By Curtis Galbraith

Energy Business

Oil and gas reserves in Alberta higher than previous AER estimates

Mar 13, 2025 | 6:00 AM

A news release from the province says Alberta has bigger reserves of natural gas than first thought.

New measurements of the gas in the Montney, Duvernay and Deep Basin areas has found that there are 1360 trillion cubic feet of gas in the ground. Of that, 130 trillion cubic feet is what the province calls “proved and recoverable.”

Previous estimates from the Alberta Energy Regulator had Alberta’s recoverable natural gas estimated at 24 trillion cubic feet.

The government says adding Alberta’s gas reserves to those of other provinces means Canada is now ranked ninth globally, up from 15th.

“Alberta’s responsible energy sector has embraced technology and innovation, and these advancements have allowed us to unlock material gas reserves that were previously not accounted for. While other jurisdictions could face inventory concerns in the future, Alberta’s reserves will be essential for North America to continue accessing affordable energy,” says Premier Danielle Smith in the province’s news release.

The same study, done by McDaniel and Associates Consultants Ltd. after being hired by the AER, put Alberta’s oil reserves at 1820 billion barrels. Of that, 167 billion barrels are considered recoverable, although the study of oil reserves is not complete.

The previous AER estimate was that Alberta had 159.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil.

“This announcement reinforces that Alberta has the reserves needed to enhance long-term energy security for our trading partners. With vast amounts of gas, oil and liquids, Alberta’s energy sector is ready and willing to work with our U.S. partners to achieve global energy security,” says Minister of Energy and Mines Brian Jean in that same release.

The provincial release also says the government still wants to double Alberta’s oil and gas production and is looking at “all options” to get this production to market.