Oil and Gas Journal (OGJ) reports that Canada had 56.6 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven Natural Gas reserves in January 2006. The country produced 6.5 Tcf of natural gas in 2003, while consuming 3.2 Tcf. Canada is an important source of the U.S. natural gas supply.

During the first 11 months of 2005, it exported some 3.9 Tcf of natural gas to the United States, representing 85 percent of total U.S. natural gas imports during that period. Most Canadian natural gas exports enter the U.S. through pipelines in Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota.

Like the oil industry, Canada’s natural gas production is concentrated in the WCSB, particularly in Alberta. Even though there have been some new conventional natural gas finds in the WCSB, many analysts predict that conventional natural gas production in the WCSB has reached its zenith.

Future natural gas production should center on Coal bed Methane (CBM) deposits in the WCSB, Arctic frontier natural gas deposits, the Deep Basin area, and natural gas fields off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.