Petroleum Industry - Ontario
History
North America's first commercial oil was produced at Oil Springs in southwestern Ontario in 1858, when James Miller Williams dug the discovery well. The first integrated oil company, processing oil through Williams' refinery, was built in 1857. Fairbank Oil Properties Ltd. at Oil Springs, Ontario have been producing crude oil continuously since 1861. In 1913, the first offshore well was drilled in Lake Erie. The oil and gas industry in Ontario is small in comparison to its counterpart in western Canada. It is, however, a viable, active and important industry to the province of Ontario.
Fast Facts
27,000 wells on record
80 wells drilled each year
1,200 active oil wells
900 active natural gas wells on land
500 active natural gas wells off shore
700,000 barrels of oil production per year
300 million metres cubed of natural gas production per year
Average production value of oil and natural gas per year $150,000,000
7 billion cubic metres of natural gas storage capacity
22 million barrels hydrocarbon storage capacity in solution-mined salt caverns
250,000 tonnes of salt is produced each year in Ontario
(numbers based on a 5-year average)
Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Activity in Ontario - Summary
Regional Overview
Production
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