TORONTO: Canada is the top oil exporter to the US, the shipments of energy products including bitumen from Alberta’s oil sands, the world’s third largest oil reserve are the largest part of Canada’s exports According to Statistics Canada.
According to EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) data, Canadian imports increased by 107,000 barrels per day, or bpd, to 3.1 million barrels, or MMbbls, for the week ending January 16, 2015 from the previous week. It indicated a 17.5% increase from the same week last year. For the last four-week average, imports were 3.02 MMbbls/d as of January 16, 2015 compared to 2.62 MMbbls/d for the four-week average during same period last year.
Canada’s Finance Minister, Joe Oliver, commented that “It is a matter of urgent national interest that we move our oil to tidewater because our only customer, the U.S., has found vast amounts of shale oil and gas and will need us less and less. If we do not access new markets, our resources will be stranded and a huge opportunity will be lost.”
According to official data, 3.2 MMbbls of Canadian oil was imported per day in 2014. It’s projected to rise to 3.4 MMbbls/d in 2015. After 2015, US imports of Canadian crude are projected to flatten to as low as 3.28 MMbbls/d in 2020. However, they’re expected to rise above the 2014 levels to 4 MMbbls/d by 2040.
Tim McMillan is the president of the CAAP (Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers). In an interview, he said that the big growth in energy demand will come from the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Its industry needs to have access to where its customers are located. McMillan said that Canada and the US improved the domestic production levels. This indicates falling imports.
Canadian crude exports may experience a fall in 2015. This would negatively impact crude tanker companies like Frontline Ltd. (FRO), Teekay Tankers Ltd. (TNK), Nordic American Tanker Ltd. (NAT), and DHT Holdings Inc. (DHT). It would also negatively impact the Guggenheim Shipping ETF (SEA).
