16.2% to 271.1 million gigajoules, the highest export level in six months. Imports of natural gas also increased, up 16.0% year over year to 115.8 million gigajoules in November, with the majority delivered to meet demand from Ontario.

Following a sharp rise in October (+21.0%), the natural gas price index fell 4.5% month over month in November. However, this price drop was attributed to the previous month's record-high natural gas prices.

Electricity generation down

Electricity generation continued to decrease in November, down 3.0% year over year to 51.7 million megawatt-hours (MWh). Hydroelectricity generation (-3.9%) was the main contributor to the overall decline, as water levels in Manitoba remained low and continued to impact production. Generation of electricity from nuclear energy was down 10.2% because of shutdowns for refurbishments and maintenance at some reactors. Meanwhile, electricity generation from combustible fuels, including biomass, rose 4.8% year over year to 10.9 million MWh in November.

By generation type, hydroelectricity remained the single largest contributor to Canada's electricity mix, accounting for 58.5% of electricity production in November. Overall, renewable generation accounted for just over two-thirds (67.9%) of total electricity produced in November, while combustible fuels accounted for 21.1%.

Chart 3 
Generation of electricity by fuel type

Following a 0.9% decline in October, electricity consumption remained relatively flat year over year in November, up 0.1% to 49.5 million MWh.

Electricity exports to the United States fell 13.4% year over year to 4.0 million MWh in November. Exports originating from Quebec (-19.6%), British Columbia (-28.5%) and Manitoba (-24.7%) were the main reason for the decrease. In contrast, electricity imports from the United States were up 131.1% to 1.8 million MWh, the highest level since March 2019. This was primarily attributable to higher demand in Manitoba, which reported a significant decrease in domestic production (-33.4%) because of depleted water reservoirs.

Coal production and exports decrease year over year

Coal production dropped 28.1% to 2.8 million tonnes in November, while exports fell 31.0% to 1.6 million tonnes. Similarly, coke production declined 31.2% to 124 100 tonnes.

Contact information

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