Canada's oil and gas industry is committed to using water responsibly.
The Issue: Using Water to Produce Oil and Gas
Water is an important part of oil and gas production. As Canada’s oil and gas industry grows, so does the demand on Canada's water resources.
In oil and gas production, water is used in the following ways:
Even though the industry is licensed to use eight per cent of all the water allocated in Alberta and less than that in other provinces, oil and gas production has an impact on Canada's water resources.
What We’re Doing: Reducing Our Use of Fresh Water by Finding Alternatives
Water monitoring, courtesy Suncor
The oil and gas industry has made significant progress in reducing our use of fresh water through alternatives and innovative practices.
Reusing and Recycling
The industry is a leader in developing recycling techniques and reusing water. Almost all of the water used in conventional oil recovery is recycled, which reduces the demand on water supplies. Oil sands projects in northern Alberta continually recycle about 90 per cent of the water they use. It takes an average of two to three barrels of water to produce one barrel of bitumen from a mine, and almost all the water involved in that process is reused/recycled.
Using Undrinkable Water
Across the entire industry, we also focus on using brackish water (deep groundwater that is not suitable for drinking or agriculture) as an alternative to fresh water.
Devon Canada Corporation's Jackfish project is one oil sands project that uses only brackish water to create the steam needed to separate oil from sand.
Find out more about the Jackfish project
Finding Other Alternatives
In several places in Western Canada, companies are using carbon dioxide (CO2) instead of water to enhance recovery of oil from older wells. EnCana Corporation is using this technology in its Weyburn project.
Find out more about capturing and using carbon
In the oil sands, Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. is using a process that uses combustion instead of steam to liquefy the sticky bitumen deep underground, allowing it to be pumped to the surface.
Find out more about underground combustion
How Did We Do?
Responsible Canadian Energy™ is a call to action – a collective commitment to new solutions to reduce our environmental footprints, to ensure every worker returns home safely at the end of each day, and to continue to benefit the communities where we operate.
Responsible Canadian Energy™ is an association-wide performance reporting program to demonstrate progress in environmental, health, safety, and social performance.
Read Reports
What Do You Think?
We're Listening.
The oil and gas industry wants to hear Canadians' thoughts and opinions about what we do. Tell us what you think
It is important to have a balanced conversation about the oil sands and its impacts. You can participate: www.canadasoilsands.ca