CANADIAN HEAVY-CRUDE MARKETS

摘要

Heavy crude is in the news, and rightly so. Global oil demand will continue to grow for the next few decades. With most of the "easy" low-cost conventional oil already under production in mature oil fields, new sources will come from unconventional, higher-cost sources. These include Canadian oil sands, Venezuela's Orinoco Belt crude, offshore heavy oil and onshore shale oil. Because the Canadian oil sands are cost competitive, the energy industry must determine how much potential new supply is feasible, and when it will help meet demand. Future oil prices, infrastructure and demand will drive the pace of Canadian oil-sands development. Over the next 20 years, two significant new resources will supply the North American market: shale oil and additional oil-sands production. Meanwhile, North American oil demand will remain flat or decrease.