The US imported an average of 4mn b/d of Canadian crude in the week ending 1 October, up by 1mn b/d from the week before. This marks the highest level since the week ending 29 January when the record high 4.2mn b/d was recorded.
The latest figure coincides with the startup of Enbridge's 760,000 b/d Line 3 Replacement Project that was officially put into service on 1 October. The line effectively adds 370,000 b/d of export capacity for Canadian crude operators, which have a history of quickly meeting added egress with strong production.
Line 3 had been running at reduced capacity of390,000 b/d in recent years. It can accommodate both light and heavy crude shippers.
High inventory levels in Alberta also indicate that a sizable amount of crude was ready to flow once the new capacity came on line.
Canadian crude represented 67pc of US imports during the most recent week, up by 11 percentage points on the week. Mexico and Saudi Arabia came next with 11pc and 10pc, respectively. Over the past four weeks, the US has imported 3.4mn b/d from Canada, down by about 97,000 b/d compared to the previous four-week period.
