Pipestone Flyer
If you have ever wondered just how big Alberta’s Oil and Gas Industry is, according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) statistics page, Canada is ranked as the third largest producer of natural gas in the world, the fifth largest producer of crude oil, and the fifth largest producer overall. CAPP goes on to say investments of $69 billion dollars was poured into the oil and gas field in 2013, representing twenty percent of the Toronto Stock Exchange. Canada also has the third largest crude oil reserves in the world, with only Saudi Arabia and Venezuela having more, and enough natural gas resources to fuel Canada’s needs for the next one hundred+ years, at current usage.
Alberta truly is oil country, with one in every sixteen jobs directly related to energy, employing about 121,500 Albertans. Despite the lowered oil prices, the forecast for the industry remains strong with the Canadian Energy Research Institute projecting over 700,000 new jobs created in the oil and gas industry nationwide by 2038.
Various industry watchdogs have indicated that though lowered prices have exerted pressure on more expensive extraction methods such as fracking and horizontal drilling, the continued movement away from OPEC towards domestic supply ensures an ongoing need and growth potential for Alberta and Canada.
For those who like the nitty gritty details, as of 2013, Canada’s reserves of crude oil are above 4.8 billion barrels, currently producing 1.38 million barrels daily of conventional oil, exporting 2.5 million barrels of crude and by-products a day, and importing 642,000 barrels of crude a day. At current usage (2013), Canadians use about 1.5 million barrels daily.
CAPP reports the Oil Sands mining reserves at 33 billion barrels, in situ Bitumen at 134 billion barrels in reserve, producing a combined 1.94 million barrels a day, along with 14.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas produced each day.
In general, the oil and gas industry in Alberta will continue to be a leading supplier of jobs and economy for years to come.