Canada is the world's third largest producer of natural gas and the seventh largest producer of crude oil. The upstream petroleum industry operates in 11 out of the 13 provinces in Canada, with future undeveloped energy resources for crude oil and natural gas in offshore areas of the north, reserves in the oil sands of Alberta and gas reserves in the Yukon and Northwest Territories. With the amount of dollars flowing into the oil patch, forecasts for production for each upcoming year are usually optimistic. In 2004, there were a record of 21,671 well completions in Canada; | click here for more industry stats | more than 8% higher than the previous year's completions. The steady increase of the Oil and Gas sector throughout Canada allows for an open and thriving market in Canada's Environmental Industry. Connecting both Environmental U.S. companies as well as dedicated in-house professionals the Oil and Gas industry aggressively strives to limit its effect on air, land and water. The Oil and Gas industry is working to identify best practices and new technologies to help understand and eliminate the strong reaction of emissions and odour into our atmosphere.
As of 2004, Canada is the 7th largest environmental market in the world and according to Industry Canada; it is expected to grow 3% annually through to 2010. Canada's Environmental market is valued at $21 billion and Canada is a net importer of environmental technologies. Dealing in areas such as solid waste and wastewater management and treatment; water, soil and air quality testing; water supply and purification; and environmental engineering make up two thirds of the environmental industry firms in Canada. The remaining one third are manufacturers that create a broad range of products that include portable site remediation equipment and clean process technologies.

The Oil and Gas industry supports research into best practices and new technologies to mitigate emissions into our atmosphere. There are many opportunities for companies who are developing products and services for emission and odour control as well as the development and deployment of dehydration packages that help eliminate benzene emissions. The following are air quality issues that the Oil and Gas industry currently face:

Sour Gas: Roughly thirty percent of natural gas produced in Western Canada is considered sour or containing hydrogen sulphide (H₂S). When exposed to concentrations greater than 500 parts per million, this 'rotten egg' odour can cause a person to lose consciousness and sometimes even result in death.
Flaring & Venting: The Oil and Gas industry has long used flaring and venting to dispose of gases in the production of processing crude oil. The difference between Flaring and Venting is that with Flaring, Natural Gas is burned and emitted as CO₂ while with Venting Natural Gas is released to the atmosphere as Methane. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office report released in August 2006, Methane has a global warming potential 23 times higher than that of CO₂ and t he instances of Flaring have decreased 70% in 2004 from 1996 levels. There are many measures being taken to reduce the occurrence of this environmental disturbance to an even greater level.
Benzene Emissions: Considered to be extremely toxic in small amounts and is carcinogenic to humans; benzene is a light aromatic hydrocarbon that occurs naturally as a part of raw oil and natural gas. This toxic emission may be released into the atmosphere from sources such as glycol dehydrators, fugitive emissions from stock tank vents and sumps, leans in processing equipment and glycol dehydrators. The Oil and Gas industry recognizes the importance of reducing benzene emissions, most involved in situations where works or the public are at risk of exposure. The emissions from glycol dehydrators were reduced 75% between 1995 and 2001.
Sulphur Dioxide: About 1/3 of Western Canada's natural gas production is sour gas. Sulphur Dioxide is a major bi-product of sour gas and when oxidized in the atmosphere can lead to acid rain. Most of this sour gas is processed at sulphur recovery plants using catalysts to extract the sulphur element for fertilizer manufacturers and other industries.

While oil and gas production provide substantial economic benefits, it's a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. According to Canada's Greenhouse Gas Inventory (2002), Canada's petroleum industry contributed about 20% of Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions. While facing an increasing consumer demand for its products, the Oil and Gas industry is taking steps towards reducing greenhouse gases and their impact on global climate change. In the beginning of 2003, the Technology for Emission Reduction and Eco-Efficiency (TEREE) was launched by Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC). Comprising representatives from industry, government and non-government organizations, they have identified five major areas for greenhouse gas reductions:

Venting of hydrocarbons to the atmosphere
Reciprocating engines that produce emissions from the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels
Flaring and incineration to dispose of hydrocarbon waste
Reducing fugitive equipment leaks
Improving efficiency of heaters and boilers

Canada's Oil and Gas sector is aggressively seeking technology to improve efficiency thus reducing green gas emissions.

There is considerable pressure put on freshwater reserves in Alberta by the Oil and Gas sector. Almost every major project in Alberta is required to have a permit where water studies must be in place to prove water is available to support the development. The greatest impact on water resources is from steam assisted gravity systems to extract oil from the oil sands in northern Alberta. There is an opportunity for companies who have developed technologies to properly reclaim Alberta's water supply. These emerging practices and technologies include:

Plugging seismic holes to prevent possible groundwater contamination
New technologies to monitor, report and reduce water use
Using environmentally friendly drilling fluids
Recycling used water
Supporting water use research in areas such as water conservation and recovery methods

The Oil and Gas industry is a large user of water although a much smaller user than commercial cooling, irrigation and municipal users. The Oil and Gas sector allocated 4.6% of the total 60 billion barrels of water that was used in Alberta in 2002. Although, the quantity of water use within Alberta has become a high-profile issue due to a number of factors. The rapid growth of population and expansion of industries, the consecutive years of drought and dwindling water supplies have all played a significant role in the increase of Alberta's water supply demand.

Alberta covers over 661,000 square kilometres of land; roughly 7% of Canada's land mass. Most of Alberta is forested (65%) while the remaining is associated with agriculture and various other uses. Under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA), Alberta's land resource base is protected by ensuring that land used for industrial purposes is developed and reclaimed in an environmentally sound manner. This requires developers to perform proper conservation and reclamation measures that ensure disturbed land is reclaimed to meet the goal of equivalent land capability. Defined from the Environmental Protection and Enhancement act states that "Reclamation" means any or all of the following:

The removal of equipment or buildings or other structures or appurtenances
The decontamination of buildings or other structures or other appurtenances, or land or water
The stabilization, contouring, maintenance, conditioning or reconstruction of the surface of the land
Any other procedure, operation or requirement specified in the regulations

Although there has been a significant increase in developing technologies to reduce effects on land there is still growing concerns within Alberta. For instance, in a recent study (The long-term soil acidification monitoring program) by the Wood Buffalo Environmental Association shows a slight downward trend in pH over more than 20 years of monitoring shallow soil. At a depth of 0-2 cm beneath the surface, results show the greatest response to acid deposition. At a healthy state, soil should be at a level above 4.5; however in recent studies in Fort McMurray have showed averages below 4. Once the pH level decreases below 3.7 is can cause significant damage. A dramatic decrease in soil's pH can play a drastic and long term impact on vegetation growth; further impacting wildlife depending on that vegetation for survival. Newer technologies help lessen the footprint on the land from oil and gas activity. For example, mapping out sensitive soil areas where greater management of acidic emissions are needed is used to establish restrictions in certain areas of industrial emissions.