Energy consumption up across the board in 2007: StatsCan
Canadian Press
November 18, 2008
OTTAWA — A new study says Canada's demand for energy rose 5.5 per cent last year as consumption increased in the country's industrial, transportation, residential and commercial sectors.
Statistics Canada reports Canadians consumed 7,968 petajoules of energy in 2007, up from 7,551 in 2006.
The agency says one petajoule equals roughly the amount of energy required to operate the Montreal subway system for one year.
Energy use derived from the three main fossil fuels - natural gas, refined petroleum products and coal - rose seven per cent.
The largest user of energy was the transportation sector, where consumption rose 5.1 per cent and accounted for about 31 per cent of final demand.
Consumption in the industrial sector, the second-largest user of energy, was up 6.6 per cent, due primarily to increased demand in mining, oil-and-gas extraction, and iron and steel.
Total demand for all refined petroleum products, including fuel oil and motor gasoline, rose 4.1 per cent in 2007. Motor gasoline sales amounted to 42 billion litres, up 3.8 per cent.
Canadian companies produced 161 million cubic metres of crude oil and equivalent in 2007, up 4.2 per cent over 2006. A cubic metre contains 1,000 litres.
Canada's East Coast production increased 20.5, reflecting higher output from the Terra Nova and White Rose fields.
Alberta's oil sands accounted for over 43 per cent of total crude oil and equivalent production in 2007, up from 42 per cent in 2006 and well above the 28 per cent in 2000. The oil sands produced 191,000 cubic metres of oil a day in 2007.
Exports of crude oil, primarily to the United States, increased 3.2 per cent from 2006. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports Canada remained the leading export country to the United States, ahead of both Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
Canadian crude oil represented 18 per cent of total U.S. demand for imported crude oil in 2007, and these exports accounted for more than 64 per cent of all Canadian production.
Natural gas production fell 2.3 per cent in 2007. Natural gas drilling declined 25 per cent, largely the result of weaker wellhead prices.
Canada's trade surplus for crude petroleum, refined petroleum and other products, natural gas, coal and electricity reached $55.9 billion in 2007, up from $51.6 billion the year before.
Electricity production from primary sources - hydro, nuclear, wind and tidal - increased two per cent in 2007, mainly due to increased demand in colder weather conditions in many parts of Canada. Demand rose 2.6 per cent.
Hydro generation accounted for 59 per cent of electric power in 2007, the largest source. Nuclear energy provided about 14 per cent of total Canadian electricity production.
Although electricity generation from wind, solar and tidal sources is rising, total generation from these sources represented less than 0.5 per cent of total generation.
Coal production rose 3.7 per cent in 2007, primarily the result of higher demand by electric utilities.
Alberta's growth in consumption of energy led the provinces in 2007, increasing 13.5 per cent from 2006.
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