Good 2 Know
Going Sideways
Almost 90 per cent of oil wells added in 2015 were horizontal
Weak oil prices are translating into fewer wells being drilled and placed on production in Alberta. However, the percentage of horizontal wells is on the rise. The number of crude oil wells (also know… Read more
Making Sense of Oil Dollars & Cents
While complex, there’s method to the oil-price madness
Seems simple enough—the price of oil, that is. It’s $47.60 per barrel, or $51.98 per barrel, or whatever it happens to be on any given day. It’s often expressed by West Texas Intermediate (WTI) or Bre… Read more
Stepping on the Gas
Five Things to know about liquefied natural gas
Natural gas is a very handy hydrocarbon. It heats homes and warms dinners, it fires barbeques and power plants; it even fuels some vehicles and industrial operations. The problem is, given its nature—… Read more
Blast from the Past: Atlantic No. 3
This week 68 years ago, Alberta’s biggest blowout gasped its final bre…
Almost seven decades ago, a drilling rig towering high over an empty field ignited more than just the ground it stood on.
For What It’s Worth
There’s good news and bad news for Alberta’s energy industry
The value of Alberta’s energy resource production—marketable bitumen, conventional oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, sulphur, and coal—was $67.1 billion in 2015. That’s a sharp drop of almost 40… Read more
47 Wells, 1 Application, 1 Decision
The AER is piloting a new single application, single decision approach
Each year, the AER receives more than 40 000 applications that can include everything from a request to access a parcel of land, to a request for approval to drill a well, to a request for water use.… Read more
More Than Oil in Them Thar Hills
More interest being shown in Alberta's mineral resources.
When you think of Alberta’s resources, oil is top of mind. Turns out, though, Alberta’s geology hides more than just oil and gas—word is getting out that gold, lithium, iron, rare-earth elements, zinc… Read more
It Doesn’t Smell Like Roses, But It Does Help Them…
Alberta sulphur is important to crops and the economy
The aroma of rotten eggs smells like money to some Albertans. In 2015, sulphur accounted for $420 million of Alberta’s energy-resource production, a small portion compared to the $67 billion the rest… Read more
Alberta Pipelines: They’re Out of This World
The AER regulates thousands of kilometres of pipeline
The AER is responsible for ensuring that the “upstream” pipelines—those which transport oil and gas from wells and facilities to “downstream” parties, such as refiners and utilities—that crisscross Al… Read more
5,000 “Rock” Stars, One Stage
What the conversation turns to when a multitude of geologists gather
Part of the foundation of protective and effective regulation is hard science. Initiatives like area-based regulation, for example, require a detailed understanding of the geology of Alberta. This is… Read more
