Canada’s struggling oil market has found something of a lifeline, as traders scramble for heavy crude due to OPEC production cuts and sinking Latin American output. Output has fallen in Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC Latin American countries such as Mexico and Colombia, leading refiners as far away as China to look to Alberta’s oil sands to fill the gap.
The interest has boosted the price for heavy Western Canada Select (WCS) oil, which is within range of its tightest discount to US crude ever. Canadian heavy oil is an easy substitute for Middle Eastern and Latin American grades, and the rising demand represents a rare bright spot for the oil sands. They have been hit hard by falling prices and the high cost to produce and blend Alberta’s heavy, tar-like bitumen.
“We’ve been seeing a structural change in the market since OPEC cut medium sours, and Canadian heavy fits beautifully in there,” one trader at an oil sands company said. OPEC is attempting to re-balance global markets by cutting sour crude output, keeping light sweet barrels flowing as US shale producers are pumping at record levels. Output in Venezuela, an OPEC member, fell 11 per cent in the first five months of the year to a 27-year- low due to under-investment and infrastructure problems.
As political turmoil mounts there, the United States could impose sanctions that would hinder Venezuela’s ability to sell crude. Mexico’s production fell eight per cent in the first five months of 2017 from a year ago as a result of long-running natural production declines in aging oilfields.
Colombia’s dropped 11.5 per cent as a consequence of rebel attacks on pipelines.
Venezuela, Mexico and Colombia produce about 5.3 million barrels per day, while OPEC has cut about 1.8 million bpd in supply, most sour crude.
Canada exports more than 3 million barrels of crude daily to the United States, its No. 1 customer, according to US Energy Department data. Sending more Canadian oil to the United States may be difficult due to pipeline constraints, though more oil could be sent by rail, albeit at a higher price.
High costs and poor returns prompted international energy companies to sell around 22.5 billion dollars in Canadian assets this year.
OPEC cuts are now starting to bite in Asia, traders said demand for sour barrels was rising in a region that historically sourced oil from the Middle East and Russia.