In addition, we asked whether it is better or worse to be using bitumen rather than a petroleum product as a source of transport fuels. Of the two options, they were judged to be about equally important.
To obtain this information, The Globe examined official statistics on petroleum imports in Canada. The data comes from the Department of National Defence, the federal department responsible for providing a national picture of the country’s military readiness, equipment, and infrastructure. The departments of Natural Resources and Transportation also supplied their own data.
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The data show that in the 2010-11 fiscal year, bitumen imports were almost nine times higher than total petroleum imports. Canada imported roughly 1.2 trillion cubic feet of bitumen from Alberta and Saskatchewan for just over 30 days.
On average, this was a whopping 690 million litres (1.28 million barrels) per day – more than double the amount of crude oil produced in Canada through October.
When bitumen-heavy oilsands and Canadian crude are blended, the final product usually consists of up to 80 per cent bitumen and up to 20 per cent crude. When bitumen is crude, it typically contains roughly 80 to 90 per cent bitumen, and less than ten per cent crude.
The data also show that in each of the eight months leading up to the start of December, bitumen imports to Canada increased by 740 million litres (538 million barrels), compared to the previous month. This is the equivalent of about 715 million truck trips over this period.
In other words, on those days, Canadians turned to their provincial and private sources to fill their tanks and their fuel stops.
This surge in bitumen exports was particularly notable in the days following the collapse of the United States’ crude oil production, when global supplies dropped so precipitously that the price of crude sank, forcing buyers to look for ways of getting by with alternative fuels. In this case, the alternative fuel option was petroleum. Canadian sales of gasoline increased by 1.7 per cent in the weeks after the crude price collapse.
The data released is from the Department of National Defence’s Defence Logistics Information Centre database. The department’s website says its databases provide data to “plan for the future, understand your operational requirements, and ensure you are appropriately prepared for tomorrow’s risks.” On the page where it posts the statistics, it lists various “threats” of the Canadian Armed Forces and “threats
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