Natural gas in Canada - statistics & facts
In Canada, natural gas is primarily sourced from reservoirs in the Southwest part of the country. Hydrocarbon gas mainly consists of methane and is largely used for energy generation. By-products from processing natural gas such as ethane and propane serve as feedstocks in the chemicals industry and for plastics manufacturing specifically. Canada ranks sixth in a list of the largest natural gas producers worldwide.
As for companies, Cenovus Energy, the Alberta-based producer that also holds assets in one of the country’s largest natural gas plays – the Deep Basin, is Canada’s leading oil and gas company based on revenues.
Largest share of natural gas reserves located in British Columbia
With technological advances making unconventional extraction viable, Canadian natural gas reserves increased from 1.7 trillion cubic meters in 1998 to 2.4 trillion cubic meters in 2020. Most marketable reserves are found in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin in the province of British Columbia. Canada also extracts oil and gas from the Atlantic seabed off the coast of Newfoundland, with operations having increased in the last few years. Over 460 oil and gas wells were drilled in British Columbia in 2021, compared with six such offshore wells.Gas trading and plans to expand into LNG market
With the United States its only trading partner, natural gas exports from Canada have been decreasing over the past decade. Consequently, the government contemplated building multiple LNG export terminals to allow for maritime shipping to other consumer markets. However, while initial interest ran high, fear of stranded assets due to a pivot away from fossil fuel use has halted many projects. As further development of LNG enterprises has come under question, Canada has become the country with some of the largest cancelled LNG terminals by capacity worldwide.As for companies, Cenovus Energy, the Alberta-based producer that also holds assets in one of the country’s largest natural gas plays – the Deep Basin, is Canada’s leading oil and gas company based on revenues.
