Alberta’s massive oil and gas reserves keep growing – here’s why

From the Canadian Energy Centre

Q&A with Mike Verney, executive vice-president, McDaniel & Associates

New analysis commissioned by the Alberta Energy Regulator has increased the province’s natural gas reserves by 440 per cent, bumping Canada into the global top 10.

Alberta’s oil reserves – already fourth in the world – also increased by seven billion barrels.

The report was conducted by Calgary-based consultancy McDaniel & Associates. Executive vice-president Mike Verney explains what it means.

CEC: What are “reserves” and why do they matter?

Verney: Reserves are commercial quantities of oil and gas to be recovered in the future. They are key indicators of future production potential.

For companies, that’s a way of representing the future value of their operations. And for countries, it’s important to showcase the runway they have in terms of the future of their oil and gas.

Some countries that have exploited a lot of their resource in the past have low reserves remaining. Canada is in a position where we still have a lot of meat on the bone in terms of those remaining quantities.

CEC: How long has it been since Alberta’s oil and gas reserves were comprehensively assessed?

Verney: Our understanding is the last fully comprehensive review was over a decade ago.

CEC: Does improvement in technology and innovation increase reserves?

Verney: Technological advancements and innovation play a crucial role in increasing reserves. New technologies such as advanced drilling techniques (e.g., hydraulic fracturing, horizontal drilling), enhanced seismic imaging and improved extraction methods enable companies to discover and access previously inaccessible reserves.

As these reserves get developed, the evolution of technology helps companies develop them better and better every year.

CEC: Why have Alberta’s natural gas reserves increased?

Verney: Most importantly, hydraulic fracturing has unlocked material volume, and that’s one of the principal reasons why the new gas estimate is so much higher than what it was in the past.

The performance of the wells that are being drilled has also gotten better since the last comprehensive study.

The Montney competes with every American tight oil and gas play, so we’re recognizing the future potential of that with the gas reserves that are being assigned.

In addition, operators continue to expand the footprint of the Alberta Deep Basin.

CEC: Why have Alberta’s oil reserves increased?

Verney: We discovered over two billion barrels of oil reserves associated with multilateral wells, which is a new technology. In a multilateral well, you drill one vertical well to get to the zone and then once you hit the zone you drill multiple legs off of that one vertical spot. It has been a very positive game-changer.

Performance in the oil sands since the last comprehensive update has also gone better than expected. We’ve got 22 thermal oil sands projects that are operating, and in general, expectations in terms of recovery are higher than they were a decade ago.

Oil sands production has grown substantially in the past decade, up 70 per cent, from two million to 3.4 million barrels per day. The growth of several projects has increased confidence in the commercial viability of developing additional lands.

CEC: What are the implications of Alberta’s reserves in terms of the province’s position as a world energy supplier?

Verney: We’re seeing LNG take off in the United States, and we’re seeing lots of demand from data centers. Our estimate is that North America will need at least 30 billion cubic feet per day of more gas supply in the next few years, based on everything that’s been announced. That is a very material number, considering the United States’ total natural gas production is a little over 100 billion cubic feet per day.

In terms of oil, since the shale revolution in 2008 there’s been massive growth from North America, and the rest of the world hasn’t grown oil production. We’re now seeing that the tight plays in the U.S. aren’t infinite and are showing signs of plateauing.

Specifically, when we look at the United States’ largest oil play, the Permian, it has essentially been flat at 5.5 million barrels per day since December 2023. Flat production from the Permian is contrary to the previous decade, where we saw tight oil production grow by half a million barrels per day per year.

Oil demand has gone up by about a million barrels a day per year for the past several decades, and at this point we do expect that to continue, at the very least in the near term.

Given the growing demand for oil and the stagnation in supply growth since the shale revolution, it’s expected that Alberta’s oil sands reserves will become increasingly critical. As global oil demand continues to rise, and with limited growth in production from other sources, oil sands reserves will be relied upon more heavily.

Up Next

28 energy leaders call for eliminating ALL energy subsidies—even ones they benefit from

Don't Miss

Federal emissions plan will cost Albertans dearly

Todayville

Todayville is a digital media and technology company. We profile unique stories and events in our community. Register and promote your community event for free.

Follow Author

Hours after Liberal election win, Alberta Prosperity Project drumming up interest in referendum

2025 Federal Election / 3 hours ago

Post election…the chips fell where they fell

Banks / 3 hours ago

TD Bank Account Closures Expose Chinese Hybrid Warfare Threat

Alberta

Hours after Liberal election win, Alberta Prosperity Project drumming up interest in referendum

Published on April 29, 2025

Todayville

News release from the Alberta Prosperity Project

Carney’s In. Now what?

You’ve been paying attention. You understand this is really bad. Worse than that, it’s dangerous. The country has somehow chosen several more years of a decade-long Trudeau Travesty…on steroids. Because this new Prime Minister has a three digit IQ, deep and questionable connections and a momentum to accelerate the further dis-integration of a nation we all once proudly belonged to. It’s untrue to say the country is dying. But it’s also not a stretch to say it’s on life support.

The era of Carney Carnage is here. While every province will experience it, there’s no secret he’s placed an extra big bulls-eye on Alberta.

