Oil Supply and Demand

Canadian Oil Supply and Demand* (2014)
Canadian production	3.8 mb/d**
Exports	2.9 mb/d**
Canadian oil sent to domestic refineries	1.2 mb/d**
Imports by domestic refineries ***	0.7 mb/d**

*includes condensates and pentanes plus
** millions of barrels per day
*** Includes both imports to refineries (0.5 mb/d) and those
delivered to fields for use as diluent (0.2 mb/d)

 

Canadian Oil Production

Canada is the fifth-largest crude oil producer in the world

In 2014, Canada produced 3.8 mb/d of crude oil. Of this, 2.2 mb/d was produced from the oil sands and the remaining 1.6 mb/d was conventional, offshore, and tight oil production. Globally, only the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia and China have higher oil production.

World Oil Production (2014)*
Rank	Country	Percentage of Total
1	United States	14%
2	Saudi Arabia	13%
3	Russian Federation	12%
4	People’s Republic of China	5%
5	Canada	5%
6	United Arab Emirates	4%
7	Islamic Republic of Iran	4%
8	Iraq	4%
9	Kuwait	4%
10	Brazil	3%

Source: International Energy Agency *Includes crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), additives, and other hydrocarbons
(including the receipts of additives).

The majority of Canada’s oil is produced in three provinces

Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador account for over 96% of oil production in Canada.

Trade

Canada produces more oil than it can consume. As a result, Canada is a significant net exporter of crude oil.

In 2014, Canada exported 2.85 million barrels per day of crude oil. Of this, 97% went to the United States and the remaining 3% went to Europe and Asia.

Due to the regional nature of Canadian refining markets, Canada also imports some crude oil.

Canadian crude oil imports come from a range of countries, including the U.S. (54%), Saudi Arabia (11%), Iraq (8%), and Norway (5%).

 

Top 10 Source Countries for Canadian Crude Oil Imports (2014)*
Rank	Country	Thousand barrels per day	Percentage of Total Imports
1	United States	340.8	53.6%
2	Saudi Arabia	71.3	11.2%
3	Iraq	48.3	7.6%
4	Norway	33.9	5.3%
5	Algeria	33.8	5.3%
6	Angola	31.4	4.9%
7	Mexico	20.5	3.2%
8	Azerbaijan	10.7	1.7%
9	Nigeria	10.4	1.6%
10	Ivory Coast	7.1	1.1%
NA	Other	27.6	4.4%
	Total	635.8	100.0%

Source: Statistics Canada, Trade Retrieval and Aggregation System (TRAGS)
*Based on Canadian imports of Harmonized System Code 2709, Petroleum Oils
and Oils From Bituminous Minerals, Crude.

Learn more about Canadian crude oil trade in NRCan’s Energy Market Fact Book 2015-2016.