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Canada’s crude exports to U.S. grow in 2002, but gas down
Gary Park, Petroleum News Calgary correspondent
Rising demand in the U.S. Midwest for Canadian crude was a key factor in boosting Canada’s oil and products trade balance in 2002, the National Energy Board reported.
Exports averaged 1.81 million barrels per day, up 5.2 percent from 2001, while imports — mostly from the North Sea as feedstock for Eastern Canadian refineries — dropped 6.4 percent to 991,458 barrels per day, leaving a net surplus of 819,222 barrels per day.
Crude exports generated revenue of C$23.5 billion, a gain of C$3.4 billion from 2001.
The export breakdown, on a daily basis, included 897,654 barrels of heavy crude, 565,612 barrels of light and 347,414 barrels of products.
Overall, the board reported that gross revenues from Canada’s exports of oil, natural gas and hydroelectricity slipped 18 percent to C$43 billion, but still accounted for 12 percent of all exports.
The energy trade surplus for 2002 was C$26 billion, off C$7 billion from 2001. Gas shipments down Gas shipments to the U.S. totaled 3.49 trillion cubic feet, a drop of 1.6 percent from 2001. Average gas production for the year was 17.1 billion cubic feet per day, a decline of 1 percent, which the board attributed to reduced drilling activity in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin and shrinking output from several fields.
The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board announced that production of synthetic crude in Canada’s dominant producing province nosed ahead of light and medium crude for the first time in 2002.
Preliminary data released May 8 showed synthetic crude totaled 161 million barrels last year — up 33.7 million barrels from the previous year — compared with a light/medium tally of 159.9 million barrels.
The value of crude production climbed to C$19.26 billion from C$16.86 billion, with synthetic contributing C$6.19 billion compared with C$4.58 billion in 2001.
Heavy oil output dropped 7 percent to 81.1 million barrels, but revenues rose 24 percent to C$2.27 billion.
Natural gas production in the province dropped to 6.02 trillion cubic feet from 6.18 trillion cubic feet, but exports to the U.S. rose by 16 percent to 2.65 trillion cubic feet. The largest markets were the U. S. Midwest at 1.16 trillion cubic feet, the U.S. Northeast 596 billion cubic feet and the Rockies 308 billion cubic feet.
Overall gas revenues were off 28 percent at C$18.29 billion.
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