Areas of Expertise

The energy technology and services industry provides a large value-added component to Alberta’s economy and is instrumental in the development of Alberta unconventional oil and gas reservoirs. Capital investment in oil sands, heavy oil and unconventional gas projects will provide a continuous source of demand for businesses in this sector.

Alberta’s conventional oil and gas industry is extremely significant and is responsible for a large portion of the oil and gas industry’s investment in Alberta, totaling over $105 billion from 2004-2008. The Canadian Energy Research Institute estimated that $218 billion will be invested in new oil sands capacity over the next quarter century as output of bitumen increases to 4.3 million barrels per day, up from the current 1.2 million.

The year 2006 marked the fourth consecutive year for double-digit growth in the energy technology and services industry, with most of the demand coming from the booming oil and gas industry. In 2007, Alberta’s energy technology and services industry experienced a 13% decline as a result of a drop in drilling and exploration related activities/services.

Drilling and exploration related activities continue to remain depressed as the global economic recession continues and new supplies of gas from shale basin in the southern United States oversupply the North American marketplace.

A range of products and services

Energy technology and services is focused on upstream-related oil and gas equipment and services. Upstream-related products and services range from seismic and geological services to drilling and completions to advanced production techniques. This important industry sector focuses on such areas as: multilateral drilling technologies, non-invasive drilling fluids, swell packer stimulation technologies, coiled tubing expertise and benefits, innovative pumping technologies, non-traditional well configurations, and geosteering of horizontal wells in real time. 

Oil and Gas Equipment (Predominant/Proactive Sector)

Alberta has the world’s second largest proven crude oil reserves after Saudi Arabia. Canada is the world’s third largest supplier of natural gas, with Alberta accounting for 80% of Canadian production.

Alberta’s oil and gas industry is constantly growing along with its need for technology and services. With Alberta Government’s commitment to innovation and sustainability several key opportunities exist in this sector:

  • Improving extraction technologies for conventional oil production; i.e. advanced seismic and horizontal drilling. 
  • New technologies and/or process for extracting Coal Bed Methane and Shale Gas.
  • Further unconventional gas opportunities include:

    • New coal bed methane production technologies
    • New technologies and/or process for extracting natural gas from shale
    • Reservoir characterization
    • Reservoir modeling
    • Sweet spot identification
    • Wellbore placement
    • Wellbore completion
    • Pumping technologies
  • Equally important is continued research and development efforts pertaining to unconventional gas development. Specifically, industry leaders feel that R&D efforts are required regarding:

    • Deep coal
    • Coal fines mitigation
    • Sheared coal reserves
    • Co-mingling coals with variable reservoir properties
    • Reservoir characterization from drill cuttings
    • Fracture design and fluid selection
    • Fracture and produced fluid recovery
    • Drilling and fracture stimulation of under-pressured and water sensitive reservoirs
    • Stratified reservoirs
    • Frac sand supply and use
    • Use on non-potable water for drilling and fracturing operations

Related sectors include:

Date Updated: Sep 22, 2009
RDP-1142