May 2 (Reuters) - Canadian oil company Imperial Oil ( IMO )

posted its highest-ever first-quarter earnings on

Friday, driven primarily by stronger margins in its refining and

fuel sales business.

Imperial's strong results come amid a broader rebound in

North American refining margins, as demand for products is

resilient and supply remains tight due to global disruptions.

The Calgary, Alberta-based company's petroleum product

sales were 455,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first quarter,

up from 450,000 bpd in the first quarter of 2024. The company

said synthetic crude oil average realization rose to C$98.79 per

barrel, from C$93.51 per barrel a year earlier.

Imperial, which is majority owned by U.S. oil and gas

major Exxon Mobil ( XOM ), is seeing no indication of a

recessionary slowdown related to broader macroeconomic

uncertainty, CEO Brad Corson said.

"We have not seen any material degradation in demand,"

Corson said on a conference call with analysts, though he

acknowledged the global trade environment related to U.S.

tariffs policy continues to be volatile.

Imperial's results also reflect what has been an ongoing

positive lift for Canadian oil producers from the completion of

the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project one year ago. The

pipeline expansion boosted Canada's oil export capacity,

reducing the price volatility that historically occurred

whenever the country's oil producers ran out of pipeline space.

"Improved egress continues to support narrower heavy oil

differentials than during the past, especially during the winter

months, and this in turn supported our price realizations,"

Corson said.

Imperial did, however, miss analysts' expectations for

upstream production, as extreme cold weather in northern Alberta

during the quarter resulted in unplanned downtime at the

company's Kearl oil sands facility.

Production averaged 418,000 gross oil-equivalent bpd,

compared to 421,000 gross oil-equivalent bpd in the first

quarter of 2024.

Imperial's net income rose to C$1.29 billion ($933.23

million), or C$2.52 per share, during the quarter ended March

31, from C$1.2 billion, or C$2.23 per share, a year earlier.

($1 = 1.3823 Canadian dollars)