Alberta Pipeline Expansion Spurs Demand for Ultralight Crude Oil

A new pipeline expansion in Alberta is set to boost demand for ultralight crude oil, as it will enable the transportation of heavy oil from Western Canada.

The project, which involves building a million-barrel-a-day conduit to the BC coast, is expected to increase heavy oil production by 2 million barrels per day over the coming decade. Most of this new production will come from Alberta's oil sands.

To make the viscous bitumen that's extracted from the ground or dug from mines flow through pipelines, it needs to be blended with ultralight oil, also known as condensate.