It’s not personal, it’s financial.

His plan includes continuing to limit three of Alberta’s most prosperous sectors: energy, agriculture and, by extension, innovation. To acknowledge this requires we abandon our sense of romanticized national nostalgia. Nostalgia is a trap that prevents us from assessing the reality we exist in.

For instance, GDP is considered the financial heartbeat of a country. Over the past decade of Liberal Leadership, the national GDP has been an abysmal 1.1%. By relatable comparison, Mexico was 4%, the UK was 6%, Australia had 8% growth and the US was a whopping 19%.

That’s great information for an economist, but what does it mean to your pay cheque?

The everyday impact on the average Albertan —say, a teacher or mechanic— of 10 long years of 1% GDP means rent’s up at least 25%, a trip to the grocery store always stings, and driving an older car is the norm because an upgrade is out of reach. Does this sound like your reality?

We aren’t starving, but we’re not thriving, either.

Does this make sense for 4.5 million people living with the third most abundant energy deposits in the world? There’s an absurdity to the situation Albertans find themselves in. It’s akin to being chronically dehydrated while having a fresh water spring in the backyard.

The life you’ve invested for, the future you believed was ahead, isn’t happening.

If Alberta stays on this path.

So what can you, as an Albertan, do about it?

This Fall, we’ll be provided an opportunity. A life raft in the form of a referendum. It requires curiosity, imagination and courage to step into it, but the option will be there — a once in a lifetime shot at prosperity for you and your family: Alberta Sovereignty.

A successful bid means Albertans can finally paddle out of the perilous economic current that’s battered us for ten long years.

Alberta has the resources, talent and spirit of collaboration to create a prosperous future for our families and communities.
If you want your vote to finally mean something, if you feel you deserve more from your pay-cheque, grocery store visits and need greater control over your family’s future, register your intent to sign YES to sovereignty now.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Click here to see all upcoming APP events.

WHAT CAN ALBERTANS DO?

Register Your Intent To Vote “YES”

Alberta

New Alberta Election Act bans electronic vote counting machines, lowers threshold for recalls and petitions

Published on April 29, 2025

Government of Alberta

Alberta’s government is introducing changes to protect democracy, deliver fair and open elections and increase confidence in every vote cast.

Voting gives Albertans a voice in shaping the future of our province. Direct democracy processes like referendums, recall and citizen initiative petitions provide further opportunities for Albertans to be heard and express their views. The proposed Election Statutes Amendment Act, 2025, would make Alberta’s elections and other democratic processes more open, secure and accessible.

“I believe that democracy thrives when people trust the process. These changes would make elections at every level in Alberta more accessible and transparent while protecting their integrity, ensuring confidence in the outcomes. We are also creating more opportunities for Albertans to be involved in direct democracy and to have their say on issues that matter to them.”

Danielle Smith, Premier

Fair and free elections are the foundation of democracy, and Alberta’s government is taking action to protect them. The proposed changes include:

Banning the use of electronic tabulators and other automated voting machines, requiring all ballots to be counted by hand to protect election integrity.
Eliminating vouching at voting stations to strengthen identification and verification processes.
Requiring unofficial vote counts to be completed within 12 hours of polls closing to provide timely, reliable results.
Voters being required to cast their ballot in their constituency of residence or by requesting a special ballot.
Expanding access to special ballots, allowing any voter to request one without needing to provide a reason while protecting integrity by requiring voters to personally request their special ballot (with exceptions for those needing assistance due to a disability).
Updating the Recall Act to make it easier for Albertans to hold elected officials accountable by lowering the signature threshold and extending the timeframe to collect signatures.
Improving the Citizen Initiative Act process by setting the threshold for all successful petitions at 10 per cent of eligible voters who participated in the last general election.

“Albertans rightly expect their government to make sure democratic processes are fair and transparent with accurate and timely results. These proposed amendments would deliver on my mandate to review and make changes to strengthen public trust in the integrity of our elections.”

Mickey Amery, Minister of Justice and Attorney General

Additional amendments under the Election Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 would:

Allow corporate and union contributions for provincial elections while maintaining transparency and accountability through existing financial disclosure requirements.
Improve access to voting for First Nations and Métis Settlements during referendums and Senate elections.
Enhance emergency response provisions for voting disruptions during referendums and Senate elections.

These changes would help ensure that Alberta’s democratic processes are open, secure, and reflective of the will of Albertans, while creating new opportunities for greater public participation.

Quick facts

The Election Act governs the process for provincial elections, by-elections and plebiscites in Alberta and creates the office of the chief electoral officer, the head of Elections Alberta.
The Election Finances and Contributions Disclosure Act governs the financing of provincial elections, Senate elections and referendums, including rules for registered political parties, constituency associations, candidates, leadership contestants and third parties.
The Alberta Senate Election Act governs the process for Senate elections in Alberta.
The Referendum Act governs the process for referendums in Alberta.
The Recall Act outlines the process for Albertans to initiate the recall of an elected MLA.
The Citizen Initiative Act allows eligible voters in Alberta to propose legislative or policy initiatives, constitutional referendum questions and establishes rules for advertising and spending.