U.S.-Canada energy trade reached record-high value in 2022

Friday, August 25, 2023

Energy trade between the United States and Canada reached record high levels of value in 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

EIA tracks and reports statistics concerning energy matters, including volumes and values of international trade. According to EIA, high energy prices contributed to a total of $190 billion in energy trade between the U.S. and Canada in 2022, when adjusted for inflation.

EIA tracks four main types of energy commodity transacted between the U.S. and Canada: crude oil, other petroleum products, natural gas, and electricity. In recent years, crude oil has represented the largest fraction of these countries' energy trade on a value basis, followed in turn by the other commodities listed above.

The value of energy trade is driven by a combination of factors, including the volumes of energy imported and exported, as well as the prices for those transactions. EIA reports that volumes of energy trade between these two countries were nearly unchanged between 2021 and 2022. 

Meanwhile, the value of energy trade increased by 41% in 2022. According to EIA:

  • The U.S. imported a greater value of trade from Canada ($156.3 billion, inflation-adjusted) than it exported to its neighbor ($33.8 billion, inflation-adjusted). 
  • U.S. crude oil imports in 2022 averaged 3.7 million barrels per day by volume, while U.S. crude exports to Canada averaged 305,000 barrels per day. 
  • Natural gas imports from Canada averaged 7.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), while exports to Canada averaged 2.5 Bcf/d. 
  • Petroleum product trade was closer to even, with 580,000 barrels per day imported and 524,000 barrels per day exported.