Crude oil and natural gas: Supply and disposition, June 2018
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
Released: 2018-09-11
Canada produced 21.1 million cubic metres (132.9 million barrels) of crude oil and equivalent products in June, up 10.5% from the same month a year earlier.
Production increases continue
The year-over-year increase in total production of crude oil and equivalent products in June was driven by non-upgraded production of crude bitumen (+15.9%).
Non-upgraded crude bitumen production consisted of in-situ crude bitumen (+6.0%), plus mined crude bitumen (+19.5%), minus crude bitumen sent for further processing (+6.7%). Since the start of the data series in 2016, crude bitumen production from mining operations has been more volatile than bitumen produced in-situ.
Chart 1
Production of crude oil and equivalent products
Chart 2
In-situ and mined crude bitumen production
Synthetic crude oil (+8.8%), light and medium crude oil (+7.6%) and equivalent products (+14.7%) also contributed to the overall increase in monthly production.
Meanwhile, production of heavy crude oil was down 2.8% in June, marking the tenth consecutive month of year-over-year decreases.
Oil sands extraction returns to near-capacity levels
Crude oil production (excluding equivalent products) totalled 19.5 million cubic metres in June, up 10.2% from the same month a year earlier.
Oil sands extraction, which consists of non-upgraded crude bitumen and synthetic crude oil, increased 13.1% from the previous June to 13.5 million cubic metres. Over the same period, extraction of light, medium and heavy crude oils rose 4.1% to 6.0 million cubic metres. Oil sands extraction averaged a 9.4% year-over-year increase in the previous 12 months, while oil extraction averaged a 4.6% increase.
Chart 3
Crude oil and oil sands extraction
Provincial production
Alberta produced 17.2 million cubic metres of crude oil and equivalent products in June, up 12.5% from the same month a year earlier.
Alberta (81.2%), Saskatchewan (11.0%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (5.5%) accounted for the vast majority of Canadian production of crude oil and equivalent products.
Exports and imports
Exports of crude oil and equivalent products were up 10.6% to 17.4 million cubic metres in June. Exports to the United States by pipelines rose 10.1%, while exports to the United States by other means (including rail, truck and marine) and exports to other countries also increased.
Meanwhile, imports of crude oil to refineries (-26.0% to 2.5 million cubic metres) continued on a downward trend.
Chart 4
Exports and imports of crude oil and equivalent products
Closing inventories
Closing inventories of crude oil and equivalent products totalled 19.2 million cubic metres in June, up 14.3% from the same month a year earlier. Increases in inventories held by transporters (+14.3%) and fields and plants (+20.5%) were the main contributors to the overall gain. Inventories held at refineries (+ 8.8%) were also up.
Record exports in second quarter
For the quarter ending June 30, 2018, production of crude oil and equivalents totalled 63.2 million cubic metres, up 12.1% compared with the same quarter of 2017. The majority of the overall rise was attributable to growth in non-upgraded production of crude bitumen, up 17.5% from the previous quarter.
Exports of crude oil and equivalents rose 10.0% to 53.7 million cubic metres, and surpassing the record of 51.2 million cubic metres set in the previous quarter.
The vast majority of crude oil was exported via pipeline to the United States. Exports by this mode in the second quarter reached 46.5 million cubic metres, 7.8% higher than the same quarter in the previous year. Additionally, monthly exports to the United States by other means averaged 1.7 million cubic metres in the second quarter, surpassing the previous high set in the same quarter in 2017.
Meanwhile, imports by refineries totalled 7.7 million cubic metres, down 20.6% compared with the second quarter of 2017.
Natural gas production
Canadian marketable natural gas production totalled 13.8 billion cubic metres in June, up 6.4% from the same month a year earlier. Production of natural gas was concentrated in Alberta (69.3%) and British Columbia (28.6%).
Additional information on natural gas is available in "Natural gas transmission, storage and distribution," published in The Daily on August 24, 2018.
Quarterly changes in natural gas
Marketable production of natural gas rose 5.1% from the second quarter of 2017 to 42.4 billion cubic metres in the second quarter of 2018.
Note to readers
As of the April 2018 reference month, data in table 25-10-0063 are now available from January 2016.
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 data with those of 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 Industrial Classification System 2017 update, conventional crude oil will be referred to as crude oil extraction, while non-conventional crude oil will be referred to as oil sands extraction.
Data from May 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).
- Date modified: