The oil and gas reserves discovered in the prairie region are represented on this map. In several areas mixtures of hydrocarbons occur. For example, both oil and gas are present in the Waterton-Pincher Creek, Pembina- Brazeau, and Rainbow-Zama fields; conventional as well as heavy oils occur in the Lloydminster-Cold Lake fields; and natural gas as well as tar sands are found in the Athabasca region. Some of the fields, including Leduc, have already been depleted, and others, such as Turner Valley and Redwater, have been stimulated into further production by enhanced recovery methods. One method, called "fracturing," uses liquid and solid agents to force oil and gas to the surface.
Taking into account the Arctic and Atlantic offshore, known Canadian reserves total approximately 1.0 billion cubic metres of conventional oil and 2.3 trillion cubic metres of natural gas. About 640 to 950 million cubic metres of heavy oil are expected from the Lloydminster field and an estimated 39 billion cubic metres of oil are thought to be recoverable from the 159 billion cubic metres of bituminous tar sands in northern Alberta at Athabasca, Peace River, Wabasca and Bison Lake.
Based on current figures, probable reserves of conventional oil are estimated at 919 million metres, or half the oil discovered to date. Although reserves of 2.5 to 4.5 billion cubic metres of gas may exist on the northern and eastern frontiers, only 1.9 trillion cubic metres of gas are "proven" reserves. Even if the "probable" and "potential" discoveries are realized, the demand for oil and gas is expected to exceed supply sometime between 1985 and 1990.
Courtesy: National Film Board of Canada; National Museum of Man, National Museums of Canada
