Introduction to the Oil & Gas Industry
write on the Economic, political stability, infrastructure and any other relevant issues relating to
the oil and gas industry in alberta canada and also a swot analysis on the country
Introduction
Alberta is one of the provinces in western Canada with a population of 4.1 million residents. It’s
the fourth largest province and it’s among the three Prairie Provinces of Canada with the
Saskatchewan province on its eastern side and the US state of Montana on its Southern side.
Alberta is the major supplier of crude oil to Canada and its energy industry is providing
tremendous growth opportunities for companies that are directly connected with energy industry
in extraction, production and processing of the oil and gas resources in Alberta. These companies
are involved in engineering works, consultation, management, information technology,
manufacturing and communication.
The major opportunities that are available in Alberta is it’s great potential of becoming the
leading global energy provider as its resources are directly connected to the world’s largest
Introduction to the Oil & Gas Industry 2
market that’s the US. The political environment is very stable with competitive fiscal and
monetary policies. Canada also provides a good market for the energy resources. Its current
population of 34.8 million people and a GDP (PPP) of $1.5 trillion with a growth rate of 1.8%
annually; it’s a potential market for future business expansions. Canada had a per capita of
$42,734 and an inflation rate of 1.5% as at the end of the year 2012. These economic conditions
make it competitive and attractive for investments opportunities and business expansion
activities. (The Heritage Foundation, 2014)
Canada’s strength stems from its close proximity to the US which makes its business
environment to be very competitive and it attracts huge investment destination also with its
stable and transparent business climate. The infrastructure in Canada and also in Alberta
province are well developed including advanced transportation systems, efficient public utilities
and a universal health care system. (Alberta Health Services, 2009) The free trade policy in
Canada also provides very good incentives for companies to relocate to Canada. (Government of
Alberta, 2014; Government of Alberta, 2013)
The major threats to the economic activities in Canada are its harsh climatical conditions that are
characterized by cold winters and extreme weather conditions. The cost of housing and living
standards are very high. http://www.albertacanada.com
The weaknesses in Canada’s Alberta province are the environmental management policies that
include air, land management, infrastructure constraints, water and natural gas extraction.
(Government of Alberta, 2011) The development of new technologies to assist in the energy
sector in Alberta is still a challenge to this rich oil province of Canada. The tar sands that are the
sources of Alberta’s Oil reserves makes the extraction of the oil a big challenge to the Albertans
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as the oil is generally more dirtier than the average oil in most parts of the world. The oil has
being contaminated with sand, clay and water hence the bitumen is expensive to extract and it
also generates more greenhouse gases by close to 82% more than the global estimate.
(Economist Magazine, 2010)
To conclude, it’s estimated that the energy sector in Canada earned over $27 billion in revenues
collection in 2012 and it’s growing by 12% annually. Albertans oil sand reserves have over 300
billion barrels of bitumen, over 33 trillion cubic feet worth of natural gas and 36.7 billion tons of
coal. Alberta has the potential of becoming the leading energy supplier globally if its resources
are managed competitively with modern application of advanced technologies in oil and gas
extraction. The largest challenge remains environmental conservation and protection policies.
References
Economist Magazine (2010, August) Tarred with the same brush, Economist Magazine, August
7, Page
35.
The Heritage Foundation (2014) Canada, Wall street Journal
Government of Alberta (2014) Alberta Canada, AlbertaCanada.com
Government of Alberta (2011) Roads and highways , Retrieved December, 13, 2011.
Government of Alberta (2013) Health funding – Allocations for 2013–2014″ . Retrieved August
17, 2013.
Introduction to the Oil & Gas Industry 4
Alberta Health Services (2009) Edmonton Clinic, University of Alberta. Retrieved: August 31,
2009.
