Canadian oil exports to China are on pace for a record month amid a surge of purchases as the Asian giant pivots away from US crude.
Almost 5 million barrels have been shipped out of Vancouver so far in October, a record for the first 15 days of any month, according to Vortexa ship tracking data.
Chinese buyers were recently stockpiling more than half a million barrels a day of foreign crude to take advantage of steep price discounts for Russian and Iranian oil amid growing US pressure to economically hobble those nations.
More than 70% of oil-laden vessels departing the British Columbia port have sailed for China, according to the data. The remainder headed for the US West Coast, an area off Los Angeles where cargoes typically are offloaded to larger tankers for shipment elsewhere, or had no listed destination.
Asian demand has driven Canadian heavy crude to the strongest prices since July even as prices are normally near their weakest in the fourth quarter. Western Canadian Select in Alberta was trading at $10.20 less than US benchmark West Texas Intermediate as of Thursday, according to Modern Commodities prices.
Canadian oil shipments to China are surging as the country shuns US crude amid an intensifying trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies. China recently imposed retaliatory port fees on US-linked vessels, increasing freight rates to haul American crude to Asia.
The three ports that receiving the most Canadian crude this month include Ningbo, Zhoushan and Zhanjiang, Vortexa data show. Zhoushan is where the 800,000 barrel a day Zhejiang Petroleum & Chemical refinery, majority owned by Rongsheng Petrochemical, receives its crude. The plant has been the biggest Chinese buyer of Canadian oil since the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline to Vancouver went into operation last year. Earlier this year, the company hired a Calgary-based trader to focus on Canadian imports.
Vancouver crude is trading at a premium to Canadian barrels piped down to Texas ports for the first since at least September 2024, according to Argus. Comparable heavy grades from the Middle East have grown more expensive in recent months relative to Brent, the global benchmark, even as OPEC+ boosts output.
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