Gulf Coast Re-Exports of Canadian Heavy Crude Oil Holds Steady into Mid-Year

Re-exports of Canadian heavy crude oil are estimated to have been 117 Mb/d in June (rightmost stacked columns in chart below), a small gain of 4 Mb/d from May, 49 Mb/d less than a year ago and the third consecutive month greater than 100 Mb/d based on tanker data compiled by Bloomberg and historical export data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Since the departure last year of China (red columns) from the Gulf Coast in favor of Canada’s west coast as a buyer of Canadian crude, two nations have remained prominent in picking up Canadian barrels, partly motivated by logistical proximity. India (gray columns) lifted 83 Mb/d in June, down from 133 Mb/d in May and 16 Mb/d higher than a year ago. Spain (blue columns) has been a more intermittent customer, buying 34 Mb/d in June, up from zero in May and 12 Mb/d more than year a ago. These shipments have typically been purchased by Repsol for delivery to its refinery in Cartagena, Spain.