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Crude oil and natural gas: Supply and disposition, September 2017

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Released: 2017-12-11

Canada produced 20.0 million cubic metres (125.6 million barrels) of crude oil and equivalent products in September.

Crude oil production

Production of crude oil and equivalent products in September was up 3.8% from the same month a year earlier.

Chart 1  Chart 1: Production of crude oil and equivalent products
Production of crude oil and equivalent products

The increase was largely attributable to an 11.8% rise in non-upgraded production of crude bitumen, which was offset by declines in synthetic crude (-5.3%) and in light and medium crude (-3.3%) oil. Over the same period, heavy crude oil production rose 1.2% to 2.0 million cubic metres.

The increase in non-upgraded crude bitumen in September was driven by higher in-situ production (up 11.1% to 7.7 million cubic metres), while mined production decreased 2.9% to 5.8 million cubic metres. Crude bitumen sent for further processing declined 4.4% to 5.5 million cubic metres.

Production of conventional and non-conventional crude oil

In September, crude oil production (excluding equivalent products) totalled 18.4 million cubic metres. Non-conventional crude oil production, which consists of non-upgraded crude bitumen and synthetic crude oil, increased 4.7% from the same month a year earlier to 12.8 million cubic metres.

Meanwhile, conventional production of light, medium and heavy crude oils decreased 1.7% to 5.5 million cubic metres.

Chart 2  Chart 2: Production of conventional and non-conventional crude oil
Production of conventional and non-conventional crude oil

Provincial production

Alberta produced 16.3 million cubic metres of crude oil and equivalent products in September, up 5.9% from September 2016, and accounted for 81.7% of total Canadian production. Saskatchewan (12.0%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (3.8%) were also key contributors.

Chart 3  Chart 3: Provincial production of crude oil and equivalent products
Provincial production of crude oil and equivalent products

Refinery use of crude oil

Input of crude oil to Canadian refineries totalled 8.4 million cubic metres in September, up 15.0% from the same month a year earlier. Conventional crude oil accounted for 63.1% of the total, while non-conventional represented the remaining 36.9%. Light and medium crude oil (4.3 million cubic metres) and synthetic crude oil (2.5 million cubic metres) were the main types of crude oil used by Canadian refineries.

Exports and imports

Exports of crude oil and equivalent products were up 5.3% from September 2016 to 15.6 million cubic metres in September. The vast majority of exports (92.6%) were transported via pipelines to the United States, while exports by other means (including rail, truck, and marine) to the United States accounted for the remaining 7.4%. There were no exports to foreign countries other than the United States.

Imports to Canadian refineries, which tend to be more volatile, were up 33.1% to 3.0 million cubic metres from September 2016.

Chart 4  Chart 4: Exports and imports of crude oil and equivalent products
Exports and imports of crude oil and equivalent products

Closing inventories

Closing inventories of crude oil and equivalent products were down 2.3% from the same month a year earlier to 17.8 million cubic metres in September. The total was comprised of refineries (up 2.7% to 3.7 million cubic metres), transporters (down 1.1% to 11.6 million cubic metres) and fields and plants (down 13.6% to 2.5 million cubic metres).

Quarterly changes in crude oil

For the quarter ending September 30, 2017, crude oil and equivalents production rose 7.0% from the third quarter of 2016 to 62.2 million cubic metres. This represented the highest quarterly production on record, surpassing the previous high of 61.2 million cubic metres in the fourth quarter of 2016. The increase was largely attributable to high levels of non-upgraded production of crude bitumen.

Over the same period, exports rose 8.1% to 47.7 million cubic metres.

Natural gas production

Marketable natural gas production in Canada totalled 13.4 billion cubic metres in September, up 3.6% from the same month a year earlier. Alberta (73.4%) and British Columbia (24.2%) continued to account for most of Canadian production.

Additional information on natural gas is available in "Natural gas transmission, storage and distribution," published in The Daily on November 23, 2017.

Quarterly changes in natural gas

Marketable production of natural gas rose by 1.7% from the third quarter of 2016 to 40.7 billion cubic metres in the third quarter.

  Note to readers

As of the March 2016 reference month, content and methodology changes were made to the Monthly Oil and Other Liquid Petroleum Products Pipeline Survey. For more information, consult the document Monthly Oil and Other Liquid Petroleum Products Pipeline Survey.

Data on crude oil and equivalent products, previously found in CANSIM table 126-0001, are now published in CANSIM table 126-0003. While CANSIM table 126-0001 will remain available for reference, users should exercise caution when comparing data with those of the new CANSIM 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 CANSIM table 126-0003.

Data are subject to revision.

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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