CALGARY, Alberta--Western Canadian crude inventories declined in June, energy information provider Genscape said on July 8, in line with a seasonal decrease in supply because of maintenance at oil sands projects in northern Alberta.
Stocks fell 219,000 barrels between the first and last Fridays in June, to total 30.5 million barrels (MMbbl) as of June 28. That was 9% lower than inventories in May, which totaled 33.6 MMbbl, and 18% lower than April's record high of 37.1 MMbbl.
The draw will be welcome news for Alberta's provincial government, which has eased oil production curtailments for August, setting the limit at 3.74 MMbbl/d.
Canada's main crude-producing province introduced curtailments effective Jan. 1 to help ease congestion on oil export pipelines and drain a glut of crude in storage tanks that was depressing prices.
"Inventory declines in the late spring months are common as production facilities normally shut for seasonal maintenance, resulting in decreased supply," said Hillary Stevenson, Genscape director of oil markets and business development.
Stevenson said stocks normally draw April through June and start building again in July.
Canadian crude-by-rail loadings were nearly flat in June, edging 1,000 bbl/d lower to 230,000 bpd. The plateau in crude-by-rail came after three months of steady gains, as more producers opted to bypass pipeline congestion and ship barrels by rail.
Recommended Reading
NOV's AI, Edge Offerings Find Traction—Despite Crowded Field
2024-02-02 - NOV’s CEO Clay Williams is bullish on the company’s digital future, highlighting value-driven adoption of tech by customers.
TechnipFMC Eyes $30B in Subsea Orders by 2025
2024-02-23 - TechnipFMC is capitalizing on an industry shift in spending to offshore projects from land projects.
Flame Acquisition Holders Approve Merger with Sable Offshore
2024-02-14 - The business combination among Flame Acquisition Corp., Sable Offshore Holdings and Sable Offshore Corp. will be renamed Sable Offshore Corp.
SLB’s ChampionX Acquisition Key to Production Recovery Market
2024-04-21 - During a quarterly earnings call, SLB CEO Olivier Le Peuch highlighted the production recovery market as a key part of the company’s growth strategy.
W&T Offshore Adds John D. Buchanan to Board
2024-04-12 - W&T Offshore’s appointment of John D. Buchanan brings the number of company directors to six.