U.S. and Canada’s oil and gas partnership is a win-win

The global energy security crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine highlights the instability of the international oil and gas market. In 2021, U.S. imports of Russian oil and products reached 672,000 barrels per day. Now with the ban on Russian oil and products, the U.S. is stuck looking for other sources.

Canada is the ideal partner to fill the void. Canada’s oil and gas supply is as stable and reliable as the relationship it shares with the U.S. It also offers several economic benefits on both sides of the border — creating and supporting thousands of jobs and helping lower consumer energy costs. What’s more, the free and safe movement of resources between the U.S. and Canada is an assurance that cannot be guaranteed by OPEC countries like Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

The U.S. has become an oil production powerhouse thanks to new technology used in shale deposits. However, the U.S. still needs to import a substantial amount of oil — 6.1 million barrels per day in 2021. In 2021, 62% of all these U.S. oil imports came from Canada; 38% from other countries.

U.S. refiners have invested billions of dollars to tailor their facilities to specifically process heavy oil, like that produced in Canada. This type of heavy crude oil grade typically trades at lower prices and the geographic proximity of Canada also makes it more economical in many cases for the U.S. to import that heavy oil from Canada rather than import petroleum products from OPEC nations.