Energy's History in Alberta

 

Pre 1800s | 1800-1899 | 1900s | 1910s | 1920s | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000 - Present

The energy industry has a long history in Alberta dating back millions of years. Over 560 million years ago, plants started Alberta off on it's rich energy history.

Pre 1800s
560 million years B.C. - Plants absorb solar energy and use it to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and carbohydrates such as sugar, starch and cellulose; these carbohydrates and other organic materials eventually settle on the ground and in stream, lake and sea beds and, as they become more deeply buried, are transformed by heat and pressure into solid, liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons known as fossil fuels.

1788 - Alexander Mackenzie writes of bituminous seeps among Alberta's Athabasca tar sands, into which a six-metre pole could be inserted "without the least resistance".

1800-1899
1807 - Coal gas first used to light streetlamps in London, England.

1821 - Natural gas piped through hollow logs to Fredonia, New York.

1836 - Coal gas first used in streetlamps in Montreal.

1841 - Coal gas first used in streetlamps in Toronto.

1842 - Geological Survey of Canada established to explore for coal and other minerals.

1854 - Abraham Gesner of Halifax, Nova Scotia, opens a plant in New York to convert coal into kerosene, a new synthetic lamp oil (which replaced whale oil), using his patented process of fractional distillation.

1855 - American chemist Benjamin Silliman applies fractional distillation to Pennsylvania rock oil (crude oil) and discovers it produces high-quality lamp oil (kerosene).

1859 - Natural gas discovered in New Brunswick.

1860s - Entrepreneurs establish small, primitive oil refineries in Ontario, eastern Europe and the U.S.

1866 - James Miller Williams of Hamilton, Ontario creates the world's first vertically integrated oil company, combining in one company all aspects of the business from exploration to retail sales.

1866 - Natural gas discovered in south-western Ontario.

1870s - Chemical engineer Herman Frasch invents process to extract sulphur compounds from oil using copper oxide powder; until then, the foul smell of sulphur had prevented oil from being widely used as a fuel.

1875 - Geological Survey of Canada investigates Athabasca oil sands.

1880s - Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa introduce electric lighting.

1880 - Sixteen Ontario producing and refining companies merge to form the Imperial Oil Company.

1883 - Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) crew drilling for water near Medicine Hat, Alberta, accidentally discovers natural gas 55 kilometres northwest of Medicine Hat. The name of the site at the time was Langevin Siding. By 1910 it was called Carlstadt, and after World War I, the name was changed again to Alderson.

1884 – A second well was drilled just a few meters from the Langevin Siding site. This one produced enough gas to light and heat several buildings.

1886 – The Geological Survey of Canada collected natural gas information and presented the paper to the Royal Society of Canada. The paper was called On Certain Borings in Manitoba and the Northwest Territory. Of course, there was no reference to Alberta, which was still 19 years away from becoming a province (1905)!

1889 - Drilling for natural gas begins in south-western Ontario.

1890 - Natural gas well drilled at Niagara Falls, Ontario, begins exporting gas to Buffalo, New York.

1890s – Several more natural gas wells are drilled in the Medicine Hat area, producing gas for homes and factories. 

1893 - Parliament passes bill authorizing funds for Geological Survey of Canada to investigate Athabasca oil sands as a source of petroleum.

1894 - Drilling begins at Athabasca oil sands; crews strike a reservoir of natural gas which blows wild for 21 years.

1895 - Natural gas from Ontario piped to Windsor, Ontario and across the river to Detroit, Michigan .

1898 - Imperial Oil's refinery operations consolidated at Sarnia, Ontario.

1900s
1901 - As known natural gas supplies dwindle, Ontario government bans exports to U.S.

1901 – Medicine Hat (300 kilometres southeast of Calgary) develops its own gas utility. 

1908 – “Old Glory” was the name of the first major discovery. Development of the Bow Island gas field led to the first pipelines delivering natural gas to Alberta communities.

1909 - 'Old Glory' natural gas field discovered at Bow Island, eastern Alberta

1910s
1911 - Following British decision to convert Royal Navy ships from coal to bunker oil, the Canadian government urges industry to find and develop domestic oil supplies.

