Monthly Energy Transportation and Storage Survey (METSS)

Detailed information for October 2024

The purpose of this survey is to obtain information on the transportation and storage of energy in Canada. This information serves as an important indicator of Canadian economic performance and is used by all levels of government in establishing informed policies in the energy area. The private sector likewise uses this information in the corporate decision-making process.

Data release - December 20, 2024

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy
• Documentation

Description

This monthly survey collects data on the activities of the Canadian energy transportation and storage sector. This data is required for integration into the input-output sector of the Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts. Data is made available under the authority of the Statistics Act to other federal departments and provincial authorities through data sharing agreements subject to embodied principles of data confidentiality. Data is intended for use by survey respondents, industry associations, industry analysts, the press and the general public to assess trends in the Canadian energy sector.

Reference period: Month

Collection period: The month following the reference period

Subjects

• Energy
• Energy consumption and disposition
• Petroleum products
• Pipelines

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The survey is comprised of pipelines, rail and marine transportation establishments in Canada.

Instrument design

The Questionnaire Design Resource Centre (QDRC) was consulted and the questionnaire was tested with pipeline and marine respondents to ensure the questions, concepts and terminology were appropriate.

Sampling

This survey is a census with a cross-sectional design.

The sampling unit is the establishment as defined on the Statistics Canada Business Register.

Data sources

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents and extracted from administrative files.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents and extracted from administrative files. Electronic questionnaires are sent to pipeline and marine respondents. Marine data is an addition to the survey coverage, which provides further insight into the transportation of crude oil, petroleum products and renewable fuels being shipped by marine vessel.

The data will be integrated and processed through the Integrated Business Statistics program (IBSP).

METSS data is combined with other data sources to produce a more granular, and complete picture of the movements of crude oil, petroleum products and renewable fuels in Canada. To reduce response burden, METSS uses the administrative data source, Petrinex, to collect approximately 70% of pipeline data. Petrinex is a joint strategic organization supporting Canada's upstream, midstream and downstream petroleum industry and is represented by different governments and industry associations. Petrinex operates under a unique and proven Crown-Industry governance, management and funding structure.

Detailed rail data is extracted from the Statistics Canada Monthly Railway Car Loadings survey (survey number 2732) to further reduce response burden on the industry.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .

Error detection

Error detection is an integral part of both collection and data processing activities. Edits are applied to data records to identify potential errors based on year-over-year changes in key variables, totals, and ratios that exceed tolerance thresholds, as well as identify problems in the consistency of collected data (e.g. a total variable does not equal the sum of its parts). Current month opening inventory will be adjusted to match previous month closing inventory. Historical data and trends will be used to validate outliers when necessary.

Imputation

When non-response occurs, if a questionnaire is only partially completed, or when reported data are considered incorrect during error-detection steps, imputation is used to fill in the missing information or modify the incorrect information.

Imputation methods include year-over-year and month-over-month trend-based analysis at the regional or national level, as well as data replacement using administrative data sources. Key variables are imputed first and are used as anchors in subsequent steps to impute other, related variables.

Estimation

As this is a census, all units receive a weight of 1.

Quality evaluation

In order to ensure the accuracy and consistency of data in terms of inventories, inter-provincial movements, imports, exports and deliveries to refineries, the results are reconciled with other Energy Section surveys such as the Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production monthly survey (SDDS 2199) and the Refined Petroleum Products monthly survey (SDDS 2150). In addition, survey data is compared against other data sources including the Energy Information Administration import figures.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects that could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Micro data is only shared or disclosed to organizations with whom Statistics Canada has an official data sharing agreement in place. All company records are removed for any respondent who has written the Chief Statistician to object to the sharing of their data.

Respondents to this survey are defined as carriers or public utilities, in accordance with subsection 17(3) of the Statistics Act. Under paragraph 17(2)(g) of the Act, the Chief Statistician may, by order, authorize information relating to any carrier or public utility to be disclosed. If the Chief Statistician authorizes it, all tabular estimates may be released publically whether they disclose a business or not.

Respondents (pipeline and marine) to this survey are defined as carriers and the disclosure agreement under paragraph 17(2)(g) has been approved. The disclosure of rail data has not yet been approved.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

Revised data is incorporated into the database up to 24 months after the current reference month. Major revisions are incorporated as required, beyond these limits.

Data accuracy

The survey is a census of the target population. As a consequence, under-coverage is minimal, and minimal bias resulting from non-response is introduced. If changes are received from respondents, the data are incorporated and the published data are revised.

Documentation

• Summary of changes
  • Format: Summary of changes - HTML[HTML]