Oil and Gas

Oil Production

More than 1.2 billion barrels of recoverable oil have been discovered in the Northwest Territories, and another seven billion barrels are estimated to be ultimately recoverable reserves.

Norman Wells has been producing oil since 1921, and the Enbridge pipeline from there to Zama, Alberta has been supplying southern Canada since 1985.  Norman Wells is Imperial Oil’s largest single conventional oil field. It ships between six and seven million barrels per year with a value of some $450 to $500 million dollars.

Natural Gas

Natural gas estimates for the Northwest Territories include 16 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas and an estimated  81 trillion cubic feet of ultimately recoverable reserves. These discoveries compare favorably with other mid-sized world-class deposits.  Benefits will come to the Northwest Territories when these discoveries can flow to market.

Mackenzie Gas Project

The Mackenzie Gas Project is a proposal for a 1196 kilometre natural gas pipeline along the Mackenzie Valley to connect onshore gas fields with North American markets.  Current project cost estimates are $16 billion. The project is a joint venture between Imperial Oil, Conoco, Shell, Exxon and the Aboriginal Pipeline Group representing Aboriginal people of the Northwest Territories. The pipeline has been approved at the national cabinet level, but the consortium must now determine when to proceed.

The Conference Board of Canada predicts the GDP of the Northwest Territories will climb to $9.6 billion by 2020, almost twice its current level, if this and other projects proceed. Together these investments would create over 9,000 new jobs.  Significant investments in housing, infrastructure, training and other support services will be required to meet this doubling of demand.