Market Snapshot: Imports of crude oil decreased in 2017

Release date: 2018-03-07

Canada imports around one barrel of crude oil for every five barrels it produces. Imports of crude oil decreased 12% in 2017, from 759 thousand barrels a day (Mb/d) in 2016 to 670  Mb/d. In 2017, Canada received just over half of its oil imports from the United States, similar to 2016. A higher share of imports came from Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, and the United Kingdom compared to 2016 and a lower share came from Algeria and Nigeria.Footnote 1

Source and Description

Source: Statistics Canada’s Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database (CIMT)

Description: This stacked bar chart shows imports of crude oil to Canada by country of origin from 2011 to 2017. Imports decreased between 2016 and 2017 from 759 Mb/d to 670 Mb/d. The shares of imports to Canada in 2017 were on average 53% from the United States, 15% from Saudi Arabia, 8% from Azerbaijan, 6% from Norway, 6% from Nigeria, 3% from the United Kingdom, 1% from each Angola, Russia, Colombia, and Kazakhstan, and less than 1% from Oman, Trinidad and Tobago, Ghana (not pictured), and the Ivory Coast.

The provinces which import the most crude oil are New Brunswick (NB), Quebec (QC), Ontario (ON), and Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). New Brunswick, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador bring crude oil in by marine tanker to terminals located at the refinery. Ontario and Quebec refineries import crude oil by pipeline from the U.S. and process U.S. and western Canadian crude oil.

Source and Description

Source: Statistics Canada’s Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database (CIMT)

Description: This stacked bar graph shows imports into Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), New Brunswick (NB), Ontario (ON), and Quebec (QC) in 2016 and 2017, separated into US and non-US imports. Imports into New Brunswick increased in 2017 to 262 Mb/d, and 8% came from the U.S. Imports into Newfoundland and Labrador decreased to 70 Mb/d, and 63% of imports came from the U.S. Imports into Ontario decreased to 94 Mb/d, and all came from the U.S. Imports into Quebec decreased to 158 Mb/d, and 68% of imports came from the U.S.

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