Given Canada’s abundant crude oil, you might be surprised to learn that Canada also imports it from a diverse range of countries from the United States to as far away as Nigeria and Kazakhstan.
But there’s good reason why Canadian refiners source crude from around the world. Crude selection is a key factor in profitable refinery operations. It’s driven by variables that include crude quality (e.g. light vs. heavy), availability and cost. It’s a balancing act that’s further complicated by the lack of pipeline access to western Canadian crude for Eastern Canadian refiners.
Check out the charts below. You might be surprised by some of the information and from how far away Canada sources its crude oil.