1912 - 270-kilometre pipeline begins carrying natural gas from Bow Island, Alberta, to Calgary to replace coal gas as a heating, lighting and cooking fuel.  The 16-inch (40 centimetre) pipeline was complete in just 86 days. 

1914-1918 - First World War establishes oil as a key strategic commodity.

1914 - May 14 was a victorious day for Arthur W. Dingman as he and his associates savoured the fruits of their risk-taking – a natural gas discovery at Turner Valley on the edge of Kananaskis Country.

1915 - several tonnes of Athabasca oil sands shipped to Edmonton for trial use in road paving.

1915 - The Public Utilities Board (PUB) became Alberta’s first regulatory agency with the primary responsibility of regulating utility rates and service. At this time in Alberta’s history, since utility service was limited, the PUB had extended jurisdiction over a broad range of other matters, including the supervision of all debentures issued by municipalities, the cancellation of subdivision plans, the approval of utility franchise agreements, the regulation of the sale of shares and securities within the province, the approval of tariffs for provincial railways and the approval of highway crossings by railway branch lines. Alberta Government Telephones (AGT), which was Alberta’s only telecommunications company at the time, also applied to the PUB for its rates.

1920s
1920 - Oil discovered at Norman Wells, Northwest Territories.

1922 - International Bitumen Company formed and small plant built near Bitumont, 80 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, to produce bitumen for roofing and road surfacing.

1923 - Edmonton switches to natural gas for heating, lighting and cooking following completion of 130-kilometre pipeline from Viking, Alberta.

1924 – The discovery of a decade earlier led the way to a deeper zone find just a few kilometres away. Royalite No. 4 put Turner Valley on the oil and gas map.

1930s
1930 - Mineral rights transferred from the federal government to Canada's western provinces.

1930 - Alberta Department of Lands and Mines established.

1932 – The Turner Valley Conservation Board was established.

1936 - Invention of nylon, the first plastic made from petroleum products.

1936 - Under the Fuel Oil Licencing Act, Alberta's 1000 fuel dealers were required to obtain a licence from the Public Utilities Board.

1938 - The Petroleum and Natural Gas conservation Board, now the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB), was created to focus on conserving Alberta's energy resources and to ensure orderly development of them.

1934 – The first natural gas export license was issued by the federal department of Trade and Commerce.

1934/35 – After more than 50 years of production, the second well to be discovered in Alberta was closed off (abandoned) with a few wheelbarrows of cement. The closing off process was still in its infancy and abandonment operations continued – off and on – to 1954.

1940s
1943 - Pipeline built from Portland, Maine, to refineries in Montreal to overcome wartime danger to East Coast tanker traffic.

1943-45 - Canada's first offshore oil well drilled from artificial island off Prince Edward Island, to a depth of 4,500 metres and at a cost of $1.25 million; no commercial qualities of oil or gas were found.

1944 - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completes the Canol Pipeline, an expensive but short-lived pipeline system carrying crude oil from Norman Wells to a new refinery at Whitehorse, Yukon, and refined oil products to Fairbanks and Skagway, Alaska.

1947 - After drilling 133 dry holes across Western Canada, Imperial Oil strikes oil at Leduc, Alberta, on February 13, transforming Canada into an oil-rich nation.

1949 - Alberta Department of Lands and Mines succeeded by two new departments: Lands and Forests, and Mines and Minerals.

1949 – The Alberta legislature passed the Gas Resources Preservation Act.  The Act set out rules for exports of natural gas from Alberta.

1950s
1950 - Oil replaces coal as Canada's largest single source of energy; pipelines established to transport natural gas to Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal.

1950 - Detonation of underground atomic explosive device proposed to melt Athabasca oil sands bitumen to aid commercial development; federal government denies approval.

1950 - First section of the Interprovincial Pipe Line Inc. (now Enbridge Pipelines Inc.) oil pipeline laid from Edmonton to Superior, Wisconsin.

1952 - First sulphur recovery plant built in Alberta for sour gas (natural gas).

1953 - Trans Mountain Pipeline Company line completed from Edmonton to Vancouver.

