Gulf Coast Re-Exports of Canadian Heavy Crude Oil Fall to 21-Month Low; Chinese Buyers Remain Absent

Based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, re-exports of Canadian heavy crude oil from the Gulf Coast in September 2024 averaged 84 Mb/d (height of the rightmost stacked columns in chart below), a pullback from 114 Mb/d in August and 76 Mb/d less than a year ago. September’s re-export rate was the lowest since 76 Mb/d was re-exported in January 2023. The latest month tallied only two countries as destinations for re-exports: India (gray columns) was the largest recipient of Canadian crude at 50 Mb/d, 31 Mb/d less than the prior month and up from zero a year ago. Spain (blue columns) was number two at 34 Mb/d, a 1 Mb/d gain from August and up from zero a year ago. Re-exports to China (red columns) were absent for a second consecutive month, the first two-month string since the depths of COVID disruptions in late 2020, and 160 Mb/d below one year ago.