Petroleum products facts

What are petroleum products?
Refined petroleum products (RPP) are derived from crude oils through processes such as catalytic cracking and fractional distillation.
- Catalytic cracking is the process of breaking down larger, heavier, and more complex hydrocarbon molecules into simpler and lighter molecules using a catalytic agent.
- Fractional distillation is the process by which components in crude oil are separated into different parts or fractions according to their different boiling points.
Key facts
- Canadian refineries can process over 1.9 million barrels of petroleum per day
- Canadians consumed 106 billion litres of refined petroleum products in 2019
- Transportation fuels (gasoline, diesel, aviation fuels) accounted for 81% of petroleum products sold in Canada in 2019
- Canada produced more than 2.5 million barrels per day (145 billion litres) of refined petroleum products in 2019, of which 27% was exported. Due to regional refinery configuration and trading patterns, 19% of Canadian consumption of refined petroleum products is imported to meet Canadian demand
Learn more about petroleum products in Canada
Petroleum refineries
Petroleum refineries transform crude oil into a wide range of refined petroleum products (e.g. gasoline, diesel). Other facilities such as asphalt plants, lubricant plants, upgraders and some petrochemical plants also process crude oil to produce a limited range of products.
Refinery activities
- Crude oil distillation: separating products from crude oil by heating
- Additional processing: (e.g. catalytic cracking, reforming, coking)
- Product blending: end-use RPPs are usually blended with additives or renewable fuels
Refinery outputs
- Transportation fuels – gasoline, diesel, aviation fuels, heavy fuel oil
- Heating oil
- Liquid petroleum gases - propane and butane from refineries
- Petrochemical feedstock
- Other products (e.g. kerosene, lubricating oils, greases, waxes, asphalt)
Supply and demand
In 2019, 1.72 million barrels per day of oil (100 billion litres) was shipped to domestic refineries. Canadian net production of petroleum products reached 2.5 million barrels per day (145 billion litres). Canada exported 0.7 million barrels per day (39 billion litres) and imported 0.4 million barrels per day (20 billion litres).
Domestic sales of petroleum products was 1.8 million barrels per day (106 billion litres).
* Certain product shares are based on NRCan estimates.
** "Other" includes propane, butane, petro-chemical feedstocks, asphalt, petroleum coke, lubricating oils, etc.
Trade
Exports: 27% of Canadian production of refined petroleum products is exported
- 91% of Canadian refined petroleum product exports are to the U.S.
- 20% of U.S. imports come from Canada
Imports: 19% of Canadian consumption of refined petroleum products is imported
- 72% of Canadian imports come from the U.S.
- Other Canadian imports come from a wide range of countries including
- Netherlands (9%)
- South Korea (3%)
- Norway (2%)
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The total value of exported refined petroleum products peaked at $26.7 billion in 2012 and trended downward until 2017, before bouncing back to $20.1 billion. Exports continued to rebound through 2019, when the value of total volumes reached $22.7 billion. Imports have been more volatile, peaking at $20.0 billion in 2018, before declining to $17.2 billion in the subsequent year.
Retail prices
The average Canadian retail price in 2019 was 120.9 cents per litre for gasoline and 123.0 cents per litre for diesel. Changes in retail prices for fuel tend to mimic those for crude oil.
Average Canadian Regular Gasoline Prices, 2019

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The average cost of gasoline in 2019 was 1.21 dollars per litre. 65.1% of the cost of gasoline is due to crude, refining, and marketing costs. Federal and Provincial taxes account for the rest of the cost. In 2019, gasoline prices in Vancouver averaged 1.49 dollars per litre, while in Halifax averaged 119.0 dollars per litre.
Weekly retail gasoline and diesel prices
Refinery capacity
Refinery capacity by province and type
In 2019, refineries across Canada had the capacity to process over 1.9 million barrels of crude oil per day.
Province | Petroleum refinery | Asphalt plants | Lubricant plants (using crude oil as feedstock) |
|||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | CapacityFootnote * | Count | Capacity | Count | Capacity | |
Alberta | 4 | 509 | - | - | - | - |
British Columbia | 2 | 67 | - | - | - | - |
New Brunswick | 1 | 318 | - | - | - | - |
Newfoundland and Labrador | 1 | 130 | - | - | - | - |
Ontario | 4 | 392 | - | - | 1 | 16 |
Quebec | 2 | 402 | - | - | - | - |
Saskatchewan | 1 | 130 | 2 | 48 | - | - |
Total | 15 | 1,948 | 2 | 48 | 1 | 16 |
Sources
- Canadian refineries: compiled by NRCan (from company information, Conference Board of Canada, Canada's Petroleum Refining Sector Canadian Fuels Association, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Oil Sands magazine and CanOils Database)
- Canadian supply and demand: Statistics Canada tables 25-10-0042-01, 25-10-0044-01, 25-10-0076-01 and NRCan analysis
- Refineries crude supply: Statistics Canada table 25-10-0063-01
- Consumption by Product: Statistics Canada table 25-10-0076-01 and NRCan analysis
- Trade: Statistic Canada tables 25-10-0044-01, 25-10-0076-01United States Energy Information Administration (U.S. Imports by Country of Origin for Petroleum and Other Liquids) and Statistics Canada International Merchandise Trade Database
- Gasoline prices: Kent Group Ltd (average retail prices for regular gasoline and diesel fuel) and data compiled by NRCan
- Refinery capacity: compiled by NRCan
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