Canada is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of energy. According to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, Canada had proved oil reserves of 27.664 billion barrels at the end of 2007 or 2.23 % of the world's reserves, excluding the Canadian Oil Sands. According to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, Canada produced an average of 3308.6 thousand barrels of crude oil per day in 2007 and consumed an average of 2302.78 thousand barrels a day. The bulk of Canada’s reserves (over 95%) are oil sands deposits in Alberta and, according to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, Canadian Oil Sands had proved oil reserves of 152.2 billion barrels at the end of 2007. Canadian oil production comes mainly from three different sources: the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin; the oil sands deposits of northern Alberta; and offshore fields.
Canada sends over 99% of its crude oil exports to the U.S., and the country is one of the most important sources of U.S. oil imports. According to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, Canada exported 2457.43 thousand barrels a day in 2007, 4.48% of the world total.
Canada has a privatized oil sector that has witnessed considerable consolidation in recent years. The largest integrated operator in the country is Imperial Oil, majority owned by ExxonMobil. In 2002, Alberta Energy Company and PanCanadian Energy merged to create EnCana, Canada’s largest independent upstream operator. Other significant oil producers in Canada include Talisman Energy, Suncor, EOG Resources, Husky Energy, and Apache Canada. U.S. companies maintain a sizable presence in the Canadian oil industry.
Canada has an extensive pipeline system which transports western Canadian oil to domestic and U.S. markets. The two major oil pipeline operators are Enbridge Pipelines and Kinder Morgan Canada. Enbridge operate a 9,000-mile network of pipelines and terminals, delivering oil from Edmonton, Alberta, to eastern Canada and the U.S. Great Lakes region, while Kinder Morgan operates the Trans Mountain Pipe Line (TMPL), which delivers oil mainly from Alberta west to refineries and terminals in the Vancouver, British Columbia area.
The Western Canada Sedimentary Basin ( WCSB), underlying most of Alberta and parts of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories, has been the main source of Canadian oil production for the past 50 years. The age of many of the fields, though, has led to a steady decline in conventional oil production in the WCSB.
The Athabasca Oil Sands deposit, in northern Alberta, is one of largest oil sands deposits in the world. There are also sizable oil sands deposits on Melville Island in the Canadian Arctic, and two smaller deposits in northern Alberta. Oil sands contain deposits of bitumen, a heavy viscous oil. There are two methods currently used to extract bitumen from the ground: open pit mining and in situ (Latin for “in place”). Open pit mining resembles conventional mining techniques and is effective in extracting oil sands deposits near the surface. However, the bulk of Canada’s estimated oil sands deposits (80%) are too deep below the surface to use open pit mining. The second method, in situ can reach these deeper deposits. In situ extraction involves the use of steam to separate bitumen from the surrounding sands and lift it to collection pools near the surface. Once extracted, oil sands producers must add lighter hydrocarbons to the bitumen to allow it to flow through pipelines. Upgraders then process the bitumen into "synthetic crude."
Canada’s oil sands have attracted increasing attention from Asian oil companies. Companies currently engaged in exploration include the state-run Korea National Oil Corporation, China’s Sinopec, the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and the Chinese National Petroleum company (CNPC).
Canada is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of natural gas. According to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, Canada had 2007 proved natural gas reserves of 1.62 trillion cubic metres, 0.91% of the world total. Canada produced 183.72 billion cubic metres in 2007 and consumed 93.95 billion cubic metres.
Canada’s natural gas production is concentrated in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB), particularly in Alberta. The Scotian Basin, off the coast of Nova Scotia, is the centre of natural gas production on the Atlantic coast. TransCanada Pipelines is the largest operator of natural gas pipelines in Canada, with a pipeline network spanning 25,600 miles.
According to the 2008 BP Statistical Energy Survey, Canada had a 2007 refinery capacity of 1919.27 thousand barrels a day and throughput of 1868.77 thousand barrels a day.
