CALGARY, Alberta—Canadian crude producer Imperial Oil has recently resumed shipping crude oil by rail from its terminal in Edmonton, Alberta, because of a marginal improvement in rail economics, a company spokesman said on March 26.
The pickup in volumes is good news for the Alberta government, which is relying on rail to help draw down crude storage inventories in Canada’s main oil-producing province.
“We have started a small amount of shipments that are economic under current conditions,” Imperial spokesman Jon Harding said in an email, declining to give exact volumes.
Calgary-based Imperial slashed rail shipments from nearly 170,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) in December to near zero in February after the government imposed mandatory production cuts on oil companies.
Alberta curtailed production to help narrow the discount on Canadian crude, which last year widened to record levels because of congestion on export pipelines. However, the differential between Canadian heavy barrels and U.S. crude tightened so sharply, rail shipments were no longer economical, Imperial CEO Rich Kruger said on an earnings call last month.
Canadian crude traders say a discount of around $15 a barrel on Canadian heavy oil vs. U.S. crude is generally needed to make rail economical, although that can be narrower depending on prices in the market the crude is destined for, and what transportation deals shippers have in place.
Benchmark Canadian heavy crude was last trading around $10 per barrel below U.S. crude, having tightened to just over $8 a barrel in January.
Canadian crude by rail volumes hit a record high of 354,000 bbl/d in December, according to the National Energy Board, before declining.
Analysts at TPH Energy Research estimate March volumes so far are in the 160,000-175,000 bbl/d range but said activity is picking up.
“Public data for weekly carloads from the two major Canadian rail operators points to the latest week’s data being the highest level (a whopping 10,600 carloads for the week) since late January when the wheels started to fall off and rail volumes fell precipitously,” they wrote in a note.
The Alberta government is planning to start moving 120,000 bbl/d of crude by rail later this year. Imperial has been critical of curtailments and this month delayed an oil sands project citing uncertainty caused by government intervention, but was positive about boosting crude by rail volumes.
“We support efforts to expand rail shipments in order to reach higher-value markets and to help alleviate industry pipeline constraints, to the benefit of Albertans,” Harding said.
Recommended Reading
Brightmark, Chevron Announce First Gas at Athena Project
2022-08-03 - Through Brightmark and Chevron's partnership, manure from dairy farms will be converted to renewable natural gas that can be used as a clean alternative fuel.
Energy Transfer Signs LNG Supply Agreement with China Gas for Lake Charles Project
2022-06-06 - China Gas signed a 25-year agreement for LNG supply from Energy Transfer's Lake Charles LNG export facility, representing the first long-term LNG contract the company has signed.
Sempra to Develop Carbon Capture Project at Cameron LNG Facility in Louisiana
2022-05-23 - The captured carbon will permanently stored in a saline aquifer using an injection well with a capacity of up to 2 million tons of CO2 per year.
Europe Edges Out Asia as Top Destination for US LNG
2022-06-17 - More than half of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe in April as the continent continued to replace its gas supply from Russia. Top destinations included France, Spain, the U.K. and the Netherlands with Poland surpassing South Korea.
Energy Transfer Edging Closer to FID for Lake Charles LNG Facility
2022-06-13 - Energy Transfer is the lone company in the project and continues its search for an equity partner or partners. It’s doubtful it would FID the project without an equity partner, an analyst told Hart Energy.