Oil-by-rail rises to record in September

NEB reports exports reach 269,829 bpd

CALGARY• The National Energy Board says crude-byrail exports from Canada to the United States rose to a record 269,829 barrels per day in September.

That’s up more than 17 per cent from 229,544 bpd in August and just over double the 134,132 barrels per day recorded in September 2017.

Total crude exports reached 3.47 million bpd in September, up from 3.31 million a year earlier.

Pipeline export constraints are being blamed for a glut of oil in Western Canada that caused the price discount for Western Canadian Select oilsands blend versus New York benchmark West Texas Intermediate to peak at more than US$50 per barrel in October.

The government of Alberta has called on Ottawa to help increase crude-by-rail shipments, estimating the crude oil discounts are costing the Canadian economy as much as $80 million per day.

Meanwhile, oilsands producers such as Cenovus Energy Inc. and Imperial Oil Ltd. are ramping up crudeby-rail volumes to get barrels to markets where they will receive better prices.

Cenovus has called on the province to impose production cuts to reduce the oil oversupply in Alberta but the suggestion has been panned by rivals who are insulated from discounts because they have firm pipeline contracts or use their oil in their own refineries.