History of the petroleum industry in Canada

Petroleum in Canada
This article is part of a series.
1. Early history 2. Story of natural gas 3. Oil sands and heavy oil 4. The frontiers 5. Gas liquids
Resources and producers
Oil reserves Petroleum companies
Categories
Oil fields Oil refineries Oil companies
Economy of Canada Energy policy of Canada

The Canadian petroleum industry arose in parallel with that of the United States. Because of Canada's unique geography, geology, resources and patterns of settlement, however, it developed in different ways. The evolution of the petroleum sector has been a key factor in the history of Canada, and helps illustrate how the country became quite distinct from her neighbour to the south.

Although the conventional oil and gas industry in western Canada is mature, the country's Arctic and offshore petroleum resources are mostly in early stages of exploration and development. Canada became a natural gas-producing giant in the late 1950s and is second, after Russia, in exports; the country also is home to the world's largest natural gas liquids extraction facilities. The industry started constructing its vast pipeline networks in the 1950s, thus beginning to develop domestic and international markets in a big way.

Despite billions of dollars of investment, its bitumen - especially within the Athabasca oil sands - is still only a partially exploited resource. By 2025 this and other unconventional oil resources - the northern and offshore frontiers and heavy crude oil resources in the West - could place Canada in the top ranks among the world's oil producing and exporting nations. In a 2004 reassessment of global resources, the United States' EIA put Canadian oil reserves second; only Saudi Arabia has greater proved reserves. In 2014, the EIA now ranks Canada as third in World Oil Reserves at around 175 billion barrels, while Saudi Arabia is 2nd with around 268 billion barrels and Venezuela is ranked first with around 297 billion barrels of reserves.

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