Alberta’s crude oil output in May 2025 dropped to a two-year low at 3.6 MMb/d, 0.1 MMb/d less than a year ago and down 0.4 MMb/d from April and the largest single month drop since April 2020 (down 0.5 MMb/d) when production was curtailed in response to COVID-driven market conditions. It is the first time that output has been below 4 MMb/d since September 2024.
Featured Articles
- Analyst Insight
Alberta’s Crude Oil Production Rebounds Strongly in June
Alberta's June production roared back from two-year lows in May thanks to big gains in synthetic and non-upgraded bitumen output.
- Blog
Turn Around, Look at Me - Maintenance to Curb Alberta's Synthetic Crude Oil Production This Spring
Production of synthetic crude oil that is processed from Alberta’s oil sands reached record highs at the end of 2020 after touching on two year lows just four months earlier. However, these highs could be undermined and sink to four-year lows for a short period of time this spring with what appears to be a heavier than usual slate of maintenance work on three of Alberta’s four upgraders, the immense processing units that produce synthetic crude oil from bitumen. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at the upgraders, the timing of maintenance, and what this might mean for synthetic crude oil production and exports.
- Analyst Insight
Cenovus Shuts Down Christina Lake Oil Sands Production Due to Wildfire Threat
Wildfires have forced Cenovus to undertake a precautionary shut down of its Christina Lake production affecting ~240 Mb/d of bitumen output.
