Natural gas use in Alberta’s oil sands has been setting seasonal records since the start of this year, averaging 3.2 Bcf/d to date in 2025 (blue line in chart below). Based on data from RBN’s Canadian NatGas Billboard, this is 0.1 Bcf/d (+2.3%) greater than the top end of the five-year range (green dashed box) and versus one year ago (red line). Natural gas in the oil sands is used for several purposes including steam generation for injection into bitumen reservoirs to allow the bitumen to flow to surface, electrical generation, other industrial purposes, and space heating.
Featured Articles
- Analyst Insight
Oil Sands Gas Demand Nearing Seasonal Lows
Oil sands gas demand is undergoing its typical seasonal decline during April and May but is still at record highs for this time of year.
- Analyst Insight
Oil Sands Gas Demand Sets Summer Record in August
Alberta's oil sands gas consumption has been setting summer records this year and coinciding, unsurprisingly, with record bitumen output from the oil sands.
- Blog
Back on the Borderline - Canada's Natural Gas Market Remains Mired in Oversupply at Midwinter
The current winter heating season in Canada has seen extremes of warmth and cold, but much more of the former than the latter. Given that the Canadian natural gas market was already oversupplied and struggling with record-high gas storage levels as winter approached, even the most intense cold blast in mid-January wasn’t enough to return the supply/demand balance north of the 49th parallel to anything near normal. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss where the Canadian market stands as the calendar turns to February and what that might mean for end-of-winter gas balances.
