Ask the Fuel Expert

As an avid reader of all things oil, I occasionally turn to Bill Mann’s Wall Street Journal column, Bill Mann’s Canada. Recently, he reviewed results from a survey of American business peoples’ knowledge of Canada. And, as you might guess, the results were not pretty.

The piece caught my interest because my home, in Terry, Montana, is a long stone’s throw from Canada and my radio often gets better reception from Saskatchewan than from US stations, so I am up to the challenge. Here are some highlights:

Among the 30 Americans surveyed, three correctly named Stephen Harper as Canada’s current Prime Minister. Nine correctly named Canada's capital, Ottawa. And on it goes. But as you know, my interest is oil, and with so much of it up in Canada, I couldn’t resist writing my own version of the test for you to try.

Bob’s Quick Canadian Energy Quiz

Q: What country is the United States’ largest trading partner

A. Combined import and export trade with Canada is worth $429 billion annually. Total US trade with China is worth $366 billion of which $296 billion is import.

Q. Which country is the largest oil supplier to the USA?

A: Canada produces more than 2.6 million barrels of oil per day and of that exports about 1.976 million barrels per day to the USA. Saudi Arabia is fourth, behind Nigeria and Mexico.

Q: Where does Canada rank on the world energy market?

A: Canada holds the second largest crude oil reserves in the world, and ranks top three in the world for production of natural gas, hydroelectricity, uranium reserves and is the largest supplier of energy to the consumption–rich US market.

Q: If Canada is such a resource-rich country and a net exporter of energy to other countries, why are gas prices so much higher in Canada than in the U.S.?

A: Because the US heavily subsidizes fuel i.e. ethanol and bio diesel credits. Fuel taxes are drastically higher in Canada as a result and pay for more than just maintaining highways and roads as they do in the U.S.

I hope this was an interesting quiz, if you have any questions please send them directly to me at bvan@4refuel.com