Crude Oil Operations

Crude oil and diluent are transported along approximately 4,100 km of pipeline, divided into four main systems: Rainbow and Rangeland in Alberta, and Manito and South Saskatchewan in Saskatchewan.

Our crude oil infrastructure includes more than 720 truck trailers, numerous truck terminals and over 4,200 leased railcars throughout North America. Our total crude oil storage capacity is over 5.2 million barrels. Our infrastructure is designed to support our gathering and marketing activities, including:

  • purchasing crude oil from producers at the wellhead and in bulk from aggregators at major pipeline interconnects or trading locations;
  • transporting crude oil on our own proprietary gathering assets and pipelines or, when necessary, assets owned and operated by third parties, including pipelines and trucks; and
  • marketing crude oil to refiners or other resellers.

About Crude Oil

Crude oil is an integral part of the energy industry and our daily lives. From keeping cars on the road and jets in the air, to being a key ingredient in soap and detergent, petroleum makes up two-thirds of all energy consumption.

Crude oil can either be conventional or unconventional. Conventional oil can range from light to heavy oil. Heavy refers to oil with a thick consistency that does not flow easily. Oil sands production is considered unconventional oil, and is derived from separating sand and clay particles from bitumen. Bitumen is oil that is too heavy or thick to flow or be pumped without being diluted or heated. At 10°C (50°F), bitumen is as hard as a hockey puck. In order to facilitate transport, it is mixed with a diluent to make it flow more easily through pipelines.

Petroleum products from crude oil and natural gas are used to make plastics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, oils, lubricants, fuels like gasoline, diesel and thousands of household products. Consumers rely on these products to meet more than two-thirds of their energy needs each and every day.

About Diluents

Condensate is a mixture of hydrocarbon liquids similar to light crude oil recovered from natural gas reservoirs. Condensate is also known as diluent because it is commonly used to dilute conventional heavy oil and bitumen recovered from the oil sands, allowing thick product to flow through pipelines.