Alberta is Canada’s energy province. The province’s diverse resource portfolio includes natural gas, conventional oil, coal, minerals and the oil sands.
Alberta is Canada’s energy province. We are home to one of the world’s largest unconventional oil deposits, the oil sands, and we have the third largest oil reserves in the world. We also have an abundant supply of low-emission and affordable blue hydrogen, experience in hydrogen production and leadership in carbon capture and storage.
Invest in Alberta’s cost-competitive and diverse oil and gas industry, including one of the world’s largest unconventional oil deposits
The energy sector covers the entire value chain from upstream production to downstream end use in conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas extraction and processing. This includes petrochemicals, renewable energy, bio-energy, innovative hydrocarbon uses, technology innovation, carbon capture and storage as well as electricity transmission and distribution. There are also opportunities for exploration and extraction of other energy resources and minerals such as geothermal, helium, lithium, rare earth elements, and other heavy metals.
Alberta has the potential to become the world’s leading energy provider. It has a world-class resource next to the largest market in the world. Only 19% of the world’s proven oil reserves are accessible to private sector investment (not state controlled) of which more than half (53%) are in Alberta’s oil sands, which represents considerable investment opportunities in Alberta’s oil sands.
Products and Services
Oil and gas technology and services is focused on upstream-related oil and gas equipment and services. Upstream-related products and services include seismic and geological services, drilling and completions, and advanced production techniques. This important industry sector focuses on such areas as:
- multilateral drilling technologies,
- non-invasive drilling fluids,
- swell packer stimulation technologies,
- coiled tubing expertise and benefits,
- innovative pumping technologies,
- non-traditional well configurations, and
- geosteering of horizontal wells in real time.
Oil and Gas Equipment
Alberta has the world’s third largest proven crude oil reserves after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Canada is the world’s third largest supplier of natural gas, with Alberta accounting for 67% of Canadian production. The Alberta Government is committed to improving extraction technologies for conventional oil production; i.e. advanced seismic and horizontal drilling. Alberta’s industrial manufacturing sector delivers high-value products and services across Canada and around the world.
Modern Infrastructure
Alberta is well set-up for oil and gas activities, with pre-zoned industrial lands, ready access to water, and a skilled workforce ready to work.
The province has a large network of oil and gas pipelines as well as multi-commodity oil and gas distribution centres that connect Alberta’s oil and gas to ports.
Innovation
Alberta’s oil and gas industry has a long history of innovating and finding solutions to technical problems and are partners in keeping costs low.
Unprecedented demands and resource constraints on the energy sector have resulted in companies seeking out new and innovative processes, demonstrated through an increased focus on research and technology. In regards to the heavy oil and oil sands industry, opportunities exist to reduce the use of water and natural gas and to decrease overall environmental impacts.
On a similar front, Alberta’s natural gas industry is exploring ways to improve well economics by reducing the cost of explorations and increasing well productivity through technology and process improvements. As a whole, technology development and adoption, and process improvements are key components to increasing the competitiveness of Alberta’s oil and gas industry.
Environmental Leadership
Alberta is a leader in developing resources in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible manner. Alberta’s oil industry is committed to reducing emissions and freshwater usage while enhancing recovery rates. We are committed to improving extraction technologies for conventional oil production; i.e. advanced seismic and horizontal drilling.
The province was the first major oil producer to introduce a price on carbon and has a legislated emissions cap of 100 mt. Greenhouse gases from a barrel of oil produced in the oil sands have dropped almost 20 per cent compared to 2011 levels. From 2000 to 2017 the emissions intensity of the oil sands operations dropped by approximately 28 per cent as a result of technological and efficiency improvements.
Social Leadership
Alberta’s energy is secure and ethically sourced. Alberta believes that Indigenous consultation and participation is foundational to developing Canada’s energy resources. The Province has committed $1 billion to the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation, which is designed to increase Indigenous communities’ ability to invest in natural resource projects.
Areas of Expertise
Ethane
Canada’s largest ethane cracking complexes are located in Joffre/Prentiss and Fort Saskatchewan. From the ethane cracked at these facilities, Alberta is a major producer of polyethylene plastic, ethylene glycol and other applications such as styrene monomer and ethyl vinyl acetate. Government is planning to build new petrochemicals capacity, including brown/greenfield cracking and derivatives capacity.
Propane
The province will now be home to Canada’s first two on-purpose propylene derivatives plant, the PDH-PP plant, currently under construction by Inter-Pipeline Corporation, and a recently announced petrochemical upgrading facility to be built by the Canada-Kuwait Petrochemical Corporation (CKPC), a joint venture agreement between Calgary-based Pembina Pipelines and Petrochemicals Industry Corp (PIC).
Methane
Alberta is a major producer of methane-based petrochemicals products such as ammonia and urea, which are used as fertilizer, as well as methanol, a common petrochemical building block and fuel.
Butane
The province is also home to Keyera’s Alberta Enviro-Fuels, iso-octane production facility, which makes approximately 14 kbbl/d of high grade transportation fuel additives, operating the world’s largest plant in this important sector.
Specialty Chemicals
Alberta is also a producer of specialized chemicals such as oligomers, ethyl vinyl acetate, proppant for hydraulic fracturing and carbon black.
Cleantech Opportunities
Explore More
Publication
Oil and Gas Quarterly
Information on the activities occurring in the oil and gas industry, including government and industry updates and detailed project listings.
Program
Emerging Resources Program
Under this program, eligible wells will receive a program specific cost allowance.
Program
Enhanced Hydrocarbon Recovery Program
EHRP provides appropriate royalty treatment for incremental hydrocarbon production to account for the higher costs associated with enhanced…
Program
Alberta Innovates Clean Resources Programs
Alberta Innovates invests in applied research and innovation programs to sustain, grow and diversify the energy and resource industries.
Program
Emission Reduction Alberta (ERA) Funding Programs
Funding is available for research and development relating to oil sands innovation, industrial efficiency, and…
Organization
Alberta Energy
Alberta Energy, a ministry of the Government of Alberta, is responsible for ensuring the development of Alberta’s resources to the benefit of all Albertans.
Organization
Alberta Energy Regulator
AER is a regulatory body with a mandate to provide for the efficient, safe, orderly, and environmentally responsible development of Alberta’s…
Organization
Carbon Capture and Conversion Institute (CCCI)
CCCI accelerates the development, piloting, scale-up and validation of new carbon capture and conversion…
Organization
Institute for Oil Sands Innovation (IOSI) at the UofA
IOSI combines several innovative approaches to improve oil sands operations with a reduced environmental footprint by minimizing water use, consuming less energy, lowering greenhouse gas and other emissions, yielding high quality products at lower cost.
Organization
C-FER Technologies
C-FER Technologies works with oil and gas industry and client subject matter experts to develop solutions to unique engineering problems in upstream drilling and production operations as well as midstream and downstream pipeline operations.
Organization
Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance
COSIA collaborates and innovates to enable responsible and sustainable growth of Canada’s oil sands while delivering accelerated improvement in environmental performance through collaborative action and innovation.
