Trans Mountain Waterborne Crude Exports Rise to Near Record, Exports to China Soar to New High

Waterborne crude oil exports from the expanded Trans Mountain Pipeline (TMX) averaged 490 Mb/d in November 2025 (rightmost stacked column in chart below), an increase of 60 Mb/d versus a revised October level of 430 Mb/d, and an increase of 123 Mb/d from a year ago based on tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. The latest exports are just 8 Mb/d short of the record reached in March 2025 of 498 Mb/d. The most recent increase confirmed market reports that tanker export bookings off TMX would increase in response to favorable pricing opportunities versus other overseas crude streams and wider sanctions on exports of Russian crude oil in an attempt to target importing countries such as China, with the result of more tanker bookings from non-sanctioned countries such as Canada. Senior management at TMX noted in its latest quarterly report that tanker bookings appear to have remained strong into December.