Reserves

Providing information to support sound decision-making is an important service offered by the ERCB. Making energy resource data available to everyone involved (landowners, communities, industry, government, and interest groups) results in better decisions that affect the development of Alberta’s resources.

Each year the ERCB releases Alberta’s Energy Reserves and Supply/Demand Outlook (ST98) report, which is one of the most reliable sources of information on Alberta ’s remaining recoverable oil and gas reserves. The report contains estimates of initial, remaining established, and potential reserves. It also includes a 10-year supply and demand forecast for Alberta’s energy resources.   

Estimate of remaining established reserves as of December 2005:

Bitumen	27.6 billion cubic metres (174 billion barrels)
Conventional oil	255 million cubic metres (1.6 billion barrels)
Natural gas	1.12 trillion cubic metres (40 trillion cubic feet)

Conventional vs. Unconventional

Oil and gas reserves are typically categorized as either conventional or unconventional. While the chemical composition of conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons is essentially the same, the main difference is the subsurface environment in which they are contained.