Opportunity Crudes

With demand recovering from the depths hit in the throes of the COVID-19 crisis, producing nations are expecting to reap better prices for their crudes, especially medium- and heavy-sour crudes that have seen supplies tighten due to the OPEC+ cuts, the collapse of Venezuela's oil industry, and the US sanctions on Iran.

At the start of this month, crude production from the South American nation fell to around 300K b/d, with no oil rigs operating in the country, according to a series of internal operation reports from PDVSA.

Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge was ordered to shut down Line 5, which travels from Western Canada to Eastern Canada and various hubs in the US and has a segment traversing the Straits of Mackinac.

In the week ending June 19, after a shifted screw was discovered, Canadian pipeline operator Enbridge shut down the line, which carries both crude and NGL from Western Canada to the Eastern Canada and various hubs in the US.

A fresh round of US sanctions on shipping companies and vessels involved in moving Venezuelan oil and has further tramped down oil output and exports from the South American nation.

From Jan. to May, heavy crude imports to the US Gulf Coast (USGC) from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, and Mexico totaled 148.0MM bbl

On June 1 2020, it was announced that construction of a 7-km (0.62-mile) section in Kamloops, British Columbia has begun.

Crude production from the South American nation is on the decline as stocks in the country are building due to US sanctions limiting oil exports.

In Canada, The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) has temporarily suspended a number of environmental regulations on oilsands firms operating in the province after these firms said they could not comply with both the regulations and social distancing orders.

In the US, work on TC Energy's Keystone XL pipeline in Montana was halted after a US District Judge ruled on April 15 that a key water permit used for the pipeline, Nationwide Permit 12, should be suspended.