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Canadian gas exports take bruising
Revenues from Canadian natural gas exports to the United States trailed returns from oil in 2006 for the first time in many years, the National Energy Board said in its annual report.
Net crude oil exports generated C$25 billion, compared with C$17 billion in 2005, while gas exports nosedived to C$24 billion from C$32 billion.
Blended heavy crude accounted for 64 percent of the total oil exports (including bitumen) of 1.8 million barrels per day, up 9.95 percent from 2005, but net exports of gas dropped by 4.2 percent to 8.7 billion cubic feet per day.
The estimated gross value of crude exports climbed 23 percent to C$39.3 billion, with heavy oil averaging C$54 per barrel and light crude averaging C$71 per barrel, compared with C$47 and C$67 respectively in 2005.
The report said the differential between Edmonton Par and Western Canada Select averaged C$23 per barrel, off C$2 from the previous year, with the gap as wide as C$35 before Enbridge started its reversed Spearhead pipeline in the United States.
Crude oil, equivalent up 6 percent The federal regulator said Canadian production of crude oil and equivalent averaged 2.6 million bpd, a gain of 6 percent, largely reflecting the return to full operations at the three integrated oil sands mining plants and increased output from Newfoundland’s Terra Nova and White Rose fields.
But operational problems at Hibernia and Terra Nova held production from the region to a mere 1 percent gain at 318,000 bpd.
Conventional light oil and condensate accounted for 37 percent of Canada’s total volumes in 2006, followed by synthetic crude at 25 percent, conventional heavy crude at 20 percent and non-upgrade bitumen at 18 percent.
Bitumen production from mining and in-situ operations totaled 1.2 million bpd, an increase of 15 percent; in-situ production rose 10 percent to 483,000 bpd; and bitumen from mining operations rose 18 percent to 743,000 bpd, while upgraded bitumen was unchanged at 761,000 bpd.
—Gary Park
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