1954 - The Alberta Gas Trunk Line Company Limited (AGTL), (now called NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd.) was created to build and operate a province-wide natural gas transportation system. In 1957, Alberta gas began to flow through the AGTL (NOVA) system.

1957 - Westcoast Energy Inc. pipeline system begins delivering natural gas from north-eastern B.C. to the Lower Mainland and to U.S. markets in the Pacific Northwest.

1958 - Construction of the TransCanada PipeLines system was completed from Alberta to eastern Canada.

1959 - National Energy Board created by federal government to oversee interprovincial and international energy trade.

1960s
1960 - The Gas Utilities Act is introduced, it is still a major part of legislation currently governing the jurisdiction of the ERCB. In the 1960s, urbanization and industrialization increased the number of utility customers by 62%.

1961 - Alberta establishes air quality standards that include limits on industrial emissions of hydrogen sulphide and sulphur dioxide.

1961 - The Pacific Gas Transmission pipeline (now called Gas Transmission Northwest) is built to deliver Alberta gas to customers in the US Pacific Northwest and California.

1967 - Great Canadian Oil Sands, now part of Suncor energy Ltd., initiates first large-scale operation to develop Athabasca oil sands at Fort McMurray.

1970s
1970s - Natural gas and oil deposits found off the coast of Nova Scotia.

1970: The Board of Arbitration was formed to handle expropriations formerly the jurisdiction of the Public Utilities Board.  The Board of Arbitration is now the Surface Rights Board.

1972 - Federal and B.C. governments impose moratorium on West Coast offshore oil and gas exploration.

1973 - Arab oil embargo sets off first global energy crisis.

1973 - A price sensitive royalty regime was implemented. Prior to that, royalties were paid at a fixed rate.

1974 - The Natural Gas Price Protection Plan was introduced. The Public Utilities Board’s role in the plan, which was aimed towards sheltering Alberta consumers from increasing world market prices for natural gas, was set out in the Natural Gas Rebate Act. Under the Act, the Board was required to issue certificates qualifying utilities to receive provincial rebates.

1975 - Alberta Department of Energy and Natural Resources created by merging two existing departments: Lands and Forests, and Mines and Minerals.

1975 - Natural gas prices in Canada became regulated under Federal-Provincial agreement.

1978 - Syncrude Canada Ltd., a consortium of oil companies and the federal and provincial governments, opens oil sands mining and upgrading project at Fort McMurray.

1978 - The United States began the process of natural gas deregulation.

1979 - First large oil discoveries made at the Hibernia field off Newfoundland.

1980s
1980s - First permanent buried pipeline completed in the Canadian Arctic to carry light crude oil from Norman Wells to Alberta.

1980 - The Constitution Act gives each province the exclusive right to make laws in relation to the development, conservation and management of natural gas in the province.

1982 - The Alberta government created the Electric Energy Marketing Agency.  The Public Utitlies Board was required to set the price at which utilities would sell electric energy to the Electric Energy Marketing Agency. The aim in doing so was to achieve a measure of equalization of electrical rates by averaging the price of generation and transmission across the province.

1985 - Federal government deregulates oil prices, opens Canada's borders to imports and exports.

1985-86 - Federal government and East Coast petroleum-producing provinces reach agreements to jointly manage offshore oil and gas resources.

1985 - Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and the federal government signed the Agreement on Natural Gas Markets and Prices, which began the process of natural gas price deregulation in Canada.

1985 - After 70 years of production, the Turner Valley Gas Plant was shut down. It is now a provincial and national historic site.

1986 - The price of natural gas was deregulated by a federal-provincial agreement, the provincial government allowed the Natural Gas Protection Plan to expire, in light of the decline in natural gas prices which occurred after deregulation.

1986 - Alberta Department of Energy and Natural Resources is succeeded by two new departments: Energy, and Forestry, Lands and Wildlife.

1988 - Major changes to the natural gas royalty regime implemented including the Alberta Average Market Price.

1990s
1990 - Canadian refiners eliminate lead as a gasoline additive, completing a phase-out that began in 1973.

1990 - The Gas Utilities Statutes Amendment Act 1990 was passed by the Alberta Legislature, giving non-industrial consumers in Alberta the choice of entering into contracts for gas supply, subject to regulations.

