Oil sands production essentially only occurs in the province of Alberta, while conventional resources underlie Alberta, northeast British Columbia, Saskatchewan and parts of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories. Relative to CAPP's 2012 report, production at the latter end of the outlook period from 2020 to 2030 is higher than previously forecast and shows an average annual growth of 200,000 b/d. Conventional production is forecast to contribute about 1.4 million b/d to the total output; the impact of the steep declines expected from mature fields is expected to be entirely offset by production from new horizontal wells. Compared to last year's forecast, conventional production is higher by 300,000 b/d in 2030. Oil Sands production is higher than previously forecast by 200,000 b/d in 2030 due to greater anticipated production from in situ wells. A pair of recent announcements indicate possible expansion of the local oil industry. And increased development of local energy resources will benefit the economy through higher employment and growth in labor income which, in turn, will increase the demand for accommodations in Fort McMurray. Fort McMurray Today reported that the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union recently ratified a new agreement with Suncor Energy. Under the agreement, Suncor's oil sands workers represented by CEP will receive wage increases between 3 percent and 4 percent for each of the next three years, or about 10.5 percent total over the entire period. While negotiations were difficult due to recent uncertainty in the industry, the new contract is a good sign that companies like Suncor need to keep wages competitive in order to attract and retain enough workers to meet demand. Officials representing CEP's oil sands workers believe the new contract is attractive enough to convince people to relocate to Fort McMurray. Suncor was one of four companies that Alberta's Energy Resources Conservation Board expects to expand current projects in the province over the next decade. The other three mentioned in the board's annual study were Syncrude Canada, CNRL and Shell. ERCB, which regulates Alberta's oil and gas industry, recently announced that it expects oil production to double by 2022 to 3.8 million barrels per day, up from 1.9 million barrels a day last year. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers echoed the ERCB's projections with its own upward revised estimates. CAPP expects oil sands output to rise from 1.8 million bpd in 2012 to 2.28 million bpd in 2015 and 3.22 million bpd in 2020. Their June 2013 report provided a comprehensive analysis of production, transportation and markets. The report stated the following with respect to forecasted production in the oil sands region: "Oil sands production essentially only occurs in the province of Alberta, while conventional resources underlie Alberta, northeast British Columbia, Saskatchewan and parts of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories. Relative to CAPP's 2012 report, production at the latter end of the outlook period from 2020 to 2030 is higher than previously forecast and shows an average annual growth of 200,000 b/d. Conventional production is forecast to contribute about 1.4 million b/d to the total output; the impact of the steep declines expected from mature fields is expected to be entirely offset by production from new horizontal wells. Compared to last year's forecast, conventional production is higher by 300,000 b/d in 2030. Oil Sands production is higher than previously forecast by 200,000 b/d in 2030 due to greater anticipated production from in situ wells." ERCB also reported that oil production increased by 14% in 2012, a 9.5% increase in reserves from 2011 levels. The ERCB attributed the rise to increasing production from horizontal, steam-assisted gravity wells and fracking technology. For the first time, most of Alberta's oil production derived from steam-injection projects in 2012, instead of conventional mining. Alberta's reserves of oil sands bitumen and conventional crude stood at 169.6 billion barrels at the end of 2012. Articles focused on providing useful information on lifestyle, employment, industry and accommodations in Fort McMurray.
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