North American Oil and Natural Gas
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200506000212 |
| Date | 01 June 2005 |
| Published date | 01 June 2005 |
| Author | Jerome D. Davis |
| Subject Matter | Across the Border |
Jerome
D.
Davis
North American
oil
and
natural
gas
Current
trends,
fixture
problems?
THE
POTENTIAL
The
United States imports more oil and oil products from Canada than
from
any other single source. It imports nearly two million barrels of
oil
per
day, three quarters of which is crude oil, placing Canada marginally behind
Saudi Arabia as a US crude supplier. Canada is the leading exporter to the
US
of both refined oil products and natural gas (Canada is the world's
sec-
ond largest exporter of natural gas, after
Russia).
All of Canada's natural gas
exports go to the US, accounting for 87 percent of total US natural gas
imports.'
As
oil and gas production
fall
in the lower 48 states, a decline matched
across
the border in the western Canadian sedimentary basin
(WCSB),
the
source
of
most current Canadian oil and natural gas production, both coun-
tries have turned their attention to the vast potential of the Albertan tar
sands. These tar sands, covering an area equivalent to both Ireland and
Scotland,
are located predominantly in the Cold
Lake,
Peace River, and
Athabasca
regions of Alberta. While proven conventional oil resources in
Canada are estimated at a paltry 4.5 billion barrels, proven tar sands
Jerome
Davis
is
Canada
Research
Chair
in Oil and Gas
and
professor
of
political
science
at
Dalhousie
University.
ι
These
figures are those of
the
US
energy
information administration,
US
Department of
Ener-
gy,
"Country
analysis
brief:
Canada,"
January
2004,
www.eia.doe.gov.emeu.
International
Journal
|
Spring
2005
| 429 |
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