1990 - The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) started trading natural gas futures contracts for delivery at Henry Hub, Louisiana.

1992 - At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro, Canada and more than 160 other nations adopted a philosophy of sustainable development and agreed to begin limiting emissions of greenhouse gases that may contribute to global climate change.

1993 - The Alberta Energy Company (AEC - now EnCana) started reporting daily natural gas spot prices at its gas storage facility at AECO-C, located near Suffield, Alberta.

1994 - Functions of Alberta's Department of Forestry, Land and Wildlife are merged into the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Department of Energy is reorganized into five new divisions.

1994 - Implementation of the Alberta Reference Price for royalty purposes.

1995 - Alberta adopts Electricity Utilities Act to deregulate energy supply market.

1995: The Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) was created, the Public Utilities Board and the Energy Resources and Conservation Board (previously the Petroleum and Natural Gas Conservation Board) merged to create the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) in order to provide a more streamlined and efficient regulatory process.

1996 - The EUB passed rules implementing natural gas customer choice for small consumers in Alberta.

1996-97 - In 1996 the Electric Utilities Act was passed.  The EUB held a hearing to restructure electric tariffs to implement changes to the electric utility industry that were introduced in the Electric Utilities Act (EUA). Each major utility applied to separate its generation, transmission and distribution costs. The framework for further restructuring of the electric utility industry was established through the Electric Utilities Amendment Act that was passed in 1997.

1998 - Alberta establishes three new independent bodies (the Power Pool, Transmission Administrator, and Market Surveillance Administrator) to ensure open and competitive access to deregulated power markets.

1999 - Alberta Department of Energy is reorganized and renamed the Department of Resource Development; responsibility for forest industry development, and for rural utilities, are incorporated into the new entity.

2000 - Present
2000 - Alberta establishes retailer licensing and codes of conduct for deregulated electricity markets.

2000 - The Government of Alberta implements the Energy Tax Refund.

2000 - Alliance natural gas pipeline begins commercial service after construction complete from Fort St. John, B.C., to Chicago, Illinois.

2000 - Major expansion projects completed at Joffre and Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, to the world's two largest ethylene-based petrochemical plants.

2001 - Alberta Department of Resource Development becomes the Department of Energy.

2001 - The Government of Alberta provides rebates to consumers of natural gas as natural gas prices reach record levels. Later in the year, the Natural Gas Price Protection Act is implemented, setting out a formal structure for natural gas rebates in Alberta.

2001 - The Electric utility industry was restructured, the EUB no longer regulated wholesale electricity prices and customers could choose their electricity retailer.

2002 - First commercial production of natural gas in coal (a.k.a. coalbed methane) in Alberta.  In late 2002, an internal review of government rules and regulations related to CBM development began. This review also included the collection of CBM production and geological data. 

2002 - Natural gas royalty framework is revised to implement royalties based on in-stream components.

2002 - Alberta’s first propylene facility became operational in Redwater. 

2003 - The Government of Alberta implemented the Natural Gas Rebate Program to protect Alberta consumers from high natural gas prices.  The program ended on March 31, 2009.

2003 - The Government of Alberta passed an amendment to the Gas Utilities Act and associated regulations, implementing refinements to natural gas customer choice  for small consumers of natural gas in Alberta.

2003 - In September 2003, a pre-consultation was held with a number of  Coalbed Methane stakeholder groups to identify and prioritize issues.  Landowners, agriculture producers, academics, the energy industry, and environmental groups participated.  This led to the Coalbed Methane/Natural Gas in Coal Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Committee (the MAC) that was established in November 2003 to provide advice and guidance on the Coalbed Methane consultation process.

2004 - The $200 million Innovative Energy Technologies Program is announced.

2005 - Alberta’s Mineable Oil Sands Strategy (MOSS), was produced by a steering group that included representatives from environmental organizations, First Nations, industry and government.  They were asked to revise plans for consulting on policy principles the draft for discussion documents, Mineable Oil Sands Strategyand Fort McMurray Mineable Oil Sands Integrated Resource Management Plan were submitted in October.

