Oil and gas

Alberta is Canada’s energy province. The province’s diverse resource portfolio includes natural gas, conventional oil, coal, minerals and the famous Alberta oil sands. The energy industry provides tremendous opportunities for companies involved in the extraction and processing of Alberta’s energy resources as well as for supporting companies involved in business management, engineering, consulting, information technology and communications, and manufacturing.

Alberta’s technologies and services are in demand all over the world and generate billions of dollars in revenues. Although fossil fuels still dominate the world energy mix, higher environmental and regulatory standards are challenging the industry to find new and improved ways to enhance productivity related to upstream exploration and development.

Alberta is expected to produce approximately 3 million barrels of oil sands and heavy oil a day by 2020. With conventional oil production peaking in 2006, Alberta’s oil industry is under significant pressure to meet that number.

The production and export of natural gas is also critical to the province’s economy. Like conventional oil, conventional gas has also peaked and is now on the decline. This places significant pressure Alberta’s unconventional gas industry to meet current and future demands.

Unconventional gas development in Western Canada is being discussed as a potential means to additionally offset declining conventional gas production. Technology development via research and development are critical elements when considering unconventional gas development.

To learn more about Alberta’s oil and gas industry, see: