NorthAmOil: Trans Mountain reshuffling oil flows to North America from Iraq, Brazil

US West Coast refiners are replacing their heavy oil imports from Iraq with cheaper crude from Canada because of the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline from Alberta’s oilsands to the Pacific Ocean in British Columbia.

The expanded pipeline opened on May 1. Iraqi crude, having been transported across the Pacific, costs several dollars more than Canadian, said Bloomberg.

California and Washington State are expected to import about 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Canadian crude, transported via tanker from British Columbia, by tanker in June, said Bloomberg citing preliminary Vortexa data.

This is seven times higher than average volumes.