About the Industry
Oil & Gas Industry Facts
Quick Facts
Crude Oil
- Canada has about 179 billion barrels of established crude oil reserves, more than any other country in the world except Saudi Arabia.
- About 173 billion barrels of Canada's oil reserves – or about 97% – is oil sands.
- Canada is the world's seventh-largest producer of crude oil.
- Canada currently produces close to 2.6 million barrels of crude oil every day. About 1.8 million barrels per day of oil – or about two-thirds of Canada's production is exported.
- Oil production is forecast to reach at least 4.0 million barrels per day by 2020.
Natural Gas
- Canada is the world's third-largest producer of natural gas, behind Russia and the US.
- Canada currently produces 16.3 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas and exports about 10.4 billion cubic feet per day – about 60%.
- Canada has approximately 57.9 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven natural gas reserves.
- The natural gas industry has a significant impact on Canada's economy, contributing approximately $73 billion in direct value to the Canadian economy.
- Over 189,000 people are directly employed by the natural gas industry in Canada.
Wells
- About 8,450 wells were drilled across Canada in 2009. Approximately 9,000 wells are expected to be drilled in 2010.
- An average of 854 drilling rigs and 1,087 service rigs operated in Canada in 2009.
Pipelines
- Canada has more than 700,000 kilometres of pipelines – enough to circle the earth 17 times at the equator. Most of Canada's pipelines are underground.
- Oil travels through a pipeline at 4 to 8 kilometers per hour, which is roughly walking speed. It may take a month or more to carry crude oil to different customers.
- Natural gas moves through a pipeline up to 40 kilometres per hour, about the speed of an Olympic runner. Natural gas can travel from Alberta to southern Ontario in about six days.
Offshore
- There are currently three producing offshore oil projects: Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose.
- These projects operate in one of the world's harshest environments, challenged by ice, wind and waves.
Careers
- There are close to 500,000 people working directly or indirectly in the Canadian petroleum industry.
- Jobs in the petroleum industry can be found across Canada, from BC to Newfoundland and Labrador. The oil and gas industry is truly a national industry, with some oil and gas activity in 12 out of 13 provinces across the country.
- Over 24,000 people are employed (directly and indirectly) by the pipeline industry in Canada.
Products
Over 3,000 products we use on a daily basis are made from petroleum products. The downstream sector provides the thousands of products we use in our everyday lives, such as gasoline, motor oil, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt, synthetic rubber, plastics, fertilizers, antifreeze, medicines, natural gas and propane – even make-up, bubble gum and polar fleece!
