Alberta`s oil sands are the 3rd largest in the world, compared to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The provincial government in Alberta and the federal government in Ottawa strive to make the province and its oil reserves a leading energy supplier. Production is set to increase from 1.31 million barrels a day to 3 million barrels per day in 2018.
If you are not aware of oil sands, they are oil reserves that are supposed to play a significant role in the Canadian and global economy, providing stable and reliable energy. Oil sands have a natural mixture of sand, clay and other minerals, including bitumen, which is heavy oil that requires treatment. With all this oil, gas prices are still up. You may want to check with the following 10 companies if you want someone to blame.
1. BP Canada Energy Company
Although its headquarters are in Calgary, the company retains offices in 3 provinces and the Northwest Territories. The company is significant because it is a major purchaser of crude oil from US refineries and is ranked amongst the top Canadian marketers and traders of natural gas.
BP Canada branches are part of a conglomerate with offices in 80 countries. The company produces approx. of 3.8 million barrels of oil. The company is equally listed as one of 6 supermajors in the oil and gas industries.
2. Synacrude
This is one of the world`s largest companies in terms of the production of synthetic crude oil from oil sands. It has a nameplate capacity of 350,000 barrels a day. The company is not traded directly as it is a joint venture between seven partners.
3. Canadian National Resources Ltd.
This is one of the most independent and not just largest crude oil and natural gas producers in the world. It is also the second largest natural gas producers in Canada. With operations mostly in Western Canada, North Sea and offshore West Africa, the company ranks 251 on Forbes’ Global 2000 list of 2009. Way to go Canada!
4. Imperial Oil
This is one of the largest corporations in Canada in terms of its production of crude oil and natural gas. It has also been a part of the petroleum industry for over a century. Their products are being sold coast to coast around Canada to 1,850 Esso gas stations. The company was recently bought out by Exxon Mobile, which owns 69.6% of the company and its stock.
5. Suncor Energy Inc.
This is another Canadian energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. It is ranked 159 in the Forbes Global 2000 List. The company has been in existence since 1919 and was founded in Montreal by Sun Company of Canada, subsidiary of Sun Oil. Sun merged its interests in 1970s to form Suncor in order to access Canada`s Athabasca oil sands. The company is no longer government-owned and is publicly traded on TSX and NYSE.
The world’s leading exporter of petrol is Saudi Arabia. Petroleum reserves fuel the economy of Saudi Arabia and accounts for 90% of its total exports. 75% of government revenues also come from oil making it a welfare state.
Russia’s economic growth in recent years has been fuelled by energy exports because of the increase in oil production and relatively high world oil prices in the recent past. Most of domestic energy needs is met by natural gas. Owing to its oil exports Russia has witnessed better growth and economic expansion.
Iran had 8438 kms of oil pipelines and 19,161 kilometers of natural gas pipelines in 1997. It produces plenty of oil for its own use and for exports also. Iran has plenty of offshore oil fields from where oil is dispatched to processing centers. Its natural gas and fuel export industries have expanded a great deal over the last few years.
Mexico was the seventh biggest producer of oil in the world in 2008. It produced about 3.19 million barrels per day during 2008 which was a slight decrease from what was produced in 2007. 88% of Mexico’s oil production was condensate and crude oil and the rest comprised of refinery grain and natural gas liquids. It is expected that Mexico will produce 2.7 million bbl/d of oil in 2010.
China is another large oil producing country but it is also one of the largest oil consumers next only to the U.S. It is expected to produce around 4 million bbl/d of oil in 2010. As of 2009, China had 16 bn barrels of proven oil reserves according to Oil & Gas Journal (OGJ).
