Shipments of crude oil by rail from Canada hit a record 193,500 barrels per day in April, up 13% from the previous month, as full pipelines forced producers to use trains to get their crude oil exports to market, according to new data from the National Energy Board.
The oil shipping tally beat the previous record of nearly 179,000 barrels per day in September 2014 and was well ahead of the 150,000 barrels per day moved in April 2017, the data shows.
In an e-mail to clients, accounting firm Deloitte said they expect rail shipments will continue to grow during 2018. The increased use of rail will allow prices for Western Canadian Select bitumen-blend crude oil to strengthen as compared with New York benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude, noted Deloitte.
Also, demand for Canadian heavy oil is expected to increase as it will be needed in the U.S. Gulf Coast refining complex to replace shrinking volumes from Venezuela. Deloitte forecasts that global oil prices will fall back from recent three-year highs in the coming months as OPEC countries increase output and international demand for oil declines.
