Clusters

Major Clusters in Alberta and Atlantic Canada
For the oil and gas industry, the major clusters in Canada are located in the western province of Alberta and the Atlantic provinces of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Approximately 80 per cent of Canada´s oil and gas manufacturing and services facilities are located in Alberta, while Newfoundland and Nova Scotia account for the remaining 20 per cent.

Alberta: Overview and Opportunities
Alberta has huge deposits of oil sands, which are being developed at an unprecedented rate. At the end of 2003, oil sands production exceeded one million barrels per day and accounted for more than 40 per cent of the total western Canadian oil production. Energy accounts for approximately 25 per cent of Alberta´s GDP, for one-third of the revenue allocated under Alberta´s provincial budget, and for just over half the value of the province´s total exports. Furthermore, nearly one out of every six workers in Alberta is directly or indirectly employed by the energy industry.

• Alberta has consistently accounted for nearly three-quarters of Canada´s annual oil, gas, and oil sands investment.
• In 2002, according to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), total investment in Alberta´s oil, gas, and oil sands industries was more than $18 billion, representing almost 75 per cent of Canada´s total petroleum industry spending.
• According to the Regional Issues Working Group, investment in the oil sands from 1996 to 2016 could reach $87 billion, with production exceeding 1.9 barrels per day by 2010.

Currently, there are approximately 1,807 oil sand lease agreements with the provincial government, leaving nearly 80 per cent of potential oil sands areas available for exploration and leasing.

• Terra Nova and Hibernia: Two of Canada´s largest offshore crude oil producing projects in Newfoundland have witnessed maximum possible increase in production rates in 2003. Both projects have been producing at rates higher than originally forecast.
• White Rose: The third major project in Newfoundland that is expected to begin in 2005, White Rose, has an approved annual product capacity of 90,000 barrels per day (b/d).
• Deepwater oil and gas exploration in the Atlantic province of Nova Scotia also offers immense potential. Nova Scotia´s upstream petroleum industry is still considered to be in the early start-up phase. Recent resource estimates suggest Nova Scotia´s deepwater potential is in the range of 15-41 trillion cubic feet (TCF) for gas and two billion barrels oil. Most of the major multinational petroleum producers have ventures in the Nova Scotian offshore, with 196 wells having been drilled to date. Additionally, local and multinational businesses involved in Nova Scotia´s oil and gas industry have access to regional industry associations, such as the Offshore/Onshore Technologies Association of Nova Scotia (OTANS).

Sources for all industry-related statistical information: Industry Canada , Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), Canadian Services Association of Canada (PSAC)