2006 - The Government of Alberta approved an allocation of $200 million over four years to create the Energy Innovation Fund (EIF).  The EIF is a provincial initiative that supports building world-class knowledge, expertise and leadership to responsibly develop our vast energy resources for the benefit of current and future generations. (news release) 

2006 - The Oil Sands Ministerial Strategy Committee was directed by Cabinet to develop a coordinated short term action plan to address the social, environmental and economic impacts of oil sands developments, Investing in our Future: Responding to the Rapid Growth of Oil Sands Development Final Report, was released in December.

2006 - The Oil Sands Consultations Multistakeholder Committee (MSC) begins oil sands consultations throughout Alberta. This series of information meetings were held throughout the province to give Albertans an opportunity to add their voice into how the province's oil sands should be developed.

2007 - The Alberta government eliminates the Alberta Royalty Tax Credit Program (ARTC). The decision follows a review and consultation with industry and stakeholders.

2007 - Setting out a vision and identifying principles to guide the future development of Alberta's oil sands are highlighted in the Oil Sands Consultations Multistakeholder Committee (MSC) Final Report and the Aboriginal Consultation Final Report released in July.

2007 - The Oil Sands Sustainable Development Secretariat was created to address rapid growth issues in the oil sands regions of Alberta. The Secretariat collaborates with ministries, industry, communities and stakeholders to address the social, infrastructure, environmental and economic impacts of oil sands development. It acts as a main point of contact for inquiries from the public, industry and stakeholders on the government’s plan for managing growth in the oil sands.

2007 - The Government of Alberta tasks an independent, expert Royalty Review Panel to examine the province's energy royalties and tax regime. The panel was asked to focus on all aspects of the royalty system, including oil sands, conventional oil and gas, and coalbed methane. Their report was released on September 18th.

2007 - Premier Stelmach announces Alberta’s New Royalty Framework on October 25. The Framework will see Albertans benefit from increased royalties generated by an internationally competitive energy industry.

2007 The Incremental Ethane Extraction Policy (IEEP) is a 10-year initiative to encourage increased ethane extraction by providing royalty credits for increased ethane consumption by petrochemical facilities in Alberta.

2008 - The governments of Alberta and Canada release Canada’s Fossil Energy Future: The Way Forward on Carbon Capture and Storage, which provides advice on how governments and industry can work together to facilitate and support the development of carbon capture and storage opportunities in Canada

2008 - On January 1, 2008, the Alberta Utilities Commission Act split the EUB into two new regulatory bodies, the Energy Resources Conservation Board  (ERCB) and the Alberta Utilities Commission  (AUC). The ERCB is responsible for the development of Alberta’s oil and gas resources and the AUC is responsible for the distribution and sale of electricity and natural gas to Alberta consumers.

2008 - In April the Government of Alberta appointed a Nuclear Power Expert Panel to prepare a comprehensive and objective report on nuclear energy.  By fully examining the environmental, safety and numerous other issues related to nuclear-generated electricity, the panel’s report will provide the basis for future public discussions.

2008 - On July 8, 2008, Premier Ed Stelmach announced a $2 billion fund to advance carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in Alberta to help reduce emissions by up to five million tonnes annually by 2015.

2008 - On August 15, 2008, the Government released a Bitumen Royalty-In-Kind (BRIK) Request for Expression of Interest (REOI) inviting interested parties to make a submission detailing their interest, and explaining how they could participate in using the government’s BRIK volumes. 

2008 - The Provincial Energy Strategy charts the course of Alberta’s energy future. The strategy announced in December is a long-term action plan for Alberta to achieve clean energy production, wise energy use and sustained economic prosperity.  The Renewable Fuel Standard is part of the strategy it is expected to be implemented by July 2010.

2009 - The Oil Sands Sustainable Development Secretariat releases a 20 year plan, Responsible Actions: A Plan for Alberta’s Oil Sands.

2009 - In March the Nuclear Power Expert Panel releases their report.

2009 - In April Alberta Nuclear Power consultation begins with an online workbook and survey.

2009 - August 31 was the final deadline for paperwork for the Natural Gas Rebate program.