The Upstream Oilfield Services Industry in Western Canada - A Backgrounder

This backgrounder has been prepared as a resource for investors who are looking for opportunities to invest in a sector that is an indispensable part of the Canadian energy sector and the Western Canadian economy.

Described by The Economist as “the unsung masters of the oil industry,” oilfield services are an integral and indispensable part of the oil and natural gas industry in Western Canada. Oilfield services companies are involved in every stage of the life cycle of oil and natural gas development, from exploring for reserves to producing and ultimately abandoning and reclaiming projects. These companies also play a role in transporting, storing, processing, refining and distributing oil and natural gas. The oilfield services industry in Western Canada supports a sector involved in developing and exploiting the world’s third-largest oil reserves in a country that is the world’s fifth-largest oil and natural gas producer.

Most of Canada’s oil and natural gas is contained in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB), which covers Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and parts of southern Saskatchewan and southwest Manitoba. Because Alberta accounts for more than 80 percent of the WCSB’s oil and natural gas production, a large majority of the upstream businesses are based in Alberta and many have their head offices in Calgary.

Bennett Jones is an internationally recognized Canadian law firm founded in Calgary, Alberta, in 1922 and has played an integral role in the development of the Canadian oil and natural gas industry for over 90 years.