As reported by the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) for February 2024, Alberta’s oil production was 3.96 MMb/d, an increase of 147 Mb/d from January and 111 Mb/d higher than a year ago (rightmost stacked bars in chart below). A month-on-month recovery was reported for all major production categories after intense cold in January partly impacted output. Total oil production was a record for the month of February, but remained below the all-time high recorded at the end of December 2023 near 4.2 MMb/d.
Featured Articles
- Analyst Insight
January’s Intense Cold Pushes Down Alberta Crude Oil Production
Alberta's crude oil production fell back in January as an intense cold snap for part of the month punished oil producing operations. Bitumen and synthetic crude oil production took the biggest downward hits.
- Analyst Insight
Alberta Crude Oil Production Sets New Record in November
Alberta crude oil production set a new record in November 2023 of 4.16 MMb/d, the first time the province's output has surpassed the 4 MMb/d threshold. Anecdotal information for December suggests another record might be on tap for the final month of 2023.
- Blog
Turn Around, Look at Me - Maintenance to Curb Alberta's Synthetic Crude Oil Production This Spring
Production of synthetic crude oil that is processed from Alberta’s oil sands reached record highs at the end of 2020 after touching on two year lows just four months earlier. However, these highs could be undermined and sink to four-year lows for a short period of time this spring with what appears to be a heavier than usual slate of maintenance work on three of Alberta’s four upgraders, the immense processing units that produce synthetic crude oil from bitumen. In today’s blog, we take a closer look at the upgraders, the timing of maintenance, and what this might mean for synthetic crude oil production and exports.
