The deadline has been in place for years, but the change is still expected to wallop prices for heavy oil containing high levels of sulphur, such as raw bitumen from the Alberta oilsands.

A looming global deadline for the shipping industry will likely push up costs for airlines, motorists and consumers, analysts say.

Canada's oilsands industry, hard hit by a price storm this year, could be sailing straight into a pricing typhoon stirred up by new fuel standards for the international shipping industry.