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Energy close to 19% of Canada’s exports
Revenues from Canada’s energy exports rose 15 percent in 2005 to C$79.2 billion, despite slippage in volumes for crude oil, natural gas and refined petroleum products, the National Energy Board reported.
The latest figures from the Canadian government show a further surge in the first quarter of this year as the value of shipments jumped another 28.5 percent over the opening three months of 2005 to C$22.5 billion.
For 2005, net energy export revenue was C$46 billion compared with C$38.6 billion in 2004.
Energy represented 19 percent of all Canadian exports of goods and services last year.
The industry accounted for close to 6 percent of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product and provided direct employment for 330,000 or 1.9 percent of the labor force. Domestic energy consumption up Petroleum at 36 percent and natural gas at 38 percent were the dominant forms of energy production last year, while coal accounted for 8.3 percent, due largely to higher demand from China, and hydroelectricity for 8 percent. Nuclear energy covered 5.7 percent of total Canadian energy output.
Preliminary estimates show domestic energy consumption was up 2.4 percent and averaged a 2.3 percent annual gain over 2001-2005.
Alberta’s overall exports increased almost 33 percent year-over-year, the bulk of the gain coming from shipments to the United States that were valued at C$20.5 billion, or 91.4 percent of the province’s total exports.
Shipments to most of the other top 10 destinations declined, including a 36 percent drop in exports to China, 25.7 percent to South Korea and 2 percent to Japan.
—Gary Park
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