Canada’s crude oil imports fall to their lowest level since 1988

Data from Canada’s energy regulator showed on Wednesday that the country’s imports of crude oil in 2021 fell to their lowest level in more than three decades as domestic supplies increased.

The data indicated that imports fell about 20 percent in 2021 to 473,000 barrels per day, from 579,000 barrels per day in 2020.

The total cost of imported oil amounted to 14.7 billion US dollars in 2021, an increase of 30 percent from 11.3 billion dollars in 2020, following the recovery in global prices of crude last year after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Canada is the world’s fourth largest oil producer and exports about 3.7 million barrels per day, but the vast majority of its production comes from the western province of Alberta.

The share of oil imported from the United States fell to 66 percent in 2021 from 75 percent in 2020. Saudi Arabia came in second with a share of 15 percent, while supplies from Nigeria amounted to 13 percent.

The data showed that Canada did not import any quantities of oil from Russia in 2021 or 2020.