Asia, led by China, is expected to buy 70 per cent of Canadian crude oil exports after the country's only pipeline that provides access to the continent expands its capacity by a third by the end of 2028, a Canadian industry executive said on Tuesday.
Demand from Asia for Canadian crude has increased as the US-Israeli war on Iran has disrupted supplies from the Middle East.
The 890,000-barrel-per-day Trans Mountain pipeline from the province of Alberta to British Columbia's west coast from where oil can be shipped to Asia hit full capacity for the first time in June.
Canada's oil output, the world's fourth-largest, this year is set to exceed last year's record of 5.3 million barrels per day, according to Canada's energy regulator.
Mark Maki, chief executive officer of the pipeline operator Trans Mountain, said the pipeline expansion would add 90,000 bpd transport capacity in the fourth quarter, and another 210,000 bpd by the end of 2028.
"About two-thirds of ships that leave the dock go to Asia and then as we expand, I would expect that most of that (expansion) will be going to Asia," Maki told Reuters on the sidelines of the annual industry gathering APPEC in Singapore.
Canada in July also announced plans to build an oil pipeline from Alberta to the Pacific coast, which would give the country greater capacity to export to Asia.
China, the world's biggest importer of oil, will remain Canada's single largest customer going forward, as heavy Canadian oil is an ideal feedstock for petrochemicals, Maki said.
Maki said he expected some new countries to become customers, including Thailand, and that India, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam would increase their purchases of Canadian oil.
(Reporting by Chen Aizhu and Trixie Yap)