US midcontinent refiners combat Canadian losses

OREANDA-NEWS. May 16, 2016. US refiners are lining up alternative supplies as Canadian oil sands producers slowly resume operations after a massive wildfire took an estimated 1.3mn b/d of Canadian output off line. Some production is restarting but Syncrude Canada, Nexen and Shell Canada have reduced their May commitments.

Pipeline flows from the US Gulf coast to the midcontinent should climb in response as refiners work to supply a region that took 2.1mn b/d of Canadian crude last year. Shipments through the 1.2mn b/d Capline, which runs from Louisiana to Illinois, are expected to reach up to 600,000 b/d, or roughly double recent flows.

US refiners could also take crude held in storage at Cushing, Oklahoma, where stocks recently hit a record 67.8mn bl.