why does Canada export so much oil to the US but also still import some oil from us?

Question

Wouldn’t it make most economic sense to just sell to our own countries in that case if there’s some standardized barrel price?

In: 293

Answer 1

One reason for the oil sands / bitumen being sent south is that Canada doesn’t have the refining capacity to deal with it. The majority of refineries that can process it are in the USA. Many dozens of them. There hasn’t been any meaninful investment in expanding oil sands refining capacity in Canada in decades. Alberta has some limited capacity to process oil sands but it’s only a tiny fraction of the US capacity.

On top of that, many provinces are blocking pipeline construction so for Alberta to export product refined from oil sands in Canada is difficult. It’s easier to send it south and then let the Americans send it back across the border in various other provinces.