Purpose
This monthly survey collects data on the inventories and movement of crude oils and petroleum products by domestic transporters, including pipelines and marine vessels, as well as associated terminals. This data is required for integration into the input-output table of the Canadian System of National Accounts. Data is made available under the authority of the Statistics Act to other federal departments and provincial authorities through data sharing agreements subject to embodied principles of data confidentiality. Data is also intended for use by survey respondents, industry associations, industry analysts, and the general public to assess trends in the Canadian petroleum sector.
Who must submit
To be completed by the operators of pipelines, marine vessels and associated terminals located in Canada.
When to submit
The survey must be received by Statistics Canada 10 days following the month in review.
General instructions
Report all quantities to the nearest whole number in Cubic Metres.
Report data for only products which are applicable to your operation.
Inventories
Pipelines: Include inventories held in tanks, terminals, and lines.
Marine vessels: Include inventories held on vessels and at terminals that are operated by your company.
Report all inventories in the custody of the facility regardless of ownership. Reported inventory quantities should represent actual measured inventories.
Report all domestic and foreign inventories in the custody of the facility as long as foreign stock have entered through customs.
Report opening inventories on the 1st day of the reporting month (start of day).
Report closing inventories on the last day of the reporting month (end of day).
Movements
Report all movements by petroleum product between regions (i.e., provinces, territories, United States, Foreign, non U.S.) made by your company during the reporting month.
The shipping region is also known as the load region. The receiving region is also known as the discharge region.
Report the movement when the product has arrived at the receiving region.
Exclude intermediate movements if operating in more than two provinces.
- Pipeline example: a shipment originating in United States, passing through Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and received in Alberta, is reported as a movement from United States to Alberta only.
- Marine vessel example: a shipment originating in US, passing through Newfoundland and Quebec, and terminating in Ontario, is reported as a movement from United States to Ontario only.
Product definitions
Asphalt
A dark-brown-to-black cement-like material containing bitumens as the predominant constituent obtained by petroleum processing; used primarily for road construction. It includes crude asphalt as well as the following finished products: cements, fluxes, the asphalt content of emulsions (exclusive of water), and petroleum distillates blended with asphalt to make cutback asphalts.
Aviation gasoline, blending components
Naphthas which will be used for blending into finished aviation gasoline (e.g., straight-run gasoline, alkylate, reformate, benzene, and xylene).
Includes all aviation gasoline that will be further processed or blended.
Aviation gasoline, finished
A complex mixture of relatively volatile hydrocarbons with or without small quantities of additives, blended to form a fuel suitable for use in aviation reciprocating engines.
Excludes blending components of finished aviation gasoline.
Biodiesel Fuel (FAME)
It is a liquid fuel that is comprised of at least one mono-alkyl ester produced from one or more renewable fuel feedstocks in reaction with an alcohol reactant and is suitable for use in a diesel engine. It is also known as fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and is made from renewable fuel feedstocks.
Crude oil, bitumen
A naturally occurring viscous mixture, mainly of hydrocarbon heavier than pentane, that may contain sulphur compounds and that, in its naturally occurring viscous state, will not flow to a well.
Crude oil, heavy
A mixture of hydrocarbons that exists in liquid phase in natural underground reservoirs and remains liquid at atmospheric pressure after passing through surface separating facilities. Crude oil is deemed to be "heavy" if it has a density equal to 900 or greater.
Crude oil, lease condensate
A mixture consisting primarily of pentanes and heavier hydrocarbons which is recovered as a liquid from natural gas in lease separation facilities. Excludes hydrocarbon gas liquids, such as butane and propane, which are recovered at downstream natural gas processing plants or facilities.
Crude oil, light
A mixture of hydrocarbons that exists in liquid phase in natural underground reservoirs and remains liquid at atmospheric pressure after passing through surface separating facilities. Crude oil is deemed to be "light" if it has a density less than 900 kg/m3.
Crude oil, synthetic crude oil
Synthetic crude oil obtained by the upgrading of crude bitumen or heavy crude oil.
Diesel fuel oil
A general classification for one of the petroleum fractions produced in conventional distillation operations. Products known as No. 2 and No. 3 diesel fuel used in on-highway diesel engines, such as those in trucks and automobiles, as well as off-highway engines, such as those in railroad locomotives and agricultural machinery.
Report distillate fuel oil where it is unknown whether it should be classified as diesel fuel oil or light fuel oil by sulphur content:
- Diesel Fuel Oil: ≤ 15ppm sulphur
- Light Fuel Oil: > 15ppm sulphur
Fuel Ethanol
An anhydrous alcohol (ethanol with less than 1% water) intended for gasoline blending that is produced from one or more renewable fuel feedstocks.
Hydrocarbon gas liquids, mixed
A combination of ethane, propane, butanes, or pentanes plus.
Hydrocarbon gas liquids, butanes
A normally gaseous straight-chain or branch-chain hydrocarbon extracted from natural gas or refinery gas streams (C4H10). It includes normal butane, isobutane, and refinery-grade butane.
Hydrocarbon gas liquids, ethane
A normally gaseous straight-chain hydrocarbon (C2H6). It is a colorless paraffinic gas that boils at a temperature of – 88.6 degrees Celsius. It is extracted from natural gas and refinery gas streams.
Hydrocarbon gas liquids, pentanes plus
A mixture of hydrocarbons, mostly pentanes and heavier, extracted from natural gas. Includes isopentane, natural gasoline, and plant condensate.
Hydrocarbon gas liquids, propane
A normally gaseous straight-chain hydrocarbon (C3H8). It is a colorless paraffinic gas that boils at a temperature of -42 degrees Celsius. It is extracted from natural gas or refinery gas streams.
Hydrogen
The lightest of all gases, occurring chiefly in combination with oxygen in water; exists also in acids, bases, alcohols, petroleum, and other hydrocarbons.
Jet fuel, Kerosene-type
A kerosene-based product having a maximum distillation temperature of 204 degrees Celsius at the 10-percent recovery point and a final maximum boiling point of 300 degrees Celsius. It is used for commercial and military turbojet and turboprop aircraft engines.
Kerosene
A light petroleum distillate that is used in space heaters, cook stoves, and water heaters and is suitable for use as a light source when burned in wick-fed lamps.
Includes other grades of kerosene called range or stove oil, which have properties similar to those of No. 1 fuel oil.
Light fuel oil (No. 2 and No. 3 heating fuel oils)
A general classification for one of the petroleum fractions produced in conventional distillation operations. Products known as No. 2 and No. 3 fuel oils used primarily for space heating and electric power generation.
Report distillate fuel oil where it is unknown whether it should be classified as diesel fuel oil or light fuel oil by sulphur content:
- Diesel Fuel Oil: ≤ 15ppm sulphur
- Light Fuel Oil: > 15ppm sulphur
Lubricants
Substances used to reduce friction between bearing surfaces or as process materials either incorporated into other materials used as processing aids in the manufacture of other products, or used as carriers of other materials. Petroleum lubricants may be produced either from distillates or residues. Lubricants include all grades of lubricating oils from spindle oil to cylinder oil and those used in greases.
Miscellaneous products
Includes all finished products not classified elsewhere (e.g., petrolatum, lube refining by-products (aromatic extracts and tars), absorption oils, ram-jet fuel, petroleum rocket fuels, synthetic natural gas feedstocks, and specialty oils).
Includes transmix. Transmix is created when two different petroleum products (e.g. motor gasoline and distillate fuel oil) become commingled during pipeline transport.
Excludes uncategorized unfinished products. These products should be included in unfinished oils.
Motor gasoline, blending components
Naphthas (e.g., straightrun gasoline, alkylate, reformate, benzene, xylene) used for blending into finished motor gasoline. Products classified as motor gasoline blending components include blendstock for oxygenate blending (BOB), gasoline treated as blendstock (GTAB) and all "other" motor gasoline blending components.
Includes all motor gasoline that will be further processed or blended.
Unblended butane and pentanes plus are reported under separate products. This applies only to unblended products. After blending, butanes, pentanes plus, fuel ethanol, oxygenates, and other materials become part of the volume of gasoline blending components or finished motor gasoline.
Excludes any naphtha-range hydrocarbons from gasoline blending components if the intended end use is other than blending or compounding into finished motor gasoline or finished aviation gasoline (e.g. naphtha intended for use in solvents or as petrochemical feedstocks).
Motor gasoline, finished
A complex mixture of relatively volatile hydrocarbons with or without small quantities of additives, blended to form a fuel suitable for use in internal combustion engines.
Excludes aviation gasoline.
Excludes all motor gasoline that will be further processed or blended.
Excludes motor gasoline blending components until they are blended into the gasoline (see previous definition).
Petroleum Coke
A residue high in carbon content and low in hydrogen that is the final product of thermal decomposition in the condensation process in cracking. This product is reported as marketable coke or catalyst coke.
Petrochemical Feedstocks
Chemical feedstocks derived from petroleum principally for the manufacture of chemicals, synthetic rubber, and a variety of plastics.
Renewable Diesel Fuel (HDRD/HVO)
Hydrogenation-derived renewable diesel (HDRD) or hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) is a diesel substitute that can be derived renewable fuel feedstocks.
Residual fuel oil (No. 4, No.5 and No. 6 fuel oils)
A general classification for the heavier oils, known as No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6 fuel oils, that remain after the distillate fuel oils and lighter hydrocarbons are distilled away in refinery operations. NOTE: No. 6 fuel oil includes Bunker C fuel oil.
Still Gas (Refinery Gas)
Any form or mixture of gases produced in refineries by distillation, cracking, reforming, and other processes. The principal constituents are methane, ethane, ethylene, normal butane, butylene, propane, propylene, etc. Still gas is used as a refinery fuel and a petrochemical feedstock.
Special naphthas (solvents)
All finished products within the naphtha boiling range that are used as paint thinners, cleaners, or solvents. These products are refined to a specified flash point.
Includes all commercial hexane and cleaning solvents.
Excludes naphthas to be blended or marketed as motor gasoline or aviation gasoline, or that are to be used as petrochemical and synthetic natural gas (SNG) feedstocks.
Unfinished oils (excluding synthetic crude oil)
All oils requiring further processing. Unfinished oils are produced by partial refining of crude oil and include naphthas and lighter oils, kerosene and light gas oils, heavy gas oils, and residuum.
Includes uncategorized unfinished products and oils.
Wax
A solid or semi-solid material at 25 degrees Celsius consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbons obtained or derived from petroleum fractions, or through a Fischer-Tropsch type process, in which the straight-chained paraffin series predominates. This includes all marketable wax, whether crude or refined, with a congealing point between 27 (or 29) and 121 degrees Celsius and a maximum oil content of 50 weight percent.
Regions
Report data by the following regions:
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Prince Edward Island
- Nova Scotia
- New Brunswick
- Quebec
- Ontario
- Manitoba
- Saskatchewan
- Alberta
- British Columbia
- Yukon
- Northwest Territories
- Nunavut
- United States
- Foreign, non U.S.
Provisions regarding confidentiality of information and data sharing
Confidentiality
Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Statistics Canada will use the information from this study for statistical and research purposes.
Data-sharing agreements
To reduce respondent burden, Statistics Canada has entered into data-sharing agreements with provincial and territorial statistical agencies and other government organizations, which have agreed to keep the data confidential and use them only for statistical purposes. Statistics Canada will only share data from this study with those organizations that have demonstrated a requirement to use the data.