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Natural gas transmission, storage and distribution, March 2017

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Released: 2017-05-23

Natural gas transmission pipelines received 569.6 million gigajoules of natural gas from fields, gathering systems and plants in March, a 5.8% increase compared to the same month in 2016. Seven provinces posted receipts, with Alberta (71.2%) and British Columbia (26.2%) holding the majority.

Natural gas transmission and distributions systems delivered 217.1 million gigajoules to industrial consumers, 94.3 million gigajoules to residential consumers and 76.7 million gigajoules to commercial and institutional consumers in March.

Provincial deliveries

In Alberta, March deliveries of natural gas amounted to 169.8 million gigajoules, an 18.3% increase compared to the same month in 2016. The majority (76.9%) were delivered to the industrial sector. Alberta industrial deliveries accounted for 33.6% of the natural gas consumed in Canada.

In Ontario, 115.7 million gigajoules of natural gas were delivered, a 5.9% increase compared to March 2016. The residential sector received 41.3% of these deliveries, while the industrial sector received 30.0% and the commercial sector received 28.7%.

Chart 1  Chart 1: Canadian monthly natural gas inventories
Canadian monthly natural gas inventories

Opening and closing inventories

Opening inventories of natural gas in Canadian facilities totalled 683.5 million gigajoules. Inventories decreased 11.0% in March to close at 608.1 million gigajoules. This was the sixth consecutive month of net withdrawals from storage.

Opening to closing inventories in March saw Western Canada decrease 6.4% to 453.5 million gigajoules and Central Canada decrease 22.2% to 154.6 million gigajoules.

Closing inventories in Canada decreased 17.5% compared to the same month in 2016.

Exports and imports

Canada exported 306.7 million gigajoules of natural gas by pipeline to the United States in March, up 19.6% from the same month in 2016. Imports of natural gas from the United States rose 18.2% to 94.9 million gigajoules compared to March 2016.

Chart 2  Chart 2: Canadian imports and exports of natural gas
Canadian imports and exports of natural gas

Quarterly Review

Transmission pipelines received 1.6 billion gigajoules of natural gas from fields and plants in the first quarter of 2017, up 2.9% from the same quarter in 2016.

Transmission and distribution systems delivered 1.2 billion gigajoules to Canadian consumers, up 10.2% from the first quarter of 2016. Distribution systems accounted for 62.5% of these deliveries.

Pipelines exported 0.9 billion gigajoules of natural gas to the United States in the first quarter, up 9.1% from the same quarter in 2016.


  Note to readers

In January 2016, changes were made to the Monthly Natural Gas Transmission Survey and the Monthly Natural Gas Distribution Survey. In addition, the Monthly Natural Gas Storage Survey was introduced to provide measures on gas storage characteristics related to inventories and flows.

Storage data are now published in CANSIM table 129-0005, transmission data in CANSIM table 129-0006 and distribution data in CANSIM table 129-0007. CANSIM tables 129-0001, 129-0002, 129-0003 and 129-0004 will remain available for reference purposes.

Definitions

Data on natural gas no longer correspond to marketable natural gas but represent natural gas from fields, gas-gathering systems and gas plants.

Natural gas deliveries (termed "sales" in releases prior to January 2016) include deliveries to industrial, commercial and institutional, and residential consumers.

Opening inventories correspond to inventories as of the first day of the reference month, while closing inventories correspond to inventories as of the last day of the reference month. For example, the reference period for the opening inventory in January was January 1, while the reference period for the closing inventory was January 31.

Pipeline fuel is used to power compressors to move gas through pipelines.